Birds of America - Softcover

Mary McCarthy

3.45

341 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0451050010 ISBN 13: 9780451050014

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1972

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'A novel of ideas as relevant to 2018 as it was to 1971' Penelope Lively, from the introduction

Peter Levi, a shy and sensitive 19 year old American student, moves to Paris to study at the Sorbonne and avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War. After a long holiday in New England with his eccentric mother, he is determined to live a life in harmony with his own idealistic views. But the world is changing at breakneck pace, and Peter struggles to keep up. With nuclear war looming abroad and racial tensions simmering at home, Peter finds himself an unwilling witness to an era of frightening change.

Birds of America is an unforgettable story of personal and political turmoil; of the strange and surprising nature of growing up; and of the questions we all face when we examine who we really are.

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Review:

There was something so crisp and clever and bold about her writing (Claire Tomalin)

McCarthy earned recognition for her cool, analytic intelligence and her exacting literary voice - a voice capable of moving from the frivolously feminine to the willfully cerebral, from girlish insouciance to bare-knuckled fury (Michiko Kakutani New York Times)

A novel of ideas as relevant to 2018 as it was to 1971 (Penelope Lively, from the introduction)

In the same class as Henry James's The American and Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer (Esquire)

A profoundly thoughtful and moving book (Life)

An endlessly fascinating novel (San Francisco Chronicle)

A masterpiece (Hilary Mantel on 'The Group')

A brilliant novel: honest, engaging and sharp as a tack (Sarah Waters on 'The Group')

There was never anything "ladylike" about Mary McCarthy's writing. For aspiring female writers, she remains totemic. (Vanity Fair)

About the Author:

Mary McCarthy was an American novelist, critic and political activist. Her debut novel, The Company She Keeps, launched her career as one of the most celebrated writers of her generation, a reputation bolstered by her controversial 1963 novel The Group, which topped the New York Times bestseller list for almost two years and was banned in several countries for its frank portrayal of female sexuality. McCarthy was married four times. She died in 1989.

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