A Feather on the Breath of God

by Sigrid Nunez

Book Overview

A young woman looks back to the world of her immigrant parents: a Chinese-Panamanian father and a German mother. Growing up in a housing project in the 1950s and 1960s, she escapes into dreams inspired both by her parents' stories and by her own reading and, for a time, into the otherworldly life of ballet. A yearning, homesick mother, a silent and withdrawn father, the ballet--these are the elements that shape the young woman's imagination and her...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060171510
• ISBN13: 9780060171513
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Truthful and Beautiful

I simply love this book. One of the few books I revisit over and over again for the spare beauty of the language and insights.

A Great Novel

This book was one of the most honest books I've ever read. Daniel Clausendaniel clausen dot com

Provocative Novel

The speaker in Nunez's touching novel struggles with issues concerning her cultural identity, her relationships with her parents, and her relationships with men. She constantly deals with how her genes, her parent's cultures, and her upbringing in America have come together to form a cultural identity. As the daughter of a Chinese-Panamanian father and a German mother, the speaker grows up with two distinct cultural influences. She finds herself pulled in different directions, unsure of what aspect of her should define her cultural identity more, or if it is possible to find a balance between them all. The speaker also reexamines her relationship with her parents and her obsession with ballet through nostalgic memories and insight. Through her writing, the speaker comes to terms with her parents' unhappy marriage as well as the notion that her love of ballet stemmed from a desire for perfection and escape from her dysfunctional family. The reader will find that Nunez spins a memorable story that thoroughly engages the reader, and is a must read for anyone interested in issues concerning immigration, multiculturalism, coming of age in a culture that rewards beauty and thinness, identity, and international relationships.

The Truth Retold

I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was imaginative, truthful and articulate. Everything a reader wish for in a novel. Never before have I connected with a novel like I did with this one. Her section, "A Feather on the Breath of God" was an especially captivating part. A good read for anyone: Male or Female. Young or Old. Asian or Not. You will truly not be able to put this book down!

An original voice with an original story to tell

You'll never want your daughter to take ballet! I gave this book to my brother-in-law (an avid reader and medical scholar) and he had to stop himself from calling me in the middle of the night (when he finished reading it) to tell me how much he liked it.