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I really struggled to finish this book. It took me awhile to figure out what the book was about, other than a crow who interacts with some humans. It wasn't until Dar Oakley (the crow) came to the New World that I realized that he was going to traverse human history. The book ultimately amounts to a treatise on death, which I could in principle appreciate, but as a treatise on death, it is cliche. The trope of death and rebirth is somewhat unoriginal, in particular if it isn't wrapped in some kind of worthwhile story (think One Hundred Years of Solitude). I did not appreciate the notion that not having a “name” for something means that an individual cannot conceptualize it. That idea is terribly naive and, in the context of modern linguistics and philosophy, at worse false (that is, it is a dangerous idea that has historically been used to disparage marginalized groups). The concept behind the book is good, but it could have been 200 pages shorter, more of a novella. Yes, the prose is very lyrical and pretty, but I'm not sure that that saves it.

This really hit the sweet spot that is literary fantasy/magical realism for me. The prose is lush and dense, the scope is epic, and also undying spirit crow. Crows are neat. Highly recommended especially to fans of Watership Down.

The story is told of a bird named Dar Oakley telling his story to a human. You get the story of the world with a bird's eye view. This study very much reminds of Johnathan Livingston Seagull as there is a lot of introspection within the bird's mind and his interaction with the world.