Wednesday, May 1, 2019

The Songbird


In this tender novel, the bonds among inhabitants of a British estate transcend the stories, burdens and secrets of their lives.
Prolific author Marcia Willett (Summer on the RiverChristmas in Cornwall) returns to the bucolic English countryside in The Songbird. The old Georgian estate Brockscombe Farm consists of a house, owned by the aging Francis Courtney, and three cottages.
In one cottage lives Charlotte, a 32-year-old web designer, her husband, Andy, and their five-month-old. The second cottage is home to William, Andy's father and Francis's cousin. William has been separated for several years from Fiona, Andy's mother. She left him to pursue an affair and a highfalutin architectural career in London, but begins paying regular visits to bond with her new grandson.
William shares his cottage with his other cousin, Kat, a retired ballet dancer in her 60s. She is a creative spirit coming to grips with the death of her Polish lover. And the third cottage is empty until Tim, on sabbatical, arrives to take a six-month lease. Connected to the others through Charlotte's sister, Tim is trying to regroup after a painful break-up. He is also secretly battling a neurological disease in its early stages. The atmosphere in Brockscombe proves as healing as the warm acceptance Tim receives from his new neighbors. But will they treat him differently if they know the truth?
Willett is an elegant writer and an unhurried storyteller. She understands people and the private burdens they carry, while empathizing with the consequences of their actions. This moving, multigenerational saga slowly reveals the essence of her fully realized cast of characters as the intimate stories of their lives unspool with tender, hopeful grace.

The Songbird: A Novel by Marcia Willett

Thomas Dunne Books, $27.99 Hardcover,  9781250177414,288 pages

Publication Date: December 4, 2018

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE



NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (December 14, 2018), link HERE