An evening with Birdy O'Day : a novel / Greg Kearney.

Title :

An evening with Birdy O'Day : a novel

Author:

Format:

Books

Summary:

"Roland Keener is an aging hairstylist who's lived and worked in Winnipeg all his life. He's more or less content with the quiet and predictable days he shares with his partner of twenty-five years, Tony. That is, until he hears that Birdy O'Day--washed-up music icon and Roland's childhood best friend and first love--is playing his first concert in Winnipeg since fleeing decades earlier. Holing up with a scrapbook of news clippings about Birdy, Roland recalls his childhood in the '70s: Growing up poor with a single mother, he meets a boy at school who calls himself Birdy and is unlike anyone he's ever known. The two become inseparable, with Roland an eager sidekick to Birdy and his dreams of stardom. But when Birdy gets his big break, Roland is left behind, bereft. They become estranged over the years; one tours the world as a pop music sensation while the other struggles to chart a new path forward. But now, Birdy's imminent return to town is a chance for both of them to finally come to terms with their glorious yet troubled past. A funny and poignant novel about hero worship, heartbreak, and queer survival, An Evening with Birdy O'Day will remind you that you can never go home again--even if you never left it in the first place."--

Language:

English

ISBN - ISSN:

9781551529417

1551529416

Physical Description:

334 pages ; 23 cm

Subject:

Barbers -- Fiction.

Musicians -- Fiction.

Gay men -- Fiction.

Hero worship -- Fiction.

Reminiscing -- Fiction.

Nineteen seventies -- Fiction.

Winnipeg (Man.) -- Fiction.

First Title value, for Searching:

An evening with Birdy O'Day : a novel / Greg Kearney.

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Library	Audience	Home Location	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Collier	Adult	Fiction	New books	KEARN	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Heights	Adult	Fiction	New books	KEARN	Searching... Unknown
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Summary

A funny, boisterous, and deeply moving novel about aging hairstylist Roland's childhood friendship with Birdy O'Day, whose fevered quest for pop music glory drives them apart

Roland Keener is an aging hairstylist who's lived and worked in Winnipeg all his life. He's more or less content with the quiet and predictable days he shares with his partner of twenty-five years, Tony. That is, until he hears that Birdy O'Day - washed-up music icon and Roland's childhood best friend and first love - is playing his first concert in Winnipeg since fleeing decades earlier.

Holing up with a scrapbook of news clippings about Birdy, Roland recalls his childhood in the '60s: Growing up poor with a single mother, he meets a boy at school who calls himself Birdy and is unlike anyone he's ever known. The two become inseparable, with Roland an eager sidekick to Birdy and his dreams of stardom. But when Birdy gets his big break, Roland is left behind, bereft. They become estranged over the years; one tours the world as a pop music sensation while the other struggles to chart a new path forward. But now, Birdy's imminent return to town is a chance for both of them to finally come to terms with their glorious yet troubled past.

A funny and poignant novel about hero worship, heartbreak, and queer survival, An Evening with Birdy O'Day will remind you that you can never go home again - even if you never left it in the first place.

Author Notes

Greg Kearney 's first novel The Desperates (2013) was a Lambda Literary Award finalist, and his plays have been mounted at Theatre Passe Muraille and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. He divides his time between Toronto and Winnipeg.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

An aging man remembers the ups and downs of his childhood alongside a rock-star-to-be. Roland Keener has lived in Winnipeg his whole life. Raised by his caring but direct single mother, Margaret, he was a lonely boy until he met Birdy O'Day, a magnetic classmate at a new school. Roland's home became a safe haven for Birdy, who lived with his alcoholic mother and abusive father. When his own family failed to support his interest in pursuing a music career, it's Roland and Margaret who had faith in Birdy's talent. Soon opportunity came knocking, but when Birdy got his break, he left Roland behind. The former best friends' lives took differing paths--Birdy became a megastar while Roland became a hairstylist who, at age 69 and living with his ailing boyfriend, struggles to make ends meet. And now, years after swearing he'd never return, Birdy is going to perform in Winnipeg, and perhaps heal the wounds between him and his former friend. Charting the lives of two queer boys in the 1960s, the novel is an interesting examination of the struggles and joys they faced, but the tone is sometimes bleak and the humor often doesn't land. Readers with an interest in queer history may find this novel engaging, though the wooden dialogue is hard to get past. An exploration of queer history through a less-common geographic lens. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.