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All the Little Bird-Hearts

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All the Little Bird-Hearts

By: Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
Narrated by: Rose Akroyd
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About this listen

An unforgettable literary debut exploring motherhood, vulnerability, and the way the world closes ranks against those it considers to be different.

I lived for and loved a bird-heart that summer; I only knew it afterwards.

Sunday Forrester lives with her sixteen-year-old daughter, Dolly, in the house she grew up in. She 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 couple who move in next door, disarm Sunday with their charm, and proceed to deliciously break just about every rule in Sunday's book. Soon they are in and out of each others' homes, and Sunday feels loved and accepted like 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.

©2023 Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow (P)2023 Headline Publishing Group Ltd Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking

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Critic reviews

"What a glorious, unforgettable character Vita is. And I loved Sunday's voice too, so unique, right from the off. It showed me things about autism that will stay with me. A genuinely valuable book, but more importantly I enjoyed being inside its world." (Melissa Harrison, author of All Among the Barley)

"Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow's is a distinct and poetic new voice. This novel about the complex desires behind our closest relationships is undercut with the darkness of Sicilian folklore: the fisherman who promises away his child; the lover who is a wolf; a caged magpie; burning fields." (Clare Pollard, poet and author of Delphi)

"Funny, lyrical, deft and devastating. Full of longing and love." (Amy Sackville, author of Painter to the King)
All stars
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What an amazing story, wonderfully well written. Atmospheric, insightful and so very clever. My heart ached for the characters i liked and made me passionately angry with the ones I did not. I love this story so much, it will stay with me.

Magical

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I loved being emerged in Sunday's world, difficult though it is at times. Seeing this story from Sunday's point if view and learning how differently she sees things to a neuro-typical person creates a fascinating background to this story about love, children and growing up. the narration on audible was brilliantly done.

Original voice and great characterisation

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I loved this book very much. It’s so beautifully written, the detail is exquisite and the reading of it felt so natural - I was totally transported into the characters lives. Thank you for this wonderful story told and for depicting so well the experiences of so many

Utterly gripping

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Excellent narration. The story makes much of the accents and language so it was crucial to get these right and Rose Ackroyd completely nails it.
There are moments of hilarity as Sunday - a neurodiverse single mother - navigates her way though parenting a teenage daughter. When new neighbours move in the atmosphere slowly becomes uneasy and tense as the reader (but not Sunday) realises all is not as it seems.
Loved it.

At once tense and humorous

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The narrator is excellent and switches convincingly between Sunday and Vita. The setting could be anywhere, apart from references to the lake, the novel does not give a feeling of ‘place’. It ultimately left me feeling deflated and unsatisfied mainly because I was trying to find some redeeming qualities in the characters and although they were recognisable, every one slipped over into caricature. Each one was so unlike able and I could not even feel any sympathy for Sunday, who I felt dismissed Phyllis, the one person that had seen and accepted her.

A bit deflating

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