She Treads Softly: Songs by Honeybird

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Songs by Honeybird

Songs by Honeybird by Peter McDade
3/29/22; 250 pages
Wampus Multimedia

Songs by Honeybird by Peter McDade is a highly recommended novel about a break-up, a band, and a talking dog.

It's been two weeks since Ben and Nina broke up. They were planning to move together when Nina confessed to Ben that her dog, Sid, talks and is actually a reincarnated being. This was more than Ben was willing to accept. Ben, a Doctoral candidate, is researching the South's first integrated rock band, Honeybird, for his dissertation. The band ended abruptly after a tragic fire and information on the band is scarce.

The narrative alternates between Nina and Ben's point-of-view and covers their past relationship and their current activities as they move on after the breakup. While Ben is researching and uncovering information on the band, Nina begins to seek the truth about her father's death. The characters are well-developed and their portrayal is authentic and empathetic. Many will be able to relate to both of them. Even supporting characters resemble the real friends and family members many of us have.

The writing is very good and allows the plot to unfold in an honest manner while also examining their past relationship. Admittedly, the whole talking dog direction of Nina's story arch hindered the complete enjoyment of the narrative for me. Alternately, I relished Ben's chapters and following his research on Honeybird and the past. 3.5 rounded up

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Wampus via NetGalley.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.