Starling Days, Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
Starling Days, Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

Starling Days
A Novel

Author: Rowan Hisayo Buchanan

Narrator: Sarah Borges

Unabridged: 10 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/07/2020


Synopsis

On their first date, Mina told Oscar that she was bisexual, vegetarian, and on meds. He married her anyhow. A challenge to be met.She had low days, sure, but manageable. But now, maybe not so much. Mina is standing on the George Washington Bridge late at night, staring over the edge, when a patrol car drives up. She tries to convince the policeman that she’s not about to jump, but he doesn’t believe her. Oscar is called to pick her up.With the idea of leaving New York for London—a place for Mina “to learn the floor-plan of this sadness”—Oscar arranges a move. In London, Mina, a classicist, tries grappling with her mental health issues by making lists of women who survived: Penelope, Psyche, Leda, Iphigenia, but only in one of the tellings. Of things that make her happy: enamel coffee cups. But what else? She at last finds a beam of light in Phoebe, and friendship and attraction blossom until Oscar and Mina’s complicated love is tested.A gorgeously wrought novel, variously about love, mythology, mental illness, Japanese beer, and the times we need to seek out milder psychological climates, Starling Days is written in exquisite prose rich with lightly ironic empathy.

About Rowan Hisayo Buchanan

Rowan Hisayo Buchanan is an American and British writer. She received her BA from Columbia and her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her first novel, Harmless Like You, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and NPR Great Read. She is the editor of the Go Home! anthology, and her work has appeared in Granta, Guernica, the Guardian, and the Paris Review.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nikita on August 29, 2019

There is so much brilliance in this beautiful book. Rowan Hisayo Buchanan's writing is truly breathtaking. Rich, poignant prose, along with a gorgeous plot full of the complexity of human relationships make this book one of the best I have ever read.......more

Goodreads review by Eric on July 17, 2019

Earlier this year I read the moving memoir “Mind on Fire” in which the author recounts his experiences with manic-depression, suicidal thoughts and the destructive impact his mental health issues have upon his personal relationships. An experience similar to this is dramatically rendered in Rowan Hi......more

Goodreads review by Fiona on May 11, 2022

For anyone who has ever been or who currently is feeling depressed, this book is for you. It perfectly incapsulates the beautiful and heartbreaking intricacies of a damaged or broken mind going through mental illness, whilst also leaning us gently towards a glimmer of hope that we can overcome our d......more


Quotes

“Tenderly explores mental illness, bisexuality, connection, love, and loss…[A] striking literary triumph.” Ms. Magazine

“Unravelling the truth is one of the considerable pleasures of this beautifully written novel.” The Spectator (London)

“Portraying complex character and tangled interpersonal relations with striking maturity.” Financial Times (London)

“An exquisite rendering of love, sadness, and misunderstanding…I want to share this book with everyone I know.” Paris Review

“A must for anyone who’s struggled with depression or loves someone who does.” The Stylist

“Addresses adult-child relationships, the legacy of family trauma, and the challenge of offering unconditional love.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A worthy, nuanced portrait of a woman’s struggle for self-determination amid mental illness.” Publishers Weekly

“Buchanan’s newest presents another self-absorbed cast made memorably affecting by real-life challenges.” Booklist

“A quiet triumph—tenderly and disarmingly exploring the responsibility of love, loneliness, and what it is to feel lost.” Sophie Mackintosh, author of The Water Cure


Awards

  • Costa Book Award
  • Millions.com Pick
  • Oprah Magazine Pick
  • Paris Review Selection