Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Every Last Cuckoo


Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy is the Book Babes selection this month.  I read the beginning and the end, and bits in the middle so I could take part in the discussion, but I confess I didn't read the rest and most likely won't.

I appreciate the premise.  Sarah is 75 when her husband dies, leaving her in a state of deep grief and financial need.  Her solution is to open her home and heart to some 'lost souls,' tending them as she would her very own.

Cuckoos are what's called brood parasites, because they lay their eggs in others' nests to avoid tending to their own chicks.  So the title is a handy metaphor, with Sarah trying her best to save the cuckoos.  She turns out to be quite the heroine, literally saving many lives at the end of the story.  There is even a love interest waiting for her in the shadows, when she has time to catch her breath and recognize he patiently awaits.

The author's voice in this book comes through as a tad too judgmental for my taste. And things wrap up a bit too tickity-boo.  I really didn't like it, which is too bad, because we need more good books about Crones. 

This is the author's first novel.  She has also written a memoir about her Quaker upbringing, which I'm putting on my reading list - from the little I know about Quakers I think they are amazing, daring to go where few have the faith and courage.

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