Looking After Pigeon

by Maud Carol Markson

Of Maud Carol Markson s first novel, When We Get Home, Andre Dubus wrote, It may be the best story we have about marital love. In this, her second novel, Markson once again explores the sometimes... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579621872
• ISBN13: 9781579621872
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Permanent Press (NY)
• Length: 190 Pages

Customer Reviews

Lea in California

This is a heart-warming story about a single-parent family who faces life's many challenges in a very realistic way and thrives. Pigeon, the narrator, is a loveable little girl, gifted and wise beyond her years. This little books packs a wallop and the characters stay with you long after the story ends. A great read!

A Captivating Story

A captivating and beautifully-crafted work of fiction, this novel belongs at the top of the summer reading list. The story is seen through the eyes of 5-year-old Pigeon and focuses on her dysfunctional family, comprised of two precocious older siblings, a detached mother and a father who goes missing in action. Add to that the crew of quirky characters they meet up with when they take shelter one summer at the Jersey shore near Atlantic City, a place where seediness and casino glitz come together. It's the perfect setting for a summer that turns out to be transformative for Pigeon, as she learns about fending for herself while struggling to gain love and support from her family. Maud Carol Markson is a masterful writer, skillfully balancing heartbreak and humor as she delves into the drama of everyday life. Her characters will completely suck you in. At just under 200 pages, this wonderful book takes only a short time to read, but the characters will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

A Wonderful Story

I loved this book. It's a beautifully written story that both breaks your heart and repairs it all in 190 pages.

A Graceful and Generous Novel about Memory

Maud Carol Markson's slim novel begins with her adult narrator discussing the inconsistancy of memory. She relates how some events she remembers with an almost photograph precision, while entire years of her life, including important events, are totally forgotten. The narrator then explains that the summer when she was five years old has always haunted her memory, and (at the suggestion of a lover) she has decided to exorcise these ghosts by writing her memories down. The rest of the book is then narrated by 5 year old Pigeon, or, more precisely, by the adult Pigeon's memories of her fifth summer. We meet a lonely child, resiliant and insightful, who observes with a keen but always gracious eye the activities of her family: a mother who is controling and weak-willed, a father trapped, a sister longing for escape. Pigeon -- the young child and the adult -- is clear eyed and unsentimental in her descriptions but never mean-spirited despite her unhappiness. This book snuck up on me. When I began reading it, I thought it would be a rather run-of-the-mill memoir-type novel about family and growing up. But the delicacy of the scenes and the disonance of the narrator's voice (is it a five year old or an adult who is telling us these things?) quickly drew me in and I found myself completely emmeshed in Pigeon's world. Even now, several days after I finished reading, I still find myself remembering scenes and characters in this lovely book.

Splendid fiction! Great summer read

This is a gorgeous novel about a wonderful 5-year-old character named Pigeon, whose family is thrown into turmoil one summer when her father disappears. The voice is Pigeon's, when she's older, yet it evokes so poignantly and humorously a young child's point of view about the world -- and the family -- she is in. This is a book that holds me from start to finish through the sheer power and delight of the way in which the story is told. I love how deftly and compellingly the story unfolds; I love the insight and understanding of the whole. I've been incredibly lucky to read this book in advance of the actual publication. I urge you to read it, if you love superb literary fiction with a genuine and engaging voice. This is the real thing.