I’ve been having strange dreams lately about dead birds, so it seemed like a sign from the heavens when I saw this book on the new arrivals shelf at the library. The new arrivals shelf is such a curious thing, because the library is so dependent on donations, so it’s like a collection of unwanted books which one is forced to weed through to find the good. And then I find myself wondering about who owned this book before I did, what they thought of it, and why they donated it.

At any rate, this is a book about identity and self-discovery and all that rot, and apparently it won a prize because people were so into it.

I had a tough time, though. The lead character in the book is of mixed race; she’s black and Korean. And maybe it’s racist of me, but I had a tough time reading a book about a mixed race character written by a white person, because I feel like there are some fundamental things that we don’t understand. And that’s ok, really it is, and I like reading pieces by people who write about their own color and their personal struggles with identity. I just can’t imagine writing a book about, say, a black man and not feeling weird about exploring color and identity from the perspective of a race that isn’t mine. I don’t think I’m articulating this very well. I guess that I’m trying to say is that it just felt a little forced and awkward to me.

The book was ok. Not fabulous, but ok. I really liked reading about the Salton Sea, because the Salton Sea was almost a character in the book, and it’s a body of water that’s always intrigued me. And I liked some of the characters, although most of them felt like half-formed shadows who never really fully articulated themselves, leaving me wanting more from them.

Also, I hated the typography. I know it sounds snitty, but there it is. I didn’t like it. So shoot me.

Demographics:

The Book of Dead Birds, by Gayle Brandeis. Published 2003, 241 pages. Fiction.