Crow Talk

A Novel

By: Eileen Garvin

Narrated by: Helen Laser

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Nationally bestselling author of The Music of Bees Eileen Garvin returns with a moving story of hope, healing, and unexpected friendship set amidst the wild natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Frankie O’Neill and Anne Ryan would seem to have nothing in common. Frankie is a lonely ornithologist struggling to salvage her dissertation on the spotted owl following a rift with her advisor. Anne is an Irish musician far from home and family, raising her five-year-old son, Aiden, who refuses to speak.

At Beauty Bay, a community of summer homes nestled on the shores of June Lake, in the remote foothills of Mount Adams, it’s off-season with most houses shuttered for the fall. But Frankie, adrift, returns to the rundown caretaker’s cottage that has been in the hardworking O'Neill family for generations—a beloved place and a constant reminder of the family she has lost. And Anne, in the wake of a tragedy that has disrupted her career and silenced her music, has fled to the neighboring house, a showy summer home owned by her husband's wealthy family.

When Frankie finds an injured baby crow in the forest, little does she realize that the charming bird will bring all three lost souls—Frankie, Anne, and Aiden—together on a journey toward hope, healing, and rediscovering joy. Crow Talk is an achingly beautiful story of love, grief, friendship, and the healing power of nature in the darkest of times.

©2024 Eileen Garvin (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“With great compassion and keen appreciation, Garvin gently applies the wisdom found in this simple act of caring to help a marriage mend, a friendship blossom, and a child heal. A stunning affirmation of nature’s power to soothe and rejuvenate.”—Booklist (Starred Review)

“Eileen Garvin deftly explores our human connections—with each other, with nature, and with ourselves. Crow Talk will leave you in awe at how the smallest, most tender moments can hold the power to transform. A beautiful, unforgettable book.”—Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

“Bursting with beautifully detailed observations of Pacific Northwest wildlife, Crow Talk will speak to the hearts of nature and bird lovers. Eileen Garvin’s story is itself a rich ecosystem that interconnects two women’s family histories, traumas, fears, disappointments—and above all, their determination to heal. As biologist Frankie attempts to decipher the language of crows and songwriter Anne tries to understand why her son can’t speak, the new friends find themselves muted in multiple ways—unable to pursue their scientific and creative passions, ask for help, set limits, forgive. The crows in the story always know how to speak their minds, and perhaps there are lessons to be learned from their candid communications. This book is a must-read for crow devotees and critics alike!”—Glendy Vanderah, bestselling author of Where the Forest Meets the Stars

Exceptionally well thought out and written story

I especially appreciated how the story flowed and tied together without being too perfect. The author accurately captured complex feelings realistically, and challenges of relationships various relationships, particularly the relationship that the main characters have with themselves. I also enjoyed the tidbits about various birds sprinkled in throughout the story. I’m now excited to read (or listen to) the authors earlier books.

Thoroughly enjoyable!!

This was the first book I have a read or listen to in about 25 years that have not been self-help and it was glorious to get lost in the story of Frankie and Aiden and the family. I live in the Pacific Northwest in the little town of Hood River and relish in all the familiar descriptions of, the surroundings in the community I call home. Wonderful story and is certainly the precipice of me falling back in love with reading again! Eileen’s musings and storyline was the perfect place for me to get lost in my own mind of visualizing the beauty of the gorge and that there is so much history here. If there was a June lake, I’d love to spend a summer there.

Something to Crow About

This was an interesting mix of characters, human and avian. The ending was a bit Disneyish but it worked. It was a smart different read.