The Bird Sisters

Xe Sands's performance of elderly sisters Milly and Twiss of Spring Green, Wisconsin, charmingly enhances Rasmussen's lovely lyrical prose. Sands balances, in a delicately distinctive manner, both the sisters' coming-of-age story and their current devotion to nursing injured birds. Most profound and moving are Sands's sweet pacing and gentle vocal cadence, which enchantingly convey the author's whimsy and vivid imagery, as well as the characters' wistful memories. During the summer of 1947, the sisters face their hardscrabble lives after their father has a life-changing accident. They embrace life's joys, hope, and heartbreak, along with the bittersweet empowerment of sisterhood, with the transformative help of visiting cousin Bett. This authentic portrayal of family will haunt listeners long after the last word. A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

January 3, 2011
Rasmussen's debut novel begins like a typical coming-of-age story, but reveals itself to be a singular portrayal of familial sacrifice and loss. As elderly women, sisters Twiss and Milly live alone in the house where they grew up in Spring Green, Wis. They spend their days tending to injured birds and roaming their land, lost in memories. For Milly, there is the constant reminder of what could have been. Twiss spent her childhood happily trailing behind their golf-pro father, but Milly dreamed about a family and children that never happened. There was hope for a young Milly, until an accident strips their father of his golfing abilities and sets in motion a series of events that rips apart the already unstable family. Dad retreats to the barn, and mom bemoans her choice to marry for love, leaving behind her wealthy family; a cousin who was thought to be a friend becomes an unexpected rival; and the sisters are left with only each other. As young women, and as old ones, they learn that their relationship is rewarding, but not without consequence. Achingly authentic and almost completely character driven, the story of the sisters depicts the endlessly binding ties of family.