They Came Like Swallows

Words fail me when it comes to describing this exquisitely rendered little novel first published over seventy years ago. Two boys, eight and thirteen, lose a mother; a husband a wife, sisters a sister. This is perhaps the most delicately described story of pain, loss and relationships I have encountered in many years. The sense of time and place, of a small town in Illinois in 1918, the year of the horrific Spanish influenza epidemic, is so real you can lose yourself as if the ensuing seventy-plus years had never happened. Like Maxwell's other book I have reviewed here, The Folded Leaf, this book - They Came Like Swallows - is simply beautiful. A masterpiece. - Tim Bazzett, author of LOVE, WAR & POLIO

As is usual for me, after reading this book I took a look at some of the reviews. Certain words come back again and again: "gentle", "touching", "poignant", "restrained", "understated". In that sense, I don't have very much to add besides yes. yes, yes, yes and yes again. I guess that it could be argued that the book is a little bit slight, but at the time of reading it was a very emotional experience for me. Maxwell details the intense claustrophobic relationship between mother and children in a real and painful way. Saying that it was moving isn't quite enough for me, but I'm going to have to let it suffice. I read They Came Like Swallows based on a recommendation. I won't hesitate to read other works by Maxwell. Any suggestions?

William Maxwell, longtime fiction editor for the New Yorker, had a prolific writing career that spanned seven decades. His writing is spare and elegant, his characters genuine. This short(150 pages)novel deals with a family coping with the death of the mother. Each of the three chapters is written from the perspective of one of the survivors -- a preteen boy, a teenage boy, and their father. There is not a wasted or misplaced word in this book. Maxwell manages to capture the depth of experience of each of the characters in very few words. Maxwell should be ranked with the greatest of 20th century American authors; his relative obscurity is a mystery to me. This is my favorite of his novels.

The great griefs and terrors of childhood are in this book as well as the joys and mysteries.I read it once then turned immediately to the first page and began again.

The novel is split into three sections and each uses a different point of view--first Bunny, then Robert, then the father. The points of view are extraordinarily well realized. An authentic, believable young child's point of view is difficult for any writer to achieve--Maxwell's Bunny rings true--so true it could be the tuning fork. It has no equal. My only caveat is that I find the original version better than the current edition, which changed a scene or two. (Why?) Read the current edition and go to the library or haunt your used bookstore for the original.