Brood

A Novel

By: Jackie Polzin

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

An exquisite new literary voice - wryly funny, nakedly honest, beautifully observational, in the vein of Jenny Offill and Elizabeth Strout - depicts one woman's attempt to keep her four chickens alive while reflecting on a recent loss.

“Full of nuance and humor and strangeness … [Polzin] writes beautifully about everything.” (The New York Times)

Over the course of a single year, our nameless narrator heroically tries to keep her small brood of four chickens alive despite the seemingly endless challenges that caring for another creature entails. From the 40-below nights of a brutal Minnesota winter to a sweltering summer which brings a surprise tornado, she battles predators, bad luck, and the uncertainty of a future that may not look anything like the one she always imagined.

Intimate and startlingly original, this slender novel is filled with wisdom, sorrow, and joy. As the year unfolds, we come to know the small band of loved ones who comprise the narrator's circumscribed life at this moment. Her mother, a flinty former home-ec teacher who may have to take over the chickens; her best friend, a real estate agent with a burgeoning family of her own; and her husband, whose own coping mechanisms for dealing with the miscarriage that haunts his wife are more than a little unfathomable to her.

A stunning and brilliantly insightful meditation on life and longing that will stand beside such modern classics as H is for Hawk and Gilead, Brood rewards its listeners with the richness of reflection and unrelenting hope.

©2021 Jackie Polzin (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

2022, American Academy of Arts and Letters Lit. Award

2022, Art Seidenbaum Award

2021, Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

“You will love this book…The voice is wry and rare…As with Sigrid Nunez or Jenny Offill, one feels that the narrator of Brood is very close to the author.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Wondrous…Her observation of the fragility and loveliness of daily life is so sharp and her commentary so droll, trenchant and precise, that the modest world she describes becomes almost numinous.” —Washington Post

"A debut novel about chickens? Yes, indeed. And it's full of nuance and humor, not to mention the very human travails of their grieving owner. Polzin has a gift for detail and an eye for the way little creatures can absorb and sometimes erase our worries." —New York Times Book Review

A metaphor on life

This story takes the skill and enjoyment of raising suburban chickens with the hope for a child to raise.

Small Town Wonderful

Knowing the author's mother, being from the author's hometown, and owning chickens of my own made this even more spot on. The descriptions of chicken behaviors, of an egg, of losing one of the brood, of a marriage, and of infertility were each well studied and described with comforting detail.

Brood

A humorous book about a couple raising chickens. I totally enjoyed the book but found the narration of the audio book to be flat and at times monotone. However if you are looking for a short book to listen to that has a good mix of humor and information on urban chicken farming, you’ll likely enjoy the book.

Beautifully Written and Intriguing

The author’s phrasing and word choice are lovely. The humor is subtle. Ultimately this is a highly pastoral work. Likely not for everyone but I am glad to have experienced it.

Refreshing....

A simple sweet story about a woman, her husband, and her much loved chickens. Every day things, life as it is. I enjoyed how uncomplicated this story is. You feel the beauty in just the movement through and feelings of a regular, or not so regular, day. If you’re from MN, like I am, you’ll recognize some of the places mentioned. ❤️

Life, Death and Chickens

I really enjoyed listening to Brood by Jackie Polzin and narrated by Rebecca Lowman. Brood is more than a story about a woman's experience with her four chickens. At the core, this is a book about loss and grief. So from that perspective, the book has a depth that some may not be able to fully relate to.

Despite the sadness that the reader can hear in the author's voice, there is humor in the story. Where there are chickens, there is usually something to laugh and smile about. I have four chickens of my own just like the author, so I can relate to her experiences with them. I learned a few new things too which as a chicken owner is always helpful. Much like parenthood, I had no idea what to expect from raising chickens, so also like parenthood, it's helpful to see how others do things.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has chickens, loves animals, or is interested in a quick good read.

Brood: an appropriate name

I guess this was a novel although it was written as a memoir. The narrator was rather depressed and did a lot of brooding. I can forgive her that over the loss of a child. However, being a chicken keeper with my own backyard flock I was appalled at the lack of knowledge about chicken care that was apparent in this book. It overrides what at times was lovely, lyrical prose. I ordered this book because I thought it was a realistic story about a woman’s life with her chickens. I was mistaken.

Not For Me

This is the most negative story I've ever read, not one positive bit of sunshine in the whole book. I don't like any of the characters...and it's nonfiction!
Where's the humor cited in the publishers blurb...there isn't any. Nothing is funny!
I can't recommend it.