{"product_id":"and-the-birds-fled-to-helen-mae-innes-9781738592678","title":"And the Birds Fled to the Bush","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe leaves of the books are birds. The tightly scrunched ponytails of the girls are birds. The dreadlocks of their pothead boyfriends are birds. The doilies on the windowsills are birds. The Dominion Post held by an old man becomes a flock of birds and starts to fly away. The prescriptions for the sickness beneficiaries are birds caught in the down draft. The white paper bags that held raspberry cream donuts are birds. The receipts for reconditioned tyres are birds. The posters for a d-dub concert are birds. The Jackson's Café and Burger Bar wrappers, the Dolla $ave plastic bags, the Awaawa Library Teen-Zone fliers are birds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe valley's calm, quiet, waiting. Mrs Henderson thinks it's earthquake weather but she doesn't say anything, doesn't want to make a fuss. It's probably nothing. No one else notices it's quiet, too quiet, until everyone does at the same moment, like at a party when everything goes silent and no one wants to be the first to speak.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll the birds take flight at the sound of Mike's motorbike backfiring. They lift, for a moment, suspended.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEveryone turns and stares.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill they fly?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill they soar?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill they scatter? Like confetti? Like polystyrene beans from a burst beanbag?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr will they all move together as one?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA rising, folding, sweeping, blossoming, murmuration?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll the birds are airborne, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand the whole valley\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eholds\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eits\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebreath.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Helen Mae Innes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1738592677\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781738592678\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Piwaiwaka Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/05\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 252\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.61lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.57d","brand":"Helen Mae Innes","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48459614257407,"sku":"9781738592678","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_2f34908f-ecf9-42d5-813f-e4f05d957633.jpg?v=1777410800","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/and-the-birds-fled-to-helen-mae-innes-9781738592678","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}