Book Review: Imperfect Birds

It has been about six and a half years since I first stumbled upon Anne Lamott. I remember sitting in the indoor pool in Arlington Heights, reading her famous writing tome, Bird by Bird, while Bryce swam. I was pregnant with my second son and happily settled in to reading after finishing my own laps. It was an awesome book, and I have contextualized it into my brain with the location where I read the book.

I will admit that I am not as big a fan of Lamott's fiction as I am of her non-fiction. But still, if she can write about the task of writing so brilliantly, I'm usually game to try one of her novels. This time around, I selected Imperfect Birds, because it dealt with a teen whose lies sabotage the lives of her family members. This seemed like perfect reading since I was working on a novel about a teen boy whose lies create havoc for the lives around him.

In Imperfect Birds, we are introduced first to the parents, Elizabeth (a recovering alcoholic) and James (a step-father). They want to believe the best of their daughter, Rosie, but are definitely struggling with navigating the tricky waters of parenting a teen. It was a very realistic portrayal of the dynamics at play in many parent-child relationships, where the child is keenly attuned to the weaknesses and needs of the parent. Elizabeth's desperate need for everyone to be happy fuels the perfect atmosphere for her daughter's ongoing deception and downward spiral into addictive destructiveness.

At times, it was almost too much, to read the nitty gritty of such troubled lives. I wanted to look away ... to not know how easily some teens acquire substances for consumption. I didn't want to peek in these windows. Yet, at the same time, I cried as the story unfolded and felt the mother's deep frustration and helplessness. Once the parents sent Rosie off to a wilderness rehabilitation facility, the novel began to enter into the restoration phase. Rosie had to face her own demons and Elizabeth began to see herself as separate from her child.

Although it won't go on my favorites of 2010 list, it was definitely worth the read. Plus, I think I benefited from reading a story about a teen while writing my own teen fiction. I only wish I had been able to review this when the book was more recently on my mind.