Catbirds - Ezra Palmer
A review of Ezra Palmer’s novel about sibling loss and the limits of looking back.
186 pages · Kindle edition · Taag & Rohg, 2025
Catbirds follows a man grappling with his brother’s death and the years of distance that defined their relationship. The novel moves through memory and regret, attentive to how care and resentment coexist within families. The narrator speaks within his limits. Emotions are neither enlarged nor managed for effect. The result is credible and steady.
The final third carries the book. The writing tightens and the focus narrows. Adam’s decline is shown patiently, without acceleration or cueing. Loss gathers through accumulation rather than shock. This section gives the novel its weight.
The middle section loosens. The pace drifts and some memories recur without extending the book’s line of thought. The sustained distance that shapes the novel’s voice is deliberate, though it reduces emotional pressure in places.
Catbirds earns its ending through consistency rather than disclosure. It leaves some ground untouched. That choice will narrow its reach, but it fits the novel Palmer has written.