A nasty, brilliant critique of feminism, ecoterrorism, and those annoying folks known as birders. ( )

Tiffany and Stephen are American birdwatchers living in Berne, where Stephen is some kind of researcher. At the start of the novel, there is an accident and Tiffany loses a baby. A wallcreeper is hurt in the accident, and they take it back home with them.

And that's pretty much all we hear about the wallcreeper. It drops from sight soon enough, which makes one wonder at the title.

The two seem to have an open marriage, and Tiffany engages in desultory sex with a variety of uninspiring partners. Zink can't write a sex scene to save her life, so this might not have been a wise plot element for her to go with. The two of them get involved in environmental protests for obscure and unconvincing reasons, and the actions they choose to take are, frankly, ridiculous. The ending is manipulative and contrived.

This book really is terrible. ( )

Can't say I really understood the book but it was short and very funny in spots. Would like to read more by this author. ( )

Nell Zink seems like an interesting writer, so I thought I'd begin at the beginning with her first novel. I have never read Franzen, but I can't see WHY Zink is Franzen's protege, other than the billion birds mentioned in 'The Wallcreeper'. (Somehow I thought the title "wallcreeper" had something to do with a different name for "wallflower", but with a worse, creepier connotation or something, blame that on the cover, I guess. I never knew that wallcreeper was a bird.) Which speaks to a larger theme that I can read this and notice that Zink is a VERY smart writer -- but smart as in she might be writing something that goes way over my head and the heads of most readers. Or the book just doesn't really make sense to anyone? Even Zink? I don't see the purpose of the book or what it was trying to do. I would set this book on the shelf beside 'The Visitors' by Jessi Jezewska Stevens - both books share the same spirit, and both are also very smart and go over my head. But 'The Visitors' is THE BEST. try it. ( )

no my style or favorite.