Bird in Hand - by Christina Baker Kline (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train, and the critically acclaimed author of The Way Life Should Be, comes a novel about the choices we make, how they shape our lives, and how they can change them forever--includes a special PS section featuring insights, interviews, and more.

Four people, two marriages, one lifelong friendship: Everything is about to change.

It was dark. It was raining. It was just an accident. On the drive home from a rare evening out, Alison collides with another car running a stop sign, and--just like that--her life turns upside down.

When she calls her husband from the police station, his accusatory tone reveals cracks in their relationship she'd never noticed were there. Now she notices everything. And she begins to realize that the life she carefully constructed for herself is as tenuous as a house of cards. Exquisitely written, powerful, and thrilling, Bird in Hand is a novel about love and friendship and betrayal, and about the secrets we tell ourselves and each other.

From the Back Cover

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train comes a novel about the choices we make, how they shape our lives, and how they can change them forever.

It was dark. It was raining. It was just an accident. On the drive home from a rare evening out, Alison collides with another car running a stop sign, and--just like that--her life turns upside down.

When she calls her husband from the police station, his accusatory tone reveals cracks in their relationship she'd never noticed were there. Now she notices everything. And she begins to realize that the life she carefully constructed for herself is as tenuous as a house of cards. Exquisitely written, powerful, and thrilling, Bird in Hand is a novel about love and friendship and betrayal, and about the secrets we tell ourselves and each other.

Review Quotes

"In BIRD IN HAND, Christina Baker Kline looks at marriage, at parents and children, pain and sorrow, and at all the questions that life asks us. This is a wise and lovely book." -- Roxana Robinson, author of Cost

"Kline's razor-sharp novel about love, marriage and obligation is a beach book only because you could zip through it anywhere." -- More magazine

"Kline's unflinching gaze and lovely prose set [BIRD IN HAND] apart from the herd of infidelity/marital ennui novels. It's well-done, thoughtful and thought-provoking." -- Publishers Weekly

"A gripping tale about two crumbling marriages, [BIRD IN HAND] offers a realistic and, at times, heartbreaking look at love and friendship." -- RealSimple.com, Entertainment Pick

"[Bird in Hand] exhibits an unsparing eye for the telling details that reveal how people think and act." -- Library Journal

"Kline explores the complications of the lines and bonds between marriage and friendship with honest and complex emotions on all four narrative fronts." -- Booklist

"Christina Baker Kline is a relentless storyteller. Once she sets her hook and starts reeling you in, struggle becomes counterproductive. The narrative line is too taut, the angler at the other end too skillful." -- Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls and That Old Cape Magic

"It is both thrilling and terrifying to read this powerful new novel and think: this could be me. Christina Baker Kline takes us on an intimate journey with her characters, one that brings us dangerously close to the hidden truths about love, trust and friendship." -- Ellen Sussman, author of Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex; Bad Girls: 25 Writers Misbehave; and On a Night Like This