Bird in Hand by Christina Baker Kline
Summary:
It was an accident. It was dark, it was raining, Alison had only had two drinks. And the other car ran the stop sign. But Alison finds herself trapped under the crushing weight of grief and guilt, feeling increasingly estranged from her husband…
Charlie, who has his own burdens. He’s in a job he doesn’t love so that Alison can stay at home with the kids (and why isn’t she more grateful for that?); he has a house in the suburbs and a long commute to and from the city. And the only thing he can focus on these days is his secret, sudden affair with…
Claire, Alison’s best friend. Bold where Alison is reserved, vibrant where Alison is cautious, Claire has just had her first novel published, a thinly veiled retelling of her childhood in North Carolina. But even in the whirlwind of publication, Claire can’t stop wondering if she should leave her husband…
Ben, an ambitious architect who is brilliant, kind, and meticulous. And who wants nothing more than a baby, or two — exactly the kind of life that Charlie and Alison seem to have…
My Review:
Claire and Ben. Alison and Charlie. Two marriages connected by two childhood friends, Alison and Claire.
Everything isn’t rainbows and roses for these four individuals however. Through a series of flashbacks, this novel (which actually I had a bit of a rough time following at first due to some bad editing that left the year out of one of the sections) explores the first meeting of all four of these people.
Disaster strikes Alison in the form of a car accident and things start to spiral down from there.
What I really appreciated about this book was how open and real it felt. It was depressing, I’m not going to sugar coat that. Bird in Hand is, after all, a book about the eventual corruption of two marriages and Christina Baker Kline doesn’t hesitate to show us the weakness and the self-serving nature of the two who cause that corruption to happen. But there’s two redeeming factors in the story in the characters of Ben and Alison. The ending was so refreshing and Christina’s treatment of those characters inspired respect from me and a grudging admittance that, while I felt anger for the actions of Claire and Charlie, their final actions were the best thing that could happen for Ben and Alison.
This book was an interesting look at friendship, at marriage, at commitment and at the obligations we all have when we decide to form a life with another person.
About the Author:
Christina Baker Kline is a novelist, nonfiction writer and editor. In addition to Bird in Hand, her novels include The Way Life Should Be, Desire Lines and Sweet Water. She is Writer-in-Residence at Fordham University.
To learn more please visit Christina Baker Kline’s website.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
