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Book Review: Catherine, Called Birdy, Karen Cushman, narr. Jenny Sterlin
Title: Catherine, Called Birdy
Author: Karen Cushman
Narrator: Jenny Sterlin
Published: Recorded Books, 1996 (1994)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 200
Total Page Count: 522,235
Text Number: 1900
Read Because: reread as per review, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Our protagonist is thirteen in 1290, navigating life as the marriageable but spirited daughter of minor nobleman. This is a reread from my youth, but all I remembered going in was vague positive impressions, maybe that I liked the diary format. As an adult reader: I love the diary format. I'm a sucker for a justified first-person narrative, and no better justification than a journal spiced by cultural minutia and calendar-building elements, like marking time through Saint's Days. The details are dubiously accurate I'm sure, but it grounds the narrative in its setting; and, appropriately, Birdy doesn't manage some miraculous escape from her society, but finds a measure of safety and hope within it. Along the spectrum of period pieces where the heroine struggles with her contemporary social restrictions, this one is less rather than more egregious. I don't like the secondary theme of finding the hidden depths of/forgiveness for abusive family members, but it's a prevalent arc in YA, so I can overlook it. Sincerely a fun read; I'm glad I came back to this one.
Author: Karen Cushman
Narrator: Jenny Sterlin
Published: Recorded Books, 1996 (1994)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 200
Total Page Count: 522,235
Text Number: 1900
Read Because: reread as per review, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Our protagonist is thirteen in 1290, navigating life as the marriageable but spirited daughter of minor nobleman. This is a reread from my youth, but all I remembered going in was vague positive impressions, maybe that I liked the diary format. As an adult reader: I love the diary format. I'm a sucker for a justified first-person narrative, and no better justification than a journal spiced by cultural minutia and calendar-building elements, like marking time through Saint's Days. The details are dubiously accurate I'm sure, but it grounds the narrative in its setting; and, appropriately, Birdy doesn't manage some miraculous escape from her society, but finds a measure of safety and hope within it. Along the spectrum of period pieces where the heroine struggles with her contemporary social restrictions, this one is less rather than more egregious. I don't like the secondary theme of finding the hidden depths of/forgiveness for abusive family members, but it's a prevalent arc in YA, so I can overlook it. Sincerely a fun read; I'm glad I came back to this one.