Birdcatchers

Abstract

The four short stories and novella of Birdcatchers explore the choices that people make or fail to make at moments when different ways of knowing and conducting themselves in their circumstances become possible. The narrator of the title story, for instance, struggles to deal with his isolation and loneliness in the wake of his wife's death; when the protagonist of 'Tunnel of Love' finds the delicate balance of his double life upset, he ultimately manages to reclaim a realistic connection with his lover and broader world. Regardless of the success or failure each character experiences, though, the stories suggest that in our lonely and isolated individual lives, the potential for meaningful connection-and maybe some measure of grace-does exist.