Book Review: Anne Lamott's Perfectly 'Imperfect Birds'

I have just finished reading Anne Lamott's 'Imperfect Birds', and I am running short of words to describe how wonderful this book is. Although it does leave you feeling a little sad, pensive and brooding.

This novel begins with the line: 'There are so many evils that pull on our children'. With this very first  line the author skillfully pitches the story and prepares its readers for the events to unfold. This sense of foreboding that is expressed through the first line is the recurrent feeling  in the novel and in a way is the essence of the book.

'Imperfect Birds' is a story about a girl in her late teens who is addicted to drugs and alcohol and the struggle her parents endure to bring  her back to a normal life. So the world of 'Imperfect Birds' is naturally a  dark and despairing one. But not when Lamott, with her  compassionate and empathetic writing makes this book survive the grimness. Besides the author's great eye for detail, it is her  sense of dialogue writing too, that makes this book highly engaging. 

A novel that deals with the world of drug and alcohol abuse runs the risk of becoming repetitive with things going on in circles. But Lamott, by focusing on the psychological side of the menace, manages to keep the story lively and gripping. This book is particularly sensitive while dealing with the trials and tribulations of the parents, who are divided between their sense of duty and their unconditional love towards their daughter. The dichotomy of how much is too much, and how little is too less, in terms of their control over their daughter, is deftly dealt with, and is bound to resonate with every parent. 

It is not easy  to pull off a story where the protagonist is always on the wrong side of things. But when the same person manages straight As in school, weaves magic with her words, loves her parents despite feigning indifference, one cannot help but accept her for who she is. And this seems to be Lamott's masterstroke with which she shines in this novel. All her characters have shades of grey and all are flawed and dysfunctional in some way or the other. Just as the daughter is falling prey to the insidious world of addiction, the mother is shown to have a history of alcohol problem. And the author uses these layers to beautifully complicate the story to weave an intricate tale of complex human emotions. 

Even if one doesn't have access to this world Lamott so sensitively paints, the emotions explored in it are universal. And when such deep human emotions are expressed though a narrative that is so compelling, it lingers on long after one has finished reading the book. The author has a knack for saying the most profound things in utterly simple words. There are many captivating lines in the novel that make one pause, reflect and marvel. One such line that stayed with me is: 'Tattoos (are) psychic band-aids to cover the wounds.' 

At the end, a book that takes you through a gamut of emotions does not end with all loose ends tied up neatly. The novel ends on a hopeful note but leaves its readers wondering about the fates of these people. But either way, 'Imperfect  Birds' is a runaway winner for the perfectly imperfect world it creates and the way it leaves you feeling.