The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner
Genre: Historical fiction, WW2
Read: 26th July 2020
Published: 2nd April 2020
★ 1 star
I've read many books of Jews escaping the Nazis in Germany, Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy and the Greek islands. And each of them had their own merits to offer in their own captivating way. This one - THE YELLOW BIRD SINGS - however, does not. Although I'm clearly in the minority here since so many others have loved it.
Poland 1941: Roza and her 5 year old daughter Shira are hiding in barn from the Nazis during World War 2. At a time when people are denouncing their Jewish neighbours for something as little as a bag of sugar or flour, Roza and Shira feared they may be next. But Hernyk and Krystyna, despite fearing the Nazis, decide to let them stay. Although it comes at a price.
Rosa and Shira must spend their days, and nights, in absolute silence so as to not alert Henryk and Krystyna's children or their neighbours as to their presence. Their only entertainment are the stories Roza whispers to Shira about their family, their love of music and Shira's imaginary little yellow bird that sings for them. They develop their own form of sign language to communicate without using words.
It's all mundane boredom until one night Henryk comes to the barn loft and Rosa must insist that Shira remain facing the wall and go to sleep, although she can hear the strange noises and grunts that come from behind her. The next day, Henryk allows them to stay longer than the two nights Roza had first pleaded of him. After that, his nocturnal visits become frequent though I'm not exactly sure why, except maybe as some form of payment for allowing them to hide in his barn, as is his greedy ulterior motive for letting them stay.
THE YELLOW BIRD SINGS is only a short read but for me it was a confusing one. To be honest, I found it a little claustrophobic if not boring. I couldn't see much point in what was happening and if the little yellow bird was real or imaginary.
The writing had the feel of a children's book, so simplistic was its style, were it not for the sexual content.
In the end I did not complete the book, despite its short 200 pages, as I really didn't see the point. However, as I seem to be in the minority here, you may well enjoy it as many others have. I would have liked to but I just couldn't.
I would like to thank #JenniferRosner, #NetGalley and #PanMacmillan and #Picador for an ARC of #TheYellowBirdSings in exchange for an honest review.
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