This Bird Has Flown

This Bird Has Flown

Started with the Kathy Valentine memoir. Same grouping, although I know precious little of the Susanna Hoff story, prior. “Walk like an Egyptian” as a pop hit, and deeper cuts to “Hazy Shade of Winter,” and “Manic Monday,” I would guess, a personal fave. The era is all too blurry, and using my recollected data doesn’t serve well, but the book, and the author’s current social media blitzkrieg, is pretty amazing, and sold me on the idea of reading her book. The first few pages hooked me good, although, is it romance?

But pause and think, Capricorn, near the same age as Robert Earl Keen, Jr. and about same as the aforementioned Valentine, too. Herein is the problem: I prefer reading on my tablet as it has its own light, and I can usually do the continuous scroll, that makes for faster reading. But I get distracted. I had to stop and look up “The Bangles,” and that bounces back to the Go-Go’s, then a quick sideways trip to REK’s latest retirement thing, and a quick glance through news feeds then a wasted half hour on social media? Therein is the problem.

This Bird Has Flown

Rock and roll romance? A thrilling updated bodice ripper set against a modern version of music industries? A washed-up rockstar? No real taxonomy on the novel’s genre, but quite well-executed.

Fun book to read.

This Bird Has Flown

Laura Lippman