During World War I, homing pigeons were used by the allied forces to send messages when phone lines and other human constructs simply failed. In the case of a battalion that made it farther behind enemy lines than its neighboring troops, these pigeons were literally a lifesaver. This book tells the story of that "lost battalion" through the eyes of its leader, Major Charles Whittlesey, and Cher Ami, the pigeon that delivered the life-saving message.
I'll have to admit that I wasn't expecting to read a WWI story told as the memories of a taxidermied pigeon when I picked this up, and honestly, I kinda wish I'd known what I was in for. I loved the realistic treatment of Major Whittlesey's reminiscences as a gay man in the war, but when it came to Cher Ami's chapter, I found I had trouble believing her philosophical ruminations on human constructs of war, religion, bigotry, and so many other things. Perhaps if I'd read Rooney's previous novel, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, I'd know what I was getting into. But this one was just too much.
NOW i CAN'T WAIT TO READ IT.
ReplyDelete