The Red Bird Sings
1896, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, USA, and Zona Heaster writes to the child she gave up for adoption. The letter is typed by Zona’s friend, wannabe journalist and daring bicyclist Lucy. It’s clear that Zona would never have parted with baby Elizabeth, had it not been for the ‘sin’ of being unmarried. Meanwhile, Mary Jane, her mother, frustrated by a daydreaming, failed-inventor husband, decides to become a spirit medium. To do so, she eschews her corsets: a move that embarrasses her family in a way that might be comparable to today’s reaction to a grandmother deciding to go shopping topless.
Less than a year later, Zona is married, and dead. Her husband, a respected man, arranges a swift burial. But Zona’s mother, and Lucy, have doubts. Despite considerable difficulties, they succeed in securing an inquest. The body is exhumed, and, through her mother, the spirit of Zona rejoins her community.
The novel has an unusual construction, weaving in letters, reports and conventional chapters focussing on different points of view. I found this a little confusing at first, but it piqued my curiosity. Gradually, a portrait of small-town America emerges, patriarchal, Biblical, and gossipy. While men rule the roost, women, hidden away at home, emerge to offer comfort in adversity. And yet, these same women chastise each other with the whip of gossip. Although at heart, this is an issue-led book, it’s based on true events, and the characters are unique enough to drive the story. Mary Jane, in particular, is an ambivalent, idiosyncratic personage, for whom my sympathy grew as I learned more about her. Recommended.
