Based on historical characters and events, A Gathering of Finches tells the story of a turn-of-the-century Oregon coastal couple and the consequences of their choices, as seen through the eyes of the wife, her sister, and her Indian maid. Along the way, the reader will discover reasons to trust that money and possessions can’t buy happiness or forgiveness, nor permit us to escape the consequences of our choices. The story emphasizes the message that real meaning is found in the relationships we nurture and in living our lives in obedience to God.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Sexual Content - 1/5
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Violence - 0/5
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Language - 0/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 2/5
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Summary
Overall Jane Kirkpatrick is a complicated author - I'm pretty sure I love her style . . . and then I read her A Gathering of Finches. It's not often I read a book that I can't decide if I like or not. Typically, I read the synopsis on the back or flyleaf, and pretty well know if I'm going to like the story. That, plus the fact that I have always liked Kirkpatrick's novels, left me unprepared for this story. It was so hard for me to like the main character, Cassie Hendrick Stearns Simpson. At the very first, I felt sorry for her because her parents treated her so poorly, clearly favoring her sister over her. But as the novel progressed and Cassie's character unfolded, I found myself appalled at her choices. But I kept reading mostly because I want to finish a novel no matter how bad I think it is. I couldn't relate to Cassie's choices. I felt badly for her early on in her loveless marriage, yes. But to walk away. To leave a child behind. To make no effort to stay connected to that child. To willingly live a lie and deceive others. To choose fun and entertainment over responsibility. These all rubbed me wrong. But I am glad that I stayed the course and finished reading to the very end. I should have trusted Mrs. Kirkpatrick's skill as an author who writes about hard things, who writes about the very real and difficult pains of if especially those that come as a result of less than good choices. I got to see both Cassie and Louie grow into more serious, more responsible, more charitable people. I got to see them squirm about their life choices as they experienced the consequences of them to themselves and others. This story made me think of the biblical
Ecclesiastes in which the wisest (?) and wealthiest of men, Solomon wrote that there is \"nothing new under the sun\" and that life is \"vanity, a chasing after the wind\". He had it all; he tried it all, and nothing, he found, delivered the happiness that he was seeking. It was as if, he didn't even know what it was (or Who is was) that would provide that happiness. This novel is so reminiscent of that kind of schizophrenic seeking for that \"something\" that could bring happiness. Mrs. Kirkpatrick writes in a choppy style, that if you're not used to her other books, might be hard to follow. But this book is odd in that three quarters of the book is written in the first person from Cassie's point of view, but then switches for several chapters to being told from the POV of different peers of Cassie's. Then it switches back to
Cassie, but ends with another chapter being told from her personal maid's POV. It was odd, but it also allows the reader to garner new insights into the characters. If this had been my first exposure to Jane Kirkpatrick, I may not have been so quick to pick up another of her novels. But I have read many of her novels, and I consider
her works to be \"topshelf\" material. This is just different, and if you stick with it, insightful in a different sort of way.