By Dorothy Adamek
When Mockingbirds Sing, Billy Coffey.
When Mockingbirds Sing, Billy Coffey.
From publisher Thomas Nelson ~ What marks the boundary between a miracle from God and the imagination of a child?
Leah is a child from away, isolated from her peers because of her stutter. But then she begins painting scenes that are epic in scope, brilliant in detail, and suffused with rich, prophetic imagery. When the event foreshadowed in the first painting dramatically comes true, the town of Mattingly takes notice.
Leah attributes her ability to foretell the future to an invisible friend she calls the Rainbow Man. Some of the townsfolk are enchanted with her. Others fear her. But there is one thing they all agree on—there is no such thing as the Rainbow Man.
Her father, the town psychologist, is falling apart over his inability to heal his daughter or fix his marriage. And the town minister is unraveled by the notion a mere child with no formal training may be hearing from God more clearly than he does.
While the town bickers over what to do with this strange child, the content of Leah’s paintings grows darker. Still, Leah insists that the Rainbow Man’s heart is pure. But then a dramatic and tragic turn of events leaves the town reeling and places everyone’s lives in danger. Now the people of Mattingly face a single choice:
Will they cling to what they know . . . or embrace the things Leah believes in that cannot be seen?
*****
When Mockingbirds Sing isn’t my usual choice in fiction. I know for sure it doesn’t belong in my beloved historical romance genre, but pinning down where it does belong is not easy.
I guess my best definition is supernatural. It certainly doesn’t come all stitched up in the end for the reader to set aside, satisfied the story came to a neat resolution.
Instead, the reader may be satisfied they took a journey alongside the characters of Mattingly, and have more questions to ask than those answered.
This is how author Billy Coffey intends it. Unanswered questions lead the reader to explore the possibilities in their own minds and perhaps, ask similar questions of themselves.
This is how author Billy Coffey intends it. Unanswered questions lead the reader to explore the possibilities in their own minds and perhaps, ask similar questions of themselves.
Am I clinging to what I know, or embracing the unseen? Is my faith big enough for what I don’t understand?
I read When Mockingbirds Sing as part of Rel Mollet’s Novel Journey Book Club in Melbourne. Chosen for me, it delivered beyond my expectations. I found the story engaging, the writing lyrical and the characters well rounded enough to keep me caring, and elusive enough to keep me asking questions.
Is young Leah’s Rainbow Man real? Does he represent good or evil? Where’s the line between reality and a little girl’s imagination? The answer seemed to change with each chapter.
Billy Coffey himself addressed some of our book club questions, and summed up our discussion in this answer.
"To me, reality is that we don’t always find all the answers in life, and what ones we do find always seem to lead to more questions. I fought myself to keep those lingering questions in the book, to not tie them all up with a nice bow and have everyone smiling at the end. It just didn’t seem honest."
Highly recommended for those looking for something to chew on.
*****
Dorothy Adamek lives in Melbourne with her Beloved and their three gorgeous kids.
She's the winner of the 2013 FHL ~ Touched By Love Competition. Enamoured by all things 19th century, she writes The Heartbeat of Yesteryear, Historical Romance - Aussie style. Come say G'day at her blog, Ink Dots.
