The Bitter End Birding Society

By: Amanda Cox

Dakota County paperback 311 pages

Published: 2025

Genre: Christian historical fiction

I loved this book! I can't believe how young the author looks. This is the third title of hers I've read and I think she's just getting better and better. I want to read her other books now.

 

The setting alternates between the 1950s with sisters Viola and Cora and modern day with Ana. The connections between these women are unfolded a little at a time. This story is beautifully written.

I'm going to try to just hit some high points in this blog because here's what the book looks like:

There were parts in this book that made me laugh out loud. The author is so clever at weaving together details and themes . . . oh my. But this is just too, too much to blog about (or I'm just getting lazy).

We had a lovely book club discussion last night. As I'm starting to go through the book to remove my post-its, I'm having some "aha" moments (the author laid clues for later), laughing again (Lexi and Ana with Lexi's dates' nicknames, Cora's "unwelcome basket"), teacher moments, the dire Marilyn warnings, fantastic writing and imagery ("She exited the house, the wings that had felt so ready to lift off and soar now tucked tight against her." Viola being reprimanded page 77), the "Wally World" reference that made me think of my sister Louise, the bluebirds and hopefulness, . . . this is just a wonderfully written book!

Page 35: Huh. She'd always thought of God being way up in the sky looking down on His creation, watching them make a right mess of things. But directing people? How did a body know if it was the Lord leading or their own inclination?

Viola's questioning in response to young Trilby's plan to follow the Lord's leading is what I think a lot of us experience. It can be hard to know when it's your own idea / plan and when you are truly hearing from the Lord about decisions.

Page 44: He adjusted the brim of his hat and looked ahead as his truck idled along. "Fine is the biggest lie people tell. You ask someone how they are, and the answer is always fine, but it's rarely the truth."

Yes! I agree with Sam. A more honest answer is, "I'll be okay, but I don't want to talk about it."

 

Oh! The different stories about how Bitter End got its name! These were so interesting. We hear the first one from Frankie (coffee shop) on page 63. She tells Ana about the outlaws on the run being down to the bitter end of their coffee. Then Beatrice (thrift store) tells Ana about the bickering husband and wife hanging over the edge of a ravine, promising to love one another all the way to the bitter end. Cora said it was about moonshiners claiming the mountain's water was bitter to scare others away (page 307). And then Ana's own story (epilogue) to share with her students about a group of people who were in a bad spot and discovered that "hope and beauty were there somewhere, someway. But only if they slowed down and had the patience to watch for it."

There was also the theme of winding down one's life and dealing with stuff.

Page 68: How in the world could seventy-some years of living in one house be narrowed down to a few boxes? How did she decide what to leave behind and what to keep?

 

Page 197: It was a mystery how some trinkets and knickknacks were alive with meaning and memory while others were soulless souvenirs.

Ana is dealing with Cora's possessions and donating the excess. I can relate. Stuff is just stuff. The second is from Marilyn considering her and Cora's friendship and tokens of that time in their lives (corn husk doll and soapstone carving). Again, there are things that I love even though they aren't "valuable." they are just meaningful for me.

Page 127: Viola recognized the emotion. It was one she'd felt many times when someone with more experience stepped into a situation she felt ill-equipped to handle. 

Viola sees the relief on Cora's face when Viola shows up to help with their mother's miscarriage aftermath. That sense of relief when you're feeling overwhelmed and someone else steps up . . . priceless.

Page 134: Frequently getting lost in thought was a trauma response, according to the crisis therapist she saw for a few months after the incident.

This makes sense, but I didn't realize it. Sam was trying to get Ana's attention on a bird watching walk.

 

Page 149: "When your father stands before God someday, will God see the man who sang His praise and helped his neighbor, or the moonshiner who made his living in an illegal trade? Will God know me, who spoke beautiful words about His holiness with no one to hear because I thought I needed to convert people to my way of thinking before they could approach the throne of God?"

Trilby is having an important crisis of faith in his life. I love how the author portrayed faith from different perspectives. God is glorified in this book.

Page 215: "Name five things you can see. Four things you can hear. Three things you can smell. Two things you can touch. One thing you can taste."

Ana is trying to practice what her therapist taught her. I like this and think it's fun to try! Mindfulness is not something I'm adept at! (I actually made a notecard to try this.)

 

Page 231: Why did he constantly find himself in the role of confidant and comforter? It was as though his previous occupation clung to him like woodsmoke in clothes after sitting next to a bonfire.

 

Poor Sam! He's a pastor even though he doesn't feel able to fulfill that role any more. But I love Cox's imagery here! I can smell that smoke on clothes smell . . . 

 

Page 237: And in that moment Ana understood why she'd known better than to finish that statement. Because when a wound remained unhealed and untended, it had a way of warping time, keeping painful memories close to the surface.

 

It's easy for readers to say that Cora should have just gotten over what happened in her childhood, but this section really shows that some people still need healing for things that happened far in their past.

 

Page 248 - another place that made me laugh out loud. Oh, how I enjoyed this book. (I cried, too.) 

 

Pages 256-57 - Some of the back story about what really happened between Wild Wayne and Reverend Chambers. There is just so much to this story! Grace, redemption, friendship, forgiveness, 

 

Page 278: Having the capacity to forgive himself was as likely as sighting a blue-winged teal within the next few weeks. He hadn't missed Marilyn's pointed glare after he'd chosen a bird that was not exactly impossible to find but improbable this time of year. 

Oh, I love how this played out. Well done, Ms. Cox. I loved this book!