The Spectator Bird

The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have started this review no less than ten times. As in the other three Stegner books I have read, I feel consummately inadequate to review such a fine author. It’s difficult to put into words the poignant emotional journey I take when I read his books. His writing is processed not just with the mind, but with the heart and soul. The Spectator Bird is the story of an old codger who at first seems unlikable, but who I really liked, and his reflections on his life. He reminded me a little of my Dad. The book brought back poignant memories of a talk I had with my Dad in the last year of his life- as he reflected on his life.
I think the timeline of the story is only about three days, but much of the book is flashback (through the reading of a journal) to a trip to Denmark he and his wife took many years before. The book is about aging and life, in general. And, as is true of all of the Stegner books I have read, it is a study of marriage and love, fidelity and devotion. . . and forgiveness. I have read Angle of Repose, Crossing to Safety, The Big Rock Candy Mountain, and now this one. This may be my favorite of all, though I think I have said that about each one. I can say equivocally that Stegner is one of my favorite authors of all time.




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