Birdy

Written by William Wharton

Narrated by James Colby and James Yaegashi

This masterful National Book Award winner explores the shattering effects of war on the human mind. Growing up, Birdy dreams of flying like a bird and shares these fantasies with his best friend Al. Years later, World War II sends both men to hospitals-Al for physical wounds, and Birdy for psychological trauma. When Birdy falls into a catatonic state, it is Al who tries to pull him out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 11, 2008
• ISBN: 9781436116633

William Wharton

A self-described painter who writes, William Wharton is the pen name for the author of two memoirs—Houseboat on the Seine and Ever After—as well as eight novels—Birdy, Dad, A Midnight Clear, Scumbler, Pride, Tidings, Franky Furbo, and Last Lovers. His works have been acclaimed worldwide and have been translated into over fifteen languages.

Reviews for Birdy

[cmasson17_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a book. It forces you to think about some interesting questions. Who is really crazy? Am I crazy for trying to mold the world into my perception of "normal"? Are crazy people really sane and just using insanity as a protection for their "humaness". We are de-humanized every day. Scary. Makes you want to fly away--or at least buy a canary.

[agnesmack · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story is that of two men who have known each other since childhood, both of whom are locked up in a military hospital. The book goes back and forth between present day and the past. The past mostly involved one of the boy's obsession with breeding canaries and learning how to fly. This is the kind of book with a plot I don't even want to discuss because if you knew what it was about you'd likely have no interest in it. 10 pages of detailed descriptions of tending to canary breeding? It should be dull but it isn't. It's fascinating, and engaging, and everything an exceptional book should be. This is definitely a very unique book, but one that manages to be unique without the use of gimmicks or manipulation. The narrative voice reminded me very much of John Irving, and overall it was a surprisingly exceptional read.

[drmarymccormack · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I saw the movie first and enjoyed it so I thought this would be a good read and it is. I like to read about men's friendships where they have real feelings of love for each other. Sorare because I think there's almost a homophobia about the topic.

[larrywampler · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This may be the most original and rapturously engrossing novel I have ever read. It transported me to another world -- of what it might be like to be a bird. Or maybe just the world of a young man so obsessed with birds that he lapses into a delusion that he might join bird reality. Either way, it was a poignant, fascinating, beautifully-told tale. Maybe I would like to be a bird, too.As a clinical psychologist, I have never read such a plausible and insightful account of descent into psychosis. It was tenderly sympathetic, without ever becoming maudlin.I count Wharton a genius. I had the pleasure of meeting him once. He was remarkably humble, unassuming and quietly charming, with a subtle sense of humor.

[pynchon82 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Birdy is a surreal fever dream that deals with mental illness and the travesty of war in a way I have never encountered before. It deals with friendship and coming to terms with the unspeakable evils that we are sometimes forced to do. The plot centers around two men, Al and Birdy, who have been friends since high school. They're an unlikely duo, seeing as Al is a sporty, athletic ladies' man and Birdy is a gawky, gangly runt of a thing, but they are inseparable friends. Both of them are drafted into WWII and come home forever changed, albeit in different ways.Al saw action that he refuses to talk about, action that damaged his face forever, leaving him now swathed in bandages. We never know what Birdy saw while in the military, but we do know that he came home convinced that he is a bird. Locked in a military prison, he perches on the headboard of the bed and flaps his arms in a vain attempt to fly. He will not talk, only peep. To outsiders, it certainly appears that Birdy really believes he is a canary.Unsure of what they should do to treat Birdy, the psychiatrists bring in Al, hoping that the voice of a dear friend will snap Birdy out of his trance. The book alternates monologues of memories Al is trying to share with Birdy with flashbacks to Birdy's childhood where he became obsessed with the raising of canaries. Al's sections are the most interesting: stories about Birdy's mother refusing to return baseballs that flew into her yard, Birdy standing up to Al's brutish father when he sells a car that doesn't belong to him to neighborhood goons. Birdy's sections can be a mite bit tedious, mostly bird talk, explanations of molting patterns, obsessive moonings over a canary named Perta that Birdy has convinced himself he is in love with.Eventually, though, Al begins to talk about what happens to him in the war. Birdy begins to tell us about the heartbreak of an unobtainable goal and the questioning that one does when one does something they promised themselves they would never do. This culminates in a climax that is ambiguous. Al might have helped Birdy escape from the hospital. Or Birdy might have flown away. You do not know. But you grow to love these two characters that you want to believe that both endings are possible. And it is clear that Birdy helps Al in ways no psychiatrist could.This book is highly recommended (as most Wharton is). And it would get a five-star rating if some of the bird monologues were excised.