One Bird: A Novel - Softcover

Mori, Kyoko

Softcover

ISBN 10: 044970453X ISBN 13: 9780449704530

Publisher: Fawcett, 1996

Synopsis

"STUNNING, EVOCATIVE . . . [A] well-crafted coming-of-age novel."
--School Library Journal
Fifteen-year-old Megumi was very sad when her parents broke up. But now, with her mother running off on a "trip" to her own childhood home, Megumi is left to stay with her father (who is never around) and her cranky grandmother (who is unfortunately always around).
Just when she feels that no one cares, Megumi meets Dr. Mizutani, a smart young woman who offers Megumi a part-time job in her veterinary office helping her heal sick birds. Dr. Mizutani seems to understand Megumi without asking a lot of questions. And as Megumi finally begins to accept why her mother had to leave, she discovers a confident strength within herself. . . .
"The text gains an intensity from the discipline with which every detail of this accomplished work is orchestrated from the first page to the last."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

About this title

About the Author:

Kyoko Mori is the author of three nonfiction books: Yarn: Remembering the Way Home; Polite Lies: On Being a Woman Caught Between Cultures; and The Dream of Water. Mori’s essay “Yarn” was selected for The Best American Essays 2004 and Polite Lies was shortlisted for PEN’s Martha Albrand Nonfiction Award.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 7-10?As in Shizuko's Daughter (Holt, 1993), Mori revisits the lives of mothers and daughters trapped by traditional values and gender roles in Japan in the 1970s. Megumi's mother tells her, "If I don't leave your father now...I can't bear to live long enough to see you grow up." The woman returns to her father's home to live, forsaking her daughter and refusing to see or speak with the girl until she reaches adulthood, although she breaks her self-imposed exile to correspond through letters. Left in the care of a strict, critical, paternal grandmother and an absent father who spends more time with his mistress than his family, Megumi, 15, suffers a crisis of faith. Hurt by her mother's betrayal and hypocrisy, she quits her Bible study class and breaks her association with the pastor's family. When Megumi rescues an injured bird, she meets a veterinarian, a neighborhood outcast because of her unusual professional and personal status. The emotional support of this new friend and of a young man who was a childhood playmate bolster the girl's courage to stand up for herself to her grandmother, to her father, and to her mother. As she observes strength of will to be of primary importance to survival of the injured birds she nurtures, Megumi's innate strength, intelligence, and resilience ensure her own survival. Stunning, evocative prose both sets scenes and shapes believable, multidimensional characters in this well-crafted coming-of-age novel.?Alice Casey Smith, Sayreville War Memorial High School, NJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fawcett
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 044970453X
• ISBN 13: 9780449704530
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 256