October 13, 2015

Sparrow Migrations - Cari Noga


Lake Union Publishing, June 23, 2015.






Three Stars


Sparrow Migrations takes as its inspiration the “Miracle on the Hudson” plane crash, and analyzes its effects on three different families. It is a real event with fictitious consequences, but written with an authenticity that makes them seem possible. The affected people all see the crash as a sign – but they read that sign in different ways. They use the emotions of that day to justify their actions moving forward, which are often conflicting and always dramatic.


One couple were on the plane as it landed in the river. Deborah uses the crash to inspire another round of IVF treatment, while her husband pulls away in the face of tragedy. A family of three were on a ferry watching the crash – their autistic son uses the plane crash (and the birds that caused it) as a lifeline from his inner world. His parents react to the changes to their son in different ways, vacillating between wanting to give Robby freedom, and holding him back for his own protection. A third woman on the ferry was there with her female lover – a fact that she wished to hide from her daughter and pastor husband. Each family faces challenges, but perhaps too many – on top of issues of fertility, autism and sexual identity, the author piles on Huntington’s disease, religion and divorce. They are all contentious modern issues, linked together under the umbrella of parenthood. It was just a lot to absorb from one book.


The words of the pilot, “Brace for impact,” are repeated throughout the novel, and it is applicable advice for all of the major issues in these characters’ lives. The focus is on parenting, from having a much-anticipated baby, to a young child made younger due to autism, to an older teenager learning to relate to her mother as an adult – it is a microcosmic view of the lifecycle of parenthood. The author allows us to reflect on the risks of having children, where even if everything seems perfect, anything could go wrong. Like birds leaving the nest, there are always dangers.


Birds are a major theme of the novel, from the moment they hit the engines of the plane in a “bird strike” and cause the crash into the Hudson River. Robby becomes obsessed with the migration of the birds, using his research as a way to connect to his family and the other people around him. He wants to protect the birds he is learning about, but eventually learns to let go as they leave the nest. Birds have a biological imperative to migrate and leave their families behind, much like human relationships. The various characters see birds as a representation of freedom, of loving without controlling.


The story here is told simply and I finished it quickly. It was easy to connect to the characters, although they did not have a lot of depth, and some definitely turned into caricatures. The concept was interesting, the plot moved along quickly, and the extended bird metaphor worked well. Problems were not solved simplistically, but they were dealt with in constructive and mostly realistic ways. My only concern was the number of issues packed into one story – it started to lower the plot into melodrama, playing on too many emotions at once.


I received this book for free from Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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