The Conjurer's Bird: A Novel [Paperback]

The Conjurer's Bird is a terrific book, and I had a lot of fun reading it. It took off from page one, and I read the book in two sittings.

Davies takes some true facts, and spins them into a wonderful fictional account of a search for a long missing bird, the "Mysterious Bird of Ulieta"

Summary, no spoilers:

The story starts out with natural history professor John (Fitz) Fitzgerald, working in his cluttered office. He gets a phone call from a woman from his past named Gabby. He meets up with Gabby and her new boyfriend, Karl Anderson, who makes an offer to Fitz of a substantial amount of money for his help in finding the missing "Mysterious Bird of Ulieta".

The bird was seen only once, in 1774 when Captain Cook led an expedition to the island of Ulieta in the South Pacific. The bird was preserved, but then lost. The recovery of this missing specimen had become a holy grail for naturalists and scientists.

Fitz refuses to help Karl, but then decides to search for the bird himself, with the aid of his tenant, Katya.

The story then takes off, with multiple parties searching for this mysterious bird, although we know that there may be motivations that haven't been disclosed.

The story is told in alternating chapters, first taking place in the present, and then going back to the times of Captain Cook, and naturalist Sir Joseph Banks, who was the last person known to have the bird.

Fitz and the others know that Banks is the key to the mystery, along with his mistress, the mysterious "Miss B".

Highly recommended, this book is a real page-turner with a satisfying ending. Well done.

Combining natural history, a number of exciting mysteries, and several love stories, author Martin Davies tells the story of a modern day search for the Mysterious Bird of Ulieta, a single example of which was discovered during Captain Cook's second expedition, mounted, and then lost. As the novel opens, famed researcher of extinct birds John Fitzgerald is visited by a former lover from Brazil whose current lover is now in London, trying to locate the remains of this bird for the Ark Project, a program to collect rare or extinct DNA. Though Fitzgerald is asked to help in this search, he refuses the $50,000 offer--he wants to search for the bird himself.

(No spoilers.) The attempt to locate the bird draws the reader into the story of Sir Joseph Banks, the (real) lead naturalist on Captain Cook's first voyage in 1768. Scheduled to hold the same position on the second voyage in 1772, Banks decided at the last minute not to go. Johann Forster, the man who replaced him on that voyage, discovered the bird, mounted it, and gave this bird to Banks upon his return. Banks displayed it for four years, until it inexplicably vanished from his collection.

The second expedition was notable for another actual event, however. When Cook's ship stopped in Madeira, a "Mr. Burnett" was waiting to join the ship as part of Banks's party. After hearing that Banks was not aboard, Mr. Burnett hurriedly returned to England, but Capt. Cook found him odd enough to record that "Every part of Mr. Burnett's behaviour and every action tended to prove that he was a Woman." John Fitzgerald, investigating, thinks finding "Burnett" may be the key to finding the remains of the bird of Ulieta.

A third story line concerns John Fitzgerald's obsessed grandfather, who travels to the Congo, determined to find an unknown African peacock on the strength of having seen one single feather.

Author Davies, a BBC producer, expertly organizes and paces the story, providing numerous surprises throughout and a conclusion worthy of the best mystery writers. His exceptionally efficient prose style and his simple vocabulary and syntax keep the several plot lines from becoming confused, and the story moves along smartly. Obvious parallels among the various story lines create a sense of universality. Occasionally, there is some awkwardness in transitions between sections and even an anachronism (e.g., Sir Joseph Banks referring to a "random act of kindness."), but these are small complaints in a book that manages to tell a fascinating story--full of non-stop action, mystery, and romance. n Mary Whipple

On Captain Cook's second voyage a small bird is captured and preserved. Only one of its kind was seen and hence it was immediately recognized as "special" and returned to England. This should scratch on our 21st century sensibilities....a rare bird that is "killed" to preserve it. Hmmm. The bird is dubbed the bird of Ulieta and is given to Sir Joseph Banks and immediately becomes the center of his collection. Then, the bird disappears.

Fast forward to modern day London. A modern day conservationist, John Fitzgerald, is encouraged to search for the lost bird of Ulieta. Some want to add the DNA of the bird to the Ark Gene Project. Fitz quickly realizes that there is more going on than just the search for the lost bird. Several plot lines emerge over the the course of the story and this is where Davies really shines.

The Conjurer's Bird was a pleasant surprise. I stayed up way too late and suffered for it the next day but it was worth it.

Martin Davies' The Conjurer's Bird is a terrific read that will hold the reader spellbound and will not disappoint. Davies' first two novels, Mrs. Hudson and the Malabar Rose and Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse, have been popular with our library patrons. I anticipate that the Conjurer's Bird will quickly catch on and may even generate a waiting list.

I highly recommend this novel.

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