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Title: The Gravity of Birds

Author: Tracy Guzeman

Narrator: Eric Meyers

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-15-13

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

How do you find someone who wants to be lost? Sisters Alice and Natalie were once close, but adolescence has wrenched them apart. Alice is a dreamer who loves books and birds; Natalie is headstrong, manipulative and beautiful. On their lakeside family holiday, Alice falls under the thrall of a struggling young painter, Thomas Bayber. Natalie, however, seems strangely unmoved, tolerating sittings for a family portrait with surprising indifference. But by the end of the summer, three lives are shattered.

Decades later, Thomas, now a world-renowned artist, reveals the existence of a portrait of himself with Alice and Natalie from that fateful summer. The sisters themselves have disappeared without a trace. And Thomas is torn between taking the secrets of the girls to the grave, or using the painting to resurrect the past before it closes up on them all for good

Critic Reviews:

A beautifully written, compelling story. I absolutely loved it. (Lucy Clarke, author of The Sea Sisters)

A compelling first novel (The Bookseller)

"One of those rare, exquisitely written novels that haunt you long after you've finished the last page. It is a novel not to be missed." (Alyson Richman, author of The Lost Wife)

Part mystery, part psychological drama and intriguing love story. This is a stunning debut. (Ellen Sussman, author of French Lessons)

Members Reviews:

The Gravity of a Good Book

This is a book is about two sisters. Both beautiful, but both broken. One mentally and the other physically. It is thought that these sisters have paintings that two art experts are asked to find by the wildly famous, spoiled, aging, and alcohoic artist who painted them.

The two art experts--one oldish and one youngish each have their own losses and hangups to deal with. Their often bickering relationship adds

a little lightness to what is until the end a very depressing story.

The title of this book grabbed me immediately and the review score of between four and five stars made me buy it. I rarely read the reveiws until after I finish a book and then I am usually amazed or appalled at what people write. The Gravity of Birds is a little depressing for my tastes, but I am happy I read it. I enjoy books that teach me a little about art. It's very interesting to know what people think an artist is saying in a painting. My conclusion is that you can't be a great painter unless you have deep feelings or a high IQ.

Impressive first novel

It had been awhile between reading reviews and downloading this book and finally getting around reading it, so I had no expectations. The story follows the lives of two sisters through flashbacks of the younger sister plus the unraveling of their mysterious relationships with an artist who caused life-altering heartache for both.

The story is complex and beautifully written. The author tends to digress rather like your aged great aunt when allowing characters to "wander in their thoughts" during important, tense passages. This was acceptable early in the book when character was being developed, but it was mildly irritating deeper into the plot. However, this was a minor criticism, and I did really enjoy the book. It has some darkness but there were also some scenes where I laughed out loud at exchanges between an art history professor and an antisocial analyst.

I hope to read more from this author.

A good book with flashes of brilliance

"The Gravity of Birds" is an ambitious but uneven book.