- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday Canada (Aug 18 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385256353
- ISBN-13: 978-0385256353
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 14.5 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 295 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,884,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
Rare Birds, by Edward Riche is, like Home Movies, a lightweight but entertaining book. Dave Purcell used to work for the Newfoundland fisheries department, but now is proud owner of and chef extraordinaire at The Auk, a fine dining establishment just outside St. John's. Unfortunately, life is not going well for him. His wife, a successful economist, resides in Washington, D.C., where she heads a think-tank and appears frequently on TV; their marriage is failing. The restaurant, because of tough economic times and because it is so out-of-the-way, is also doing poorly-so poorly, in fact, that Dave is drinking his way through his finest wines so the bankers won't get them when they foreclose.
All is not lost yet, since Dave's closest neighbour, the inimitable Phonse, has decided to come to the rescue with what he considers an ingenious, foolproof idea: why not create a rare bird sighting and have birders flock into the area, thereby filling the restaurant? After all, even birders have to eat, don't they? And so the scheme begins. An anonymous call is made to the CBC and, sure enough, just as Phonse had predicted, the birders migrate to the region in droves hoping to catch a glimpse of Tasker's Sulphureous, a duck thought to be extinct.
It's too bad Phonse ends up becoming a caricature as the book progresses. It's as if Riche didn't know when to stop, kept piling on the antics, got carried away with Phonse's own exuberance. The result of this is an ending one might expect in a James Bond movie-actually, a parody of one.
Nonetheless, the book is fun-good for the cottage on a rainy day. Eva Tihanyi(Books in Canada) -- Books in Canada
Book Description
Dave Purcell is ready to call it quits on his marriage and his restaurant, The Auk. His wife has left for a job at a "right leaning" Washington, D.C. think tank and the restaurant, like the ill-fated bird for which it was named, has never really taken off.
Disheartened and desperate, Dave endeavors to consume the rare delights of his well-stocked wine cellar and larder before they are repossessed by the bank.
All seems lost until Dave's neighbor, Alphonse Murphy, proposes a mad, yet ingenious scheme to save The Auk. Soon, the restaurant is crawling with well-heeled gastronomes, vain celebrities and bellicose politicos.
However, Phonse Murphy has been up to some other tricks that have caught the attention of sinister forces, and because of Dave's involvement, it looks like the restaurant may well go the way of...the auk.
A laugh-out-loud novel by one of Canada's most gifted young writers, Rare Birds is a rare literary debut.
Disheartened and desperate, Dave endeavors to consume the rare delights of his well-stocked wine cellar and larder before they are repossessed by the bank.
All seems lost until Dave's neighbor, Alphonse Murphy, proposes a mad, yet ingenious scheme to save The Auk. Soon, the restaurant is crawling with well-heeled gastronomes, vain celebrities and bellicose politicos.
However, Phonse Murphy has been up to some other tricks that have caught the attention of sinister forces, and because of Dave's involvement, it looks like the restaurant may well go the way of...the auk.
A laugh-out-loud novel by one of Canada's most gifted young writers, Rare Birds is a rare literary debut.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quirky, Newfie Birds: You've Got To Love Them,
By A Customer
This review is from: Rare Birds (Paperback)
This book is delightful! Well written, with marvelous characters and a colorful background, it's like literary chocolate. Anyone who has had the priviledge of visiting Newfoundland, and meeting its friendly--but different--people will especially find this a treat. If you're tired of the daily grind, curl up with this one and prepare to enjoy your read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
What? You have not yet read,
By
This review is from: Rare Birds (Paperback)
Excellent book, even better than the movie, though the movie is excellent too. If you want to read a laugh out loud book this summer, this is the one!
5.0 out of 5 stars
True Newfoundland Humor,
By
This review is from: Rare Birds (Paperback)
I was born and raised in Newfoundland, but moved away a few years ago. This book brought back the punch of Newfoundland humor in such a way that it left me laughing out loud like a lunatic til tears were running down my cheeks. I always thought that the Newfoundland sense of humor was something that couldn't be put into words...something you had to experience first hand, and even then sometimes people don't get it. Somehow this author has pulled it off. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm greatly looking forward to it. Bravo Edward Riche!!!
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