Bird in Hand
By Christina Baker Kline
(William Morrow & Company, Hardcover, 9780688177249, 288pp.)
Publication Date: July 24, 2009
Categories: General
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Four people, two marriages, one lifelong friendship: everything is about to change
It was an accident. It was dark, it was raining, Alison had only had two drinks. And the other car ran the stop sign. But Alison finds herself trapped under the crushing weight of grief and guilt, feeling increasingly estranged from her husband . . .
Charlie, who has his own burdens. He's in a job he doesn't love so that Alison can stay at home with the kids (and why isn't she more grateful for that?); he has a house in the suburbs and a long commute to and from the city. And the only thing he can focus on these days is his secret, sudden affair with . . .
Claire, Alison's best friend. Bold where Alison is reserved, vibrant where Alison is cautious, Claire has just had her first novel published, a thinly veiled retelling of her childhood in North Carolina. But even in the whirlwind of publication, Claire can't stop wondering if she should leave her husband . . .
Ben, an ambitious architect who is brilliant, kind, and meticulous. And who wants nothing more than a baby, or two—exactly the kind of life that Charlie and Alison seem to have. . . .
In each of her novels, Christina Baker Kline has explored how people tell the stories of their lives and what those stories reveal about who they are. As they set out on their individual journeys, Alison, Charlie, Claire, and Ben explore the idea—each in his or her own way—that every moment of loss contains within it the possibility of a new life. Alternating through these four intertwined perspectives, Bird in Hand is a searing novel about friendship, love, marriage, loss, and the choices we make that irrevocably alter everything we believe to be true.
Christina Baker Kline is the author of three novels, The Way Life Should Be, Desire Lines, and Sweet Water, and is Writer-in-Residence at Fordham University. She lives outside of New York City with her family.
"Kline's razor-sharp novel about love, marriage and obligation is a beach book only because you could zip through it anywhere."
-More magazine
"A gripping tale about two crumbling marriages, [BIRD IN HAND] offers a realistic and, at times, heartbreaking look at love and friendship."
-RealSimple.com, Entertainment Pick
"Kline's unflinching gaze and lovely prose set [BIRD IN HAND] apart from the herd of infidelity/marital ennui novels. It's well-done, thoughtful and thought-provoking."
-Publishers Weekly
"[Bird in Hand] exhibits an unsparing eye for the telling details that reveal how people think and act."
-Library Journal
"Kline explores the complications of the lines and bonds between marriage and friendship with honest and complex emotions on all four narrative fronts."
-Booklist
"In BIRD IN HAND, Christina Baker Kline looks at marriage, at parents and children, pain and sorrow, and at all the questions that life asks us. This is a wise and lovely book."
-Roxana Robinson, author of Cost
"Christina Baker Kline is a relentless storyteller. Once she sets her hook and starts reeling you in, struggle becomes counterproductive. The narrative line is too taut, the angler at the other end too skillful."
-Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls and That Old Cape Magic
"It is both thrilling and terrifying to read this powerful new novel and think: this could be me. Christina Baker Kline takes us on an intimate journey with her characters, one that brings us dangerously close to the hidden truths about love, trust and friendship."
-Ellen Sussman, author of Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex; Bad Girls: 25 Writers Misbehave; and On a Night Like This
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