Critics' Opinion:
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Published Jan 2018
272 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
An emotionally searing novel of second chances from an author whose "gorgeous and wise prose" (Cheryl Strayed) will stay with you long after you're done
June is in transition, reeling from her divorce, trying to stay sober, and faced with a completely stalled career. She returns to the beautiful Oregon coast where she grew up, and must decide what to do with her late and much-loved grandparents' charming cedar-shingled home, a place haunted by memories of her childhood.
Jameson comes highly recommended to renovate the old house to sell, and from their first contact, his curiosity is piqued by June. He too is unmoored as he struggles to redefine his marriage in the aftermath of tragic loss, and over the course of the summer, his conversations with June about the house quickly turn to the personal — of secrets hidden in walls and of stories from the past half-told. Sensing connection, June and Jameson can't seem to stop circling each other, shying away from hurt. But what can the future hold as long as they are gripped so firmly by the past?
Brimming with empathy, The Days When Birds Come Back, like the house itself, is a graceful testament to endurance, rebuilding, and the possibilities of coming home.
"Reed shines with a light hand and direct storytelling, but her characters are what make this novel move - their vulnerability, imperfect recovery, and endearing loss for words." - Booklist
"Though the plot leans a bit too heavily on coincidence, this is an emotionally satisfying novel about the lingering effects of trauma and how people deal with guilt." - Publishers Weekly
"Two strangers, each harboring guilty sorrow over past losses, offer each other solace in this introspective novel from Reed." - Kirkus
"Author Deborah Reed (Things We Set on Fire) plies the reader with beautiful sentence after beautiful sentence. Her descriptions of coastal Oregon's trees and wildlife are as lush as the landscape itself. But these lovely words aren't strung together with more regard for the individual than the whole. In Reed's capable hands, they are building blocks of a story that will capture readers' imaginations." - BookPage
"In Reed's achingly exquisite latest, two scarred-by-life souls - a divorcee and a man toppled by tragedy - hide from their pasts by together renovating an old Oregon house. About the love we've lost, the mistakes and secrets we're afraid to reveal, and a haunting reminder that second chances aren't just given - we have to be brave enough to earn them. A blindingly beautiful book." - Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and Cruel Beautiful World
"The Days When Birds Come Back haunted me every day I read it, and has continued to ever since. I don't believe I've ever read such an exquisitely painful story that has on a daily basis so affected the way I interact with other humans, especially my dearest loved ones. This is a novel that makes me want to pay better attention." - Bonnie Nadzam, author of Lions and Lamb
"The Days When Birds Come Back is a gorgeous meditation of the importance of paying attention to one thing in particular: the indelible map our past creates. Whether by adopting a child, restoring a home, or by acknowledging a love that deserves it, Reed has reminded us that we can only fully claim our lives when we embrace our history." - Laura Pritchett, author of The Blue Hour winner of the PEN USA Award
"Deborah Reed's story of two people struggling to integrate past pain with a tantalizing future is as misty and heart-stopping as the Oregon coast itself. And in the wonderful, difficult June Byrne, she has created one of the most complex and relatable portraits of a recovering alcoholic in memory." - Kristi Coulter, author of Nothing Good Can Come from This
"A haunting story of love and loss, the days when birds come back is the kind of book that you sink into on the first page and don't want to leave. Deborah Reed's characters are both flawed and sympathetic, and their struggle to make terms with the past gives this novel a wonderful urgency." - Jane Delury, author of The Balcony
This information about The Days When Birds Come Back was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Deborah Reed is the author of four novels: The Days When Birds Come Back, Olivay, Things We Set on Fire, and Carry Yourself Back to Me. She has also written two popular thrillers under the pen name Audrey Braun.
Deborah holds a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing and is co-director of the Black Forest Writing Seminars at the University of Freiburg in Germany. She teaches creative writing at workshops around the U.S. and in Europe.
She lives on the coast of Oregon. Visit her at deborahreedwriter.com
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