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Jodi
Silver Member
USA
19 Posts |
 Posted - 05/24/2005 : 18:01:52
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I read the book and I gotta be honest, I didn't like it. Some of his observations were neat but that's about it. I didn't really care for his attitude throughout the book.
Not to mention that he has basically spent his life mooching off other people. Over time he got "tired" of the birds and found them to be a "burden".
Here's an example of a paragraph that *bothered* me. The bird "Ginsberg" that he's referring to is a wild bird he captured and brought into his tiny mold infested studio because she was sick... he was trying to help. Verbatim from The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill by Mark Bittner. Here we go:
"Ginsberg deteriorated quickly. Her condition got to be as bad as Tupelo's. Although I was unencumbered by any other birds, I didn't give her the best of care. I was distracted by my own problems, and the novelty of having wild parrots in the house was long gone. One day, thinking that the lack of attention might be contributing to her decline, I picked her up and tried to give her some affection. She was stronger than I thought and managed to jump out of my hands. She landed on the floor and started scooting toward the open door. I hadn't clipped her wings, and I was terrified she might fly away. So I sprinted after Ginsberg, pouncing on her just as she reached the welcome mat. She was in my hands, squirming and biting, while just a few feet away a scrub jay, who had witnessed the whole thing from the mirror plant, started screaming bloody murder. The jay was chastising me vehemently and would not stop. I liked to think of myself as a friend to all the birds and feeling the desire to defend myself against his unjust accusations, I gave him imploring looks. But he kept glaring and screeching at me. Finally, in a snit, I wheeled around and took Ginsberg back inside, slamming the door"
It's hard to put into words how the book left a bad taste in my mouth. There were little things all throughout the book that I didn't like. I forced myself to finish the book because I wanted to see if he learned anything. His whole "goal" in dealing with the parrots was to befriend one and get it to like him. Once he accomplished that, he felt "burdened" by the birds and wasn't as interested in them anymore.
I was very excited to read the book and very disappointed when I started it. I had planned on going to the movie but I don't really want to give him any of my money. It would be neat to see the birds flying free but I just disliked the book so much I don't know if I could sit through the movie. Who knows, maybe the movie is different.
Two thumbs down on the book. And of course... JMHO!
Mama to Toby, a.k.a. The Clown
Harlequin Macaw, 2 yrs 8 months old
www.ParrotTimes.com |
Edited by - Jodi on 05/24/2005 18:05:48 |
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The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
