We had very mixed views about 'The Bird Skinner', however,  I think it's fair to say that we concurred that the title was pretty off putting. Notwithstanding, we read it and most of us found aspects of the story interesting, even intriguing. The protagonist, Jim, is a second world war veteran and renowned ornithologist. He is an angry, damaged man suffering from PTSD, depression following, among other things, the loss of his beloved wife to suicide, his recently amputated and increasingly infected stump of a leg, acute alcoholism and complete disaffection with life. He is a bitter man, rendered so as a result of the bullying suffered during childhood at the hands of his cruel but wealthy grandfather and his terrible wartime experiences.  From the start there is a sense of foreboding of how it well might end.

The story blends Jim's past ornithological life with his current geographical isolation, using shifting time frames. (A device that can be annoying for the reader and disruptive to the narrative flow). The references to birds is luminous and vibrant blurring Jim's memories both with his reality and dreams, past and present.

Central to Jim's story is his wartime experience as a soldier in the Solomon Islands and his time with Tosca, his young native scout, who guides him behind enemy lines to spy for US naval intelligence. Tosca becomes his pupil and friend. Jim teaches him how to track, observe and skin birds thus leaving him with a skill for life. Together they survive the war but the 'bird skinning' is referenced morbidly through the wartime experiences -  and crimes - committed by both Japanese and Americans 'trophy gathering', and at the very end of the book this is also referenced as a cultural practice for Solomon Islanders to clean and save the skulls of their dead ancestors. 

There are a number of additional threads running through the story from the Robert Louis Stevenson biography, the intrigues and relationships during Jim's years at the University, his disfunctional life with his son, Fergus, the brief but important visit of Cadillac, Tosca's vibrant, intelligent, beautiful daughter,  but nothing seems to lessen the central themes of tragedy, loss, unhappiness, guilt and relentless suffering. 

(Is it necessary to revisit old traumas or reopen old wounds? Who benefits from this? Does this help with healing or just reinfect the past?)

Much of this story was inspired by the author's life, using her 'difficult and unpredictable grandfather' - a well known ornithologist - as a source both for his wartime experiences in the Pacific and his role in her life. Was this book therapeutic for her?