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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Alan and Pina have lived contentedly in isolated – and insular – Boney Point for thirty years. Now they are dealing with Alan’s devastating early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis. As he is cast adrift in the depths of his own mind, Pina is left to face the consequences alone, until the arrival of a flock of black cockatoos seems to tie him, somehow, to the present.
'Nearby, conservation biologist Arianna Brandt is involved in a project trying to reintroduce the threatened glossy black cockatoos into the wilds of Murrungowar National Park. Alone in the haunted bush, and with her birds failing to thrive, Arianna’s personal demons start to overwhelm her and risk undoing everything.
'At first, when the two women’s paths cross, they appear at loggerheads but – in many ways – they are invested in the same outcome but for different reasons.
'Ultimately, unexpected events will force them both to let go of their pasts and focus on the future.
'Rain Birds is a powerful and lyrical novel about love, grief and loss, one that examines personal tragedy as set against global and environmental responsibilities, and how we negotiate our often-conflicting ideals.' (Publication summary)
Exhibitions
Notes
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Dedication: For my mother, and for Nick.
Affiliation Notes
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Writing Disability in Australia
Type of disability Alzheimer's disease. Type of character Primary. Point of view Third person.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also dyslexic edition, sound recording
- Large print.
Works about this Work
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Matthew Da Silva Reviews Rain Birds by Harriet McKnight
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , March no. 23 2019;
— Review of Rain Birds 2017 single work novel'Harriet McKnight’s brilliant, moving novel reminded me of a book I had read a long time before, in 2006. That was Kate Legge’s The Unexpected Elements of Love, a novel that explores some of the same themes that McKnight incorporates into her 2017 novel: namely, dementia and climate change. Another that McKnight works into her book is the theme of domestic violence, and she also touches on racism especially (but not exclusively) as it relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.' (Introduction)
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[Review] Rain Birds
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 395 2017; (p. 31)
— Review of Rain Birds 2017 single work novel'In Harriet McKnight’s début novel, a story about early onset dementia is offset by a second conservation-focused narrative involving the glossy black cockatoo. This braided structure immediately creates anticipation about where and how the two stories will meet.' (Introduction)
-
Home Fires and Flights of Fancy
2017
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 16 September 2017; (p. 22)'According to folklore, black cockatoos are harbingers of rain. In Harriet McKnight’s debut novel, Rain Birds, the clouds do eventually break open, in the wake of an unseasonably hot spell that exacerbated inflammatory situations in a regional Victorian town.' (Introduction)
-
Harriet McKnight : Rain Birds
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 16-22 September 2017;'Harriet McKnight’s debut novel is a rather bleak and dispiriting portrait of two women on the verge of nervous breakdowns, and of a world on the verge of environmental catastrophe.'
-
[Review] Rain Birds
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 395 2017; (p. 31)
— Review of Rain Birds 2017 single work novel'In Harriet McKnight’s début novel, a story about early onset dementia is offset by a second conservation-focused narrative involving the glossy black cockatoo. This braided structure immediately creates anticipation about where and how the two stories will meet.' (Introduction)
-
Matthew Da Silva Reviews Rain Birds by Harriet McKnight
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , March no. 23 2019;
— Review of Rain Birds 2017 single work novel'Harriet McKnight’s brilliant, moving novel reminded me of a book I had read a long time before, in 2006. That was Kate Legge’s The Unexpected Elements of Love, a novel that explores some of the same themes that McKnight incorporates into her 2017 novel: namely, dementia and climate change. Another that McKnight works into her book is the theme of domestic violence, and she also touches on racism especially (but not exclusively) as it relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.' (Introduction)
-
Harriet McKnight : Rain Birds
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 16-22 September 2017;'Harriet McKnight’s debut novel is a rather bleak and dispiriting portrait of two women on the verge of nervous breakdowns, and of a world on the verge of environmental catastrophe.'
-
Home Fires and Flights of Fancy
2017
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 16 September 2017; (p. 22)'According to folklore, black cockatoos are harbingers of rain. In Harriet McKnight’s debut novel, Rain Birds, the clouds do eventually break open, in the wake of an unseasonably hot spell that exacerbated inflammatory situations in a regional Victorian town.' (Introduction)
