2023 Booker Longlist:   All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow

Next up is debut novel All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow. Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Kent, and has extensive personal, professional and academic experience relating to autism.

Synopsis taken from Booker Prize website: Sunday Forrester does things more carefully than most people. On quiet days, she must eat only white foods. Her etiquette handbook guides her through confusing social situations, and to escape, she turns to her treasury of Sicilian folklore. The one thing very much out of her control is Dolly – her clever, headstrong daughter, now on the cusp of leaving home. 

Into this carefully ordered world step Vita and Rollo, a charming couple who move in next door and proceed to deliciously break just about every rule in Sunday’s book. Soon they are in and out of each other’s homes, and Sunday feels loved and accepted as never before. But beneath Vita and Rollo’s polish lies something else, something darker. For Sunday has precisely what Vita has always wanted for herself: a daughter of her own. 

You can purchase a copy of the book here

Keep reading to find out how our panellists rated this book.

BookWorm’s Thoughts:  Possibly my favourite of the list so far. The writing is beautiful and Sunday is a fantastic character. I love the way she deals with whatever life is throwing at her, even if her coping mechanisms may seem bizarre to others. I appreciated reading a neuro-diverse adult as opposed to  a child. It made a big change to the story and how it all fell out.

This book was engaging and intense, and there was a real sense of dread in the later chapters which was really well done and very atmospheric even though not a lot actually happened the feeling was still there.

Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 4/5
Character development: 3/4
Plot development: 4/4
Overall enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 18/20

Jen’s Thoughts: This book almost broke me. I have a 12 year old (almost 13 year old daughter). And I’m in that period where she has started moving towards peers and away from the kind of bond we had when she was a small child. It’s simply not as cool to spend time with your mom when you are a teen. It’s an inevitable part of parenting, watching your children grow and separate from you. So this book already touched me in a raw place as the protagonist, Sunday, navigates her relationship with her teenage daughter. To complicate matters, Sunday is neurodivergent and has difficulty reading emotions and conveying her own emotional experience. My heart broke for Sunday. As readers we all saw what was coming miles away and it was no less painful as the author does a great job placing us inside the head of her main character.

I took issue with How to Build a Boat coming across as a tad stereotypical when it came to writing the voice of a neurodivergent character. This book was the opposite. Sunday’s voice was so authentic and her struggles so genuine that I found the novel engrossing. I laughed, I cried, and I felt an incredible sense of empathy and connection to Sunday. This is a debut novel and it’s one of the more impressive books i’ve read on the list. It was wholly original in its voice and approach. The author didn’t just make you understand the experience of neurodivergent individual interacting with the world, she made you feel it. I loved it.

Writing quality: 4/5
Originality: 5/5
Character Development: 4/4
Plot Development: 3/4
Overall Enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 18/20

Tracy’s Thoughts: Neurodivergence has to be difficult to write. Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow, the author, is autistic, and her main character, Sunday, is, too. 

Sunday’s story is told from her own point of view, which makes her the most reliable, yet unreliable narrator I’ve read. She can only tell her truth, and what she sees, which leaves the reader to infer the rest of the characters’ actions and feelings. I loved her, yet I could be so frustrated with her, too- I just wanted to reach through the book and hug her. 

Along with a first person perspective of autism, there are also coming of age tropes, prejudices, death, guilt and class differences addressed. 

The unique point of view made the storytelling aggravating to read at times- it was hard being in Sunday’s head. There were moments that touched my heart, and times my heart broke. I’m glad this was chosen for the longlist and that attention was given to this book. 

Writing quality: 4/5
Originality: 5/5
Character Development: 4/4
Plot Development: 3/4
Overall Enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 18/20

Have you read this one? Let us know what you thought.

Rankings

1. All the Little Bird Hearts: 18
2. Pearl: 17.75
3. The House of Doors: 16.5
4. A Spell of Good Things: 15.38
5. Study for Obedience: 14
6. Old God’s Time: 13.2
7. In Ascension 12.5
8. Western Lane 12.5
9. How to Build a Boat: 12.38