The Blue Jay's Dance: A Birth Year

It seems that a week doesn't go by when I see a woman on the subway or in a coffee shop reading a book from the What to Expect When You're Expecting series. Those detailed tombs of writing seem to be sent to people planning or in the process of rearing children as if by storks. (I've even heard of some workplaces keeping the book What to Expect... in the human resources supply closet, to be given as a gift when a woman... Read Full Review

I loved this book when I first read it before my daughter was born. Re-reading it now, as a new mother, I find it even more remarkable. Louise Erdrich has perfectly captured both the frustration and surpassing joy of life with a new baby. The book is also a beautiful nature narrative, with observations on the changing of the seasons interwoven with the story of a child's first year. Highly recommended!

I picked up this book simply because I love Louise Erdrich. I was soon sinking in her poetic verses and touching stories, all laced with a bit of humor and irony. Her outlook on nature and the circle of life will lighten your soul and send you sleep with a smile on your face. This is the perfect gift for any friends expecting a child.

The Blue Jay's Dance, by Louise Erdrich is not a book solely for women, though I believe that primarily women will be drawn to read it. The story of a birth year is much more interesting to women than it is to men. Men are more likely to read about other kinds of heroism. My experience has taught me that the heroism of birth doesn't interest men much, nor do tales of the enduring devotion of motherhood. However, this... Read Full Review

The Blue Jay's Dance is a book about the power founts of motherhood, horizon sickness, sense husbandry, desperation, fiddleheads, and devotion. In spare, elegant prose, Erdrich examines the natural, the creative, the powerful, and the sacred qualities distinct to places of rogue human wilderness. Hers is a proactive pregnancy involving baby-shaping by meals and, at one point without plumbing, nightly walks into the field... Read Full Review