Where do literary ambitions come from? And if they ever leave a writer, where do they go?

The poet, John Keats, wrote of <i>La Belle Dame sans Merci</i> who lured a young knight on an adventure, only to leave him hopelessly stranded by a lakeside were "no birds sing." The title of the book is just one of the literary allusions Meier uses to carry Beckman and Malany from a chance meeting in Baltimore onto a road trip through Virginia and Tennessee.

Malany is a "poetess" who doesn't seem to find an audience in Charm City, and Beckman is a young man with literary ambitions (sans portfolio) eager to leave his dead-end job at a diner. Spur of the moment, they take off in Malany's rattly Oldsmobile to pursue their ambitions: Beckman to promote her book of poems while Malany keeps the money flowing thanks to visits from a mysterious driver in a Lincoln who follows her everywhere.

I was expecting a road trip novel through areas I'm quite familiar with, but the novel hinges on two set pieces: first, a visit in a conservative, rural Virginia town, where Malany's poetry reading causes an uproar, and a final set in Memphis, where Beckman and Malany must decide between a life of artistic asceticism and secure futures with wealthy Sugardaddies (or mamas). Goals of literary success are interspersed with dreams of driving to California, neither is seriously pursued.

While I live in Tennessee, and really love the road-trip genre, I just didn't connect with this book, provided free by NetGalley in return for an honest review. The relationship between Beckman and Malany just never developed after the first 60 pages (Malany never really makes a decision on her own). Characters appear and disappear with little reason or connection to the plot. I also had trouble placing the action in a set time. Malany drives a 1970s Olsmobile. Another character drives a 1920s Model A around town. It was really hard for me to see a context for the action.

Alas, I must be <i>une beau critique de livre sans merci</i>, but either this novel didn't "sing" for me, or I just couldn't follow the tune.

This was absolutely remarkable. I started this at 8pm and couldn’t stop until I was finished. The writing was lyrics and engrossing. I can’t even count the number of annotations I made solely based on the fact that lines/paragraphs related to me on such a personal level.

Also, I’m a sucker for books that have references to other books/authors so this really landed for me.