Reviews by John Geary
I find almost nothing quite as satisfying as curling up with a good mystery novel, whether I’m in a favorite cozy chair during a rainy spring weekend, basking on a warm beach at summer, just come in from raking autumn leaves or happily lazing by a warm fireplace in the cold of winter. And if I’m a lucky enough parrot lover to have a copy of a mystery involving an African grey, I feel doubly blessed.
In this issue I’ll take a look at three – count’em three! – recently published mystery novels, all involving African grey parrots within their plots in varying degrees.
THE FINAL SOLUTION by Michael Chabon
Fourth Estate, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY, 2004, 131 pp, ISBN: 0-06-076340-X, U.S. $16.95 h/c
I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when I spotted this book at a local store during a late autumn-early winter shopping trip. It not only revolves around an African grey parrot, but it is about the “world’s first consulting detective” - none other than Sherlock Holmes (I love stories about Holmes almost as much as I love my greys - and the books almost never bite me!)It takes place during the latter years of World War II, when Holmes, now a retired beekeeper in the English countryside (never mentioned by name in the book), meets a young boy wandering about the countryside with an African grey parrot. No one knows where they come from, and communication is difficult as the boy only speaks German.
The bird disappears, and the great detective comes out of retirement to find it. There are hints that this bird perhaps holds the key to a German code, and Holmes finds himself matching wits with British army intelligence, which apparently wants the bird, also.
Chabon uses an interesting technique in the next-to-last chapter of the book: he tells that chapter from the perspective of the parrot. One thing I’m not certain about is the accuracy in describing the parrot’s sense of smell. There seems to be some debate as to whether parrots have a well-developed sense of smell, and the bird in this story does seem to have a keen olfactory sense.
I felt a little irritated by the spelling of African grey as “gray” in the book. Technically, the use of an “a” is correct American spelling for “gray,” but using “e” when referring to P. erithacus is standard practice in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom, a detail obviously overlooked by the author.
I won’t tell you how it ends of course, but if you like mysteries – especially Holmes mysteries – you’ll probably enjoy this novelette, despite some of its flaws in the details regarding grey parrots.
WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARROTS by Donna Andrews
Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, New York, NY, 2004, 293 pp, ISBN: 0-312-27732-6, U.S. $23.95 h/c
This is the fifth book in an ongoing “bird” mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Meg Langslow. Other titles include Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon and Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos.
In this book, Langslow and her fiancé actor Michael are participants in a weekend fan convention of the cult fantasy show Porfiria, Queen of the Jungle, in which he stars. When the actress who plays the title character turns up murdered, it appears an African grey parrot is the only witness. The hotel hosting the convention is overrun with parrots - and some monkeys - that were supposed to help create a “jungle” atmosphere for the weekend event, but somehow escaped from their cages. Eventually an escaped grey does play a role in the murderer’s capture, but not in any conventional sense you might anticipate (but then what else would you expect from a grey?)
I found the book to be highly entertaining. The author’s characterization of greys is very well done – I could see my own birds engaging in some of the behaviors she describes.
I do have a problem with the artwork on the cover, however. It features a macaw prominently, as well as a lorikeet – but no greys. (I guess they’re not “colorful” enough.) I would think since they do play a prominent role in the story - more so than any of the other parrots – at least one grey could have been featured on the cover.
AS SICK AS A PARROT by Liz Evans
Orion Publishing Group, London, UK, 2004, 248 pp, ISBN: 0-75286-023-2, U.S. $16.95 p/b
Like the other two books reviewed, this one involves an African grey, although the bird is not involve in a murder. While trying to prove a client’s mother innocent of a 20-year-old murder, PI Grace Smith is conned into baby-sitting a somewhat psychotic parrot named Tallulah. The bird is a feather-picker and has a very unique vocabulary coupled with a real knack for getting into mischief (No! Not a grey!)
Although I enjoyed the book as a mystery, since the parrot angle was really just a secondary story, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the other two that involved greys within the main story lines.
Again, like the Andrews book, the cover art is wrong: there is a picture of a macaw instead of a grey, even though the grey is the only parrot in the story. It sure would be nice if art directors would read at least enough of the story in order to feature the proper parrot species, even if it does not necessarily make the most colorful type of parrot for a cover … .
John Geary is a professional freelance writer/photographer based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, where he lives with his two African greys, Nikki and Coco. His book reviews have appeared in several publications, including Nature Canada, Paddler, Gripped, the Calgary Herald, the Alaska Highway News, Pet Lover’s Digest and Synchronicity. Wings Central is very pleased to be able to add John to our list of contributors.