“One of the great pleasures of reading A Catalog of Birds is that it’s as impossible to categorize as it is to put down … Harrington asks us to fly from despair to grace, from loss to faith, to see as a bird sees. Only then can we return to our original innocence, remember the many beauties of this painful, joyful and mysterious world.” Washington Post
“A sensitive rendering of shattered lives.” Kirkus Reviews
“Her prose sings, sweeping through heavy topics with a quiet sense of resilience and buoyant hope.” Publisher’s Weekly
Laura Harrington’s new novel is a portrait of a family in the midst of recovery, the mysterious disappearance of a young woman, and of a brother and sister whose love of the natural world just might save their lives.
Set in 1970, a watershed moment in American History, A Catalog of Birds tells the story of the Flynn family and the devastating impact of the Vietnam War. At the heart of the novel is the relationship between siblings Nell and Billy Flynn. Nell excels academically and is headed to college and a career in science. Billy, a passionate artist, enlists as a pilot to fulfill his lifelong dream of flying. He is the only survivor when his helicopter is shot down. When he returns home his wounds limit his ability to sketch or even hold a pencil. As Billy struggles to regain the life he once had, Nell and their family will have to do all that’s possible to save him.
Lyrical and affecting, Laura Harrington has written an artful family drama about innocence lost and wounds that may never be healed. This is a tale of forgiveness: of ourselves, of those we love best. Illuminated by grief and desire, the novel is full of spirit, wonder and the possibilities of the future.
“One of the great pleasures of reading A Catalog of Birds is that it’s as impossible to categorize as it is to put down … Harrington asks us to fly from despair to grace, from loss to faith, to see as a bird sees. Only then can we return to our original innocence, remember the many beauties of this painful, joyful and mysterious world.” Washington Post
“A sensitive rendering of shattered lives.” Kirkus Reviews
“Her prose sings, sweeping through heavy topics with a quiet sense of resilience and buoyant hope.” Publisher’s Weekly
Laura Harrington’s new novel is a portrait of a family in the midst of recovery, the mysterious disappearance of a young woman, and of a brother and sister whose love of the natural world just might save their lives.
Set in 1970, a watershed moment in American History, A Catalog of Birds tells the story of the Flynn family and the devastating impact of the Vietnam War. At the heart of the novel is the relationship between siblings Nell and Billy Flynn. Nell excels academically and is headed to college and a career in science. Billy, a passionate artist, enlists as a pilot to fulfill his lifelong dream of flying. He is the only survivor when his helicopter is shot down. When he returns home his wounds limit his ability to sketch or even hold a pencil. As Billy struggles to regain the life he once had, Nell and their family will have to do all that’s possible to save him.
Lyrical and affecting, Laura Harrington has written an artful family drama about innocence lost and wounds that may never be healed. This is a tale of forgiveness: of ourselves, of those we love best. Illuminated by grief and desire, the novel is full of spirit, wonder and the possibilities of the future.