What a story! Filled with loops and cliff hangers and the beloved art of poetry, sort of!
Morgan, raised in Alberta and now settled in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia makes a splash with his first novel and a tale surrounded by poetry, music and romance plus some heart ache. This all pales in comparison to a different look at the late, great Leonard Cohen in a work of fabulous fiction and meaning.
Milton Ontario, the character, not the place, can’t find himself in Bellybutton, Saskatchewan so takes himself to Montreal in hopes of finding himself, his idle Leonard Cohen and a career in poetry.
What he found instead was a whirlwind of new friends, enemies and some substance for his writing. Oh, and some bird shit.
Dirty Birds, the title is explained quickly enough, is filled with substance, pictures, an escape plan and a return home. A weird and wonderful novel with two pages of – you caught me, I’m speechless and need to read this again and again – wisdom (page 488 if you’re interested) that makes the whole story so poignantly beautiful that it will live on in my heart for many, many years.
PS: It was super fun to have Morgan himself make an appearance, in a strange manner, in the story, too.
A literary mix of romance, confusion, mystery and wonder, Dirty Birds had characters I grew to love and sympathize with as they lay on their bare mattress in Montreal, using winter coats as blankets but the warmth actually came from the people themselves.
Published by Breakwater Books in July, 2020, buying this book supports local in many ways! Let me know what you think once you read it.
Also check out Atlantic Book Reviews on Facebook for Lana’s views on the book.
Thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland
