Beautiful if Eccentric

I initially picked up "The Bird Catcher" (St. Martin's, 2009), a novel by Laura Jacobs, because the reviews made it sound clever and stylish, and because it was set in Manhattan (regular readers of this blog will know of my affinity for that setting). It did not disappoint. The main character, Margret Snow, is certainly intelligent and interesting, as is her older professor husband; she is a dropout from her doctoral program at Columbia, now a windows artist for upscale department stores. The Manhattan setting does not disappoint: there are many admirably non-cliched scenes involving art, literature, music, fashion, dinner parties and other pleasures of Manhattan life. Jacobs also conveys the feeling of different parts of Manhattan very well, with very specific descriptions of walks and taxi rides through various neighborhoods and parks. The aspect that makes this novel stand out is foretold in the title: the main character is a bird watcher, a bird catcher, a bird artist, and finally, a bird taxidermist. This last item is the strangest one, and the detailed scenes in which Margret learns to stuff tiny birds and use them in her unique and beautiful art pieces -- pieces which provide a way to channel her pain and healing after a tragedy in her life -- are both repellent and fascinating. The author's strength is that she makes readers understand Margret's passionate love of birds and of these bird-related activities. Jacobs writes beautifully, even lyrically. The specificity of her writing is a pleasure, as are the convincing characters and the long, intelligent conversations she portrays. I highly recommend this novel.