I really enjoyed the listening experience of Book of Wings. The narrator is really excellent. The story itself is short and flitty in a good way. Our main character is reeling from the end of her relationship and looks at the different journeys or migrations she has done around her relationship with her ex-lover. I think this will be a marmite book in that Evanson rights with poetry, emotion, and lots of imagery. I really liked that but I imagine some will find it too over the top. It is the kind of book I might see on a table in a store and hold it up to my friend saying “oh I really liked this”.

Blurb:
In this sweeping, allusive novel, the celebrated poet, dervish, and oral storyteller Tawhida Tanya Evanson come to terms with what it means to stand on one’s own two feet in an uncertain world. The acclaimed Antiguan-Canadian artist traces a global journey from Vancouver to the United States, Caribbean, Paris, and Morocco as a relationship with her lover and travel partner disintegrates and she finds herself on a path toward personal discovery and spiritual fulfillment that leads her deep into the North African landscape.

Book review:
The book was a great work of poetry and pulled together different cultures. I liked the fact that French was the main language of the protagonist but speaking french for me having to read the same sentence in French and then English was repetitive and unnecessary. The protagonist was healing from a failed relationship, struggling to accept herself, but I believed that there was a clash of poetry and text that I would have preferred to be more defined.
I loved the fact that the story was short, as it was enjoyable to listen to, and was a snippet of art that colored my day.
Overall, if you love poetry and different cultures, this is the book for you, as we explore different parts of the world, places that help the protagonist navigate through her personal trauma.

This book is a journey of places as well as self discovery. It is written in beautiful language, with a mix of poetry and prose. It feels like the author has cut herself wide open, baring all. It is gut wrenchingly honest and raw.

It is primarily written in English with a good dose of French and Arabic, with translation provided. The story is based on the author’s real-life journey. The narrator begins her travels with a lover who eventually breaks her heart and deserts her. She forges ahead, traveling solo and shares the pain and agony of her loss along the way. She is vulnerable, but continues to seek meaning through her travels and discovers love once more, as well as herself, when she arrives in Africa.

The audio performance of this book is excellent; extremely well done with passion as you can feel the meaning behind every word. The back and forth between different languages, poetry and prose did cause my mind to wonder at times and I often found myself rewinding sections to hear what I missed. I also gave it a second listen in its entirety to catch everything.

I admire the author’s journey and honesty in its retelling. Definitely not the type of book I am typically drawn to, but that cover and my love for travel made me go for it. I appreciated what the author shared and enjoyed the beautiful text.

I loved the poetic nature of this book and I relished the way words were pieced together in such beautiful ways. I often found myself listening to passages over and over. Before listening to the audiobook, I had intended to read this book and now that I have listened to the audiobook, I still intend to do so. I can't decide which I think I'd like more. I really enjoyed listening to this book, but I suspect that I may appreciate absorbing the words with my eyes even more than my ears. Despite what that statement may imply, I thoroughly applaud the narrator - she did a fantastic job.

--Poetry takes poets to poets--

Book of Wings utilizes poetry and the poetic form in such a way, that it speaks directly to the power of the form when used to write a novel of a relationship in turmoil and of heartbreak that leads to subsequent soul-searching that is catalyzed as a result, where the author is able to convey with such clarity and depth what Maya is feeling and experiencing with such short yet nuanced sentences.

As we move from land to sea, to hotels and the desert, we see a sort of unfolding and crumbling of Maya as she tries to come to terms with her abandonment, as she questions why she was left so abruptly, no reason, no goodbye. It has mental and physiological effects on her body and the reader is right there with her as she goes through each stage. She fights against a further reopening of her desires and moves through this landscape that seems filled with men making advances, writing, meeting, eating, smoking, drinking, a new relationship, all in an attempt at finding herself and her place.

It really is a poignant novel and the narrator did a fantastic job of embodying the characters and the environments.

Unfortunately this one wasn't for me. The storyline follows the journeys of a woman as she comes to terms with the end of her relationship. It is messy and lyrical, dipping in and out of dreams and reality. Overall, it was a bit too vague for my taste.

I did love the use of multiple languages throughout the book. It deepened the exploration of culture and intimacy in the book.

Very quick read, well written and described account of a woman finding herself. Set in Vancouver and Morocco, the Moroccan people, culture and environment is really well described and you could feel yourself being transported there. Culturally very different but an interesting read. Thank you ~etGalley for the audiobook to review.

Book of Wings by Tawhida Tanya Evanson is a lyrical novel about a woman finding herself through travels and love. The audiobook narrator Athena Karkanis was great! I would definitely listen to another book narrated by her. The writing style in this novel is very poetic so I enjoyed the descriptions but sometimes a little hard to follow. We travel to many different places and there’s French and Arabic dialogue. I appreciated the glossary of Arabic words and phrases at the beginning of this book. I especially liked how it was at the beginning of this book because I’ve seen it at the end in other books and it’s more helpful at the beginning. I’d be curious to check out the print version of this book to see the page layouts. I’d also be interested to read this author’s poetry!
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Thank you to Bespeak Audio Editions via NetGalley for my ALC!

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press for the chance to listen to the Audiobook Book of Wings for Tawhida Tanya Evanson.

In this sweeping, allusive novel, the celebrated poet, dervish, and oral storyteller Tawhida Tanya Evanson comes to terms with what it means to stand on one's own two feet in an uncertain world. The acclaimed Antiguan-Canadian artist traces a global journey from Vancouver to the United States, Caribbean, Paris, and Morocco as a relationship with her lover and travel partner disintegrates and she finds herself on a path toward personal discovery and spiritual fulfillment that leads her deep into the North African landscape.

This is not the type of book l usual gravitate toward. Although it is a novel, it is written by a poet and I usually steer clear of poetry. I am so glad that I stretched myself to give it a chance. Written in an almost stream of consciousness made listening to the lyrical prose feel like someone singing to me sleep in the most enjoyable way. I can to listen this narrator for days! (MAY be the author, tried to research but couldn't find it)

I got lost in the story and never really know where I was as I followed the main character as she floats from situation to situation, country to country. The over-arching themes are love, sex, religion and the grief of living through all of the above are timeless and although I couldn't relate to being in the physical locations she found herself in, I could relate to the themes being explored. The story includes characters speaking in both French and Arabic. There is glossary of terms included at the beginning of the book which I imagine to be extremely helpful if you are e-reading or have a hard copy so I suggest that you do a combo listen/read or jot down the words and terms if you just going to listen.

If you ever wanted to travel to exotic places but don't have a passport this book just might be for you 4 stars.


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