Contact

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Audio Review: The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner

The Yellow Bird Sings
In Poland, as World War II rages, a mother hides with her young daughter, a musical prodigy whose slightest sound may cost them their lives.

As Nazi soldiers round up the Jews in their town, Róża and her 5-year-old daughter, Shira, flee, seeking shelter in a neighbor’s barn. Hidden in the hayloft day and night, Shira struggles to stay still and quiet, as music pulses through her and the farmyard outside beckons. To soothe her daughter and pass the time, Róża tells her a story about a girl in an enchanted garden:

The girl is forbidden from making a sound, so the yellow bird sings. He sings whatever the girl composes in her head: high-pitched trills of piccolo; low-throated growls of the contrabassoon. Music helps the flowers bloom.

In this make-believe world, Róża can shield Shira from the horrors that surround them. But the day comes when their haven is no longer safe, and Róża must make an impossible choice: whether to keep Shira by her side or give her the chance to survive apart.

Inspired by the true stories of Jewish children hidden during World War II, Jennifer Rosner’s debut is a breathtaking novel about the unbreakable bond between a mother and a daughter. Beautiful and riveting, The Yellow Bird Sings is a testament to the triumph of hope—a whispered story, a bird’s song—in even the darkest of tim
es.
 
Audible Audio, Unabridged
Published March 3rd, 2020 by Macmillan Audio 
6 hours 42 minutes
4/5 

The Yellow Bird Sings is a heart-wrenching story of a mother's love and the lengths she will go to protect her child.

It isn’t a long audiobook, just under 7 hours that describes the journey as a Jewish mother and daughter flee from Nazi during WW2. The author was inspired by true stories of children hidden away during the war. I can’t even begin to imagine the feelings of heartache and despair that would force a parent to do this, even knowing it was the only way to protect them.

This is the author's debut, The Yellow Bird Sings is a well written story, lyrical with the musical elements in the audio, atmospheric to the dangers of the era and the compassion of those who help amidst a horrible time.
 
Even though I’ve seen this book around it wasn’t until Hannah Mary McKinnon’s FirstChapterFun reading that had me downloading the audio from Scribd right then and there.
 

No comments:

Post a Comment