Birdeye set in the Catskills,NY

Submitted: 30th April 2024

Birdeye set in the Catskills,NY – Judith Heneghan

A quiet, gentle novel this one. It draws you in slowly but surely. Until you are resident at Birdeye and living off grid with the others.

Then a stranger comes calling and life at Birdeye will never be the same again.

Map of literary locations in Birdeye

Birdeye set in the Catskills, New York

BOARDING PASS INFORMATION

Destination : Catskills, NY

Author guide: Judith Heneghan

Genre: fiction

Food and drink to accompany: whatever you can forage

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A novel to transport you to the remote Catskills community of Birdeye

Map of literary locations in Birdeye

A gentle novel this one. Slow and thoughtful. I had no idea what to expect really but the cover art mesmerized me to the point that I wanted to step inside and find out for myself. This, I found is very much the effect the community of Birdeye has on all who approach it. Like Conor at the start of the novel, I was timid and alone when I approached this, but soon found my feet as the place, the people and the house got under my skin.

The scene setting really is quite something. Those who live here live simply and quiet. They venture out to Woodstock and smaller towns to buy supplies. By the way, I really did look for the store called ‘Hope Springs Eternal’ selling all kinds of nicknacks as I would SO go there. They live off grid, but once you find out why and how they moved here, it brings all kinds of questions to the fore. One of their relatives lives in England and when she comes to stay, there’s an interesting insight into community, what home represents and the bonds that tie us across oceans.

The ideal location for this novel is of course the Catskills – remote enough to be off the beaten track, but close enough to civilisation to offer the basics of life. What moved me was the fact this used to be a thriving commune but now was the home of a few select people, all with their own demons and reasons for clinging to one another. What was once stable and unquestioned, gets turned on its head and as the reader, we watch the fallout with baited breath.

I felt vested in these people, wanting to know more about them. They crept up on me quietly and have left me thinking about them.

It’s a very lyrical and thoughtful novel which every reader will take something different from. A mediation in book form.