Jones, Stephen Graham - The Bird Is Gone: A Manifesto

[oyceter]

This is a murder mystery set in an alternate future in which the Indian Territories have reverted to Indian control via an environmental act of Congress—Congress wanted to preserve the flora and the fauna of the Territories, but they realized without Indians there, it was going to be pretty damn hard. And hey, Indians were still classified as fauna...

It's also extremely snarky, dives into other narratives written by the characters in the book, and, unlike most sfnal works, leaves most of the worldbuilding in the glossary instead of the text. I was lured into reading the book when sanguinity posted snippets from the glossary, which are fascinating.

I keep debating about writing this up or not. Against: I read this when I didn't really have enough brain to appreciate it and I still feel like 80% of it flew right over my head. Against: I currently don't feel like I have enough brain to write about it, particularly since I had to return the book to the library a month or so ago. For: More people should read this and talk about it in smart ways so I can eavesdrop!

Jones uses the set up to talk about the fishbowl effect of having paparazzi/anthropologists surround the border of the Territories, wanting to get their hands and microphones on a Real Live Indian, only of course, there are no Real Live Indians real enough for them. I especially love all the bits about identity and authenticity, how it's complicated and tangled enough inside a group, and even more so when you add on the spectators. I suspect a huge percentage of this went over my head, which I'm fine with, since it's not really a book that should be talking to me or for me.

It feels more like literary fiction than SF to me, largely because of the present-tense voice in the present-day chapters and the way Jones skips from omniscient POV to first-person to a variety of other things in the manifesto snippets. I was going to say it also felt a lot like literary fiction because I feel the worldbuilding isn't as tied into the plot as I'd usually expect with something SF/fantasy. I mean, it is, because obviously the plot would not exist without it, but it also isn't in that the big plot revelations aren't really about the worldbuilding, like they would be in most SF/fantasy that isn't cross genre—I get the same impression from paranormal romances FWIW.

In conclusion: really interesting, and I feel I need to read it about eighteen more times just to figure out the plot.

Links:
- sanguinity's review

Comments

[sanguinity]

Hee! I don't get it all, either. LP Deal's manifesto, f'rinstance, is pretty much a cipher to me: I'm not sure why it's included in the text at all. But the subtitle of the novel is "a manifesto"; you know LP Deal's manifesto is somehow a key to understanding everything. And there's more like that.

But the parts that speak to me? Speak to me. Oh, but they speak to me.

And I'd agree with your litfic v. SF thoughts. Both this and The Fast Red Road live in that litficcy nominally-SF space. I wouldn't go so far as to say they're not SF -- The Fast Red Road, f'rinstance, feels much like Repo Man and Ubik -- but they are absolutely not written straight up the middle of the genre. In fact, genre classifications might be one of the big things that The Bird is Gone is messing about with, in a literary sense: it's not just the SF genre that it's failing to conform to, but the mystery genre, as well. (Hm, the novel has its own meta-level issues around identity and authenticity? I would not be surprised.)

I really, really need to re-read, and see what comes up this time.

[oyceter]

Ahahaha, so yes to the reaction to LP's manifesto as "???" But OMG I love the stuff about the Indian penny and the twins and their profiles and the anthropologists hovering like vultures by the border and how he manages to fit so much into just "pinkeye was all the rage."

And I really want to go back and look at the bits about Coyote and the attempts to time travel and stop Columbus, as well as that terrible fictional journey where they just keep dying and the hair in the grass... I think I like those bits because I love the metanarrative and also, my brain looks at the modern setting bits and quails at the litfic-ness.

Hm, the novel has its own meta-level issues around identity and authenticity

So cool!!

But yes! This is why I want more people to read and talk about it because I am sure they will talk about interesting things I totally missed and etc!

... hrm. I wonder if there would be interest in doing a bookclub read for a con or something.

[sanguinity]

Yargh, I don't even remember the stuff about Coyote and Columbus!

Yes, yes, about group discussions! As I recall, the class discussion was very weak because people were struggling with it so much. Most hadn't picked up on who the narrator was, needed "pinkeye was all the rage" explained, etc.

...but hey, maybe if you do ever do come this way, I'll set you up to meet Grace and we can all talk about Bird is Gone? And maybe Night Wanderer? She is all heart and warm and fun and not scary at all, I promise.

[oyceter]

That would be SO COOL! I will probably be intimidated and fangirly but SO COOL!!!

[sanguinity]

Hah. It'd amuse me to see you try to be intimidated by her. And she'd fangirl right back at you, I guarantee it. She's a big fan of my internet friends.

BTW, I never told you her response to your fic? She said it was awesome. And wanted to know the etiquette on forwarding it to Jones himself.

[oyceter]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd be okay as long as he wouldn't mind or sue or... whatever I guess? I mean, I do not want to offend him!!

[sanguinity]

I told her that most canon creators and fan creators have a DADT relationship, for various it's-just-easier-that-way reasons, but that most canon creators know that the fic is out there, and can go find it if they want to find it. Although Jones might reasonably expect to not have any fic out there, and thus wouldn't know that he could go looking for it if he wanted to see it.

But if you want, I'll let her know that you're happy to have it forwarded to him, if she thinks he'd be flattered instead of offended.

[oyceter]

Eeeeee! Thank you!!