Bird Life

Magic, mental illness, and sorrow drive this powerful offering from New Zealander Smaill (The Chimes). After Yasuko Kinoshita’s adult son, Junichiro, moves out of their shared apartment in Tokyo, Yasuko feels the return of a mystic power she’d long forgotten. Driven by a prophecy from a peacock (“We are sending you a girl,” the bird tells her) and looking to fill the void left by Junichiro, Yasuko befriends Dinah Glover, a visiting New Zealander and fellow English instructor at Saitama Denki University. As the relationship between the two women deepens, they divulge their tragic pasts to each other—Yasuko’s escape from an abusive marriage; the suicide of Dinah’s disturbed twin brother, Michael. Eventually, Yasuko uses her power to help bring Michael back from the dead. All is upended when Dinah, hoping to repay her friend, locates the absent Junichiro, who paints a very different picture of his mother than the one Dinah has come to believe. Ambiguity creeps in: is Yasuko a powerful psychic, a manic depressive, or both? Smaill excels equally at emotional drama, magical realism, and horror. Readers will find much to love. (Jan.)