An interesting read of 80 year old Sophie's ruminations about her life while living with her nephew and his wife. While perhaps a quite realistic review of many people's lives, it was quite depressing in parts. I found the nephew an unappealing and annoying character who could leave a reader with a very negative impression of Christians, while his wife, Rachael was all a Christian woman ought to be. Sadly, I'm not sure the negative impression wouldn't be the most lasting for some readers. For those who like a happy ending, this story ends with a glimmer of hope, if not a burst of joy. ( )

80 yr old Sophia - married late in age, thought she had a wonderful marriage until the day her husband was shot and while on his death bed she discovered hidden files in her husbands office which discredited her entire married life. Bitter, cynical and judgemental as she sits in her apartment of nephew Patrick and his wife Rachel's home. Watching her birdhouse, the mortuary across the street and from her room, the comings and goings of Rachel and Patrick. ( )

Imagine gettng an assignment: You must write a novel and include a quote from Shakespeare and an allusion to birdwatching in each and every chapter. Could you do it? I know I couldn't, or that if I did it wouldn't we worth reading, but that's exactly what Jamie Langston Turner has done in this novel, and she makes it look effortless. Of course it helps that her main character is an 80 some year old woman who was married to a Shakespeare scholar and whose main occupation is watching the birds at the feeder outside of her window.
Turner, in her usual relective manner, has this character, named Sophie, observe the world around her with great detail and insight. You wouldn't think an elderly woman who stays at home all day and watches TV would create much of a story, but through Sophie the reader learns about Patrick and Rachel, who are struggling to reconnect with people after the tragic kidnapping and death of their children. They reach out to their neighbors, who have one daughter who is severly disabled and another who is a teenager on the verge of self-destruction. And they also connect with Sam, a black man on parole after being jailed for a burglary attempt. And of course there is Sophie herself, whose own troubled past includes a husband who was shot to death by his son. As Sophie thinks about quotes from Shakespeare and about birds, the reader also sees how God is at work behind the scenes, bringing together unlikely people to form a community and to reveal his love.
I highly recommend this book, but read it when you have the time to do some reflection of your own. And you might also be inspired to brush up on your Shakespeare or to do some birdwatching afterwards. After all, who knows what you might learn from it? ( )