The Evening Chorus (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780544348691)

Amid the chaos of World War II, three people find unexpected freedom through their connection to the natural world--from the author of Rabbit Foot Bill.

Downed during his first mission, James Hunter is taken captive as a German POW. To bide the time, he studies a nest of redstarts at the edge of camp. Some prisoners plot escape; some are shot. And then, one day, James is called to the Kommandant's office. Meanwhile, back home, James's new wife, Rose, is on her own, free in a way she has never known. Then, James's sister, Enid, loses everything during the Blitz and must seek shelter with Rose. In a cottage near Ashdown forest, the two women jealously guard secrets, but form a surprising friendship. Each of these characters will find unexpected freedom amid war's privations and discover confinements that come with peace. The Evening Chorus is a beautiful, astonishing examination of love, loss, escape, and the ways in which the intrusions of the natural world can save us.


"The Evening Chorus serenades people brutally marked by war, yet enduring to live -- and relish -- the tiny pleasures of another day. With her trademark prose -- exquisitely limpid -- Humphreys convinces us of the birdlike strength of the powerless." -- Emma Donoghue

"The Evening Chorus sparkles." --Jo Baker

"A poised, lyrical novel about the griefs of war, written with poetic intensity of observation." --Helen Dunmore

Author: Helen Humphreys
ISBN-10: 0544348699
ISBN-13: 9780544348691
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Language: English
Published: 02/03/2015
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.52lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.20w x 0.80d
Award: Governor General's Literary Awards - Finalist

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 12/01/2014 pg. 29
Kirkus Reviews 12/01/2014
New York Times Book Review 04/19/2015 pg. 19