How To Find Your Way Home - Katy Regan

AUTHOR: Katy Regan

GENRE: Contemporary Drama

RATING: 4 sentimental stars.

In a Nutshell: A slow-paced literary fiction that explores sibling relationships with all its ups and downs. Somewhat predictable, but it still manages to tug at your heartstrings.

Story:

When Emily was born in 1987, her four year old brother Stephen was probably the happiest. Holding her in his arms, he vows to keep her safe forever.

Thirty years have gone by and Stephen and Emily are no longer in touch after a traumatic family incident. Stephen is homeless, he wanders the streets of London with his beloved binoculars around his neck, pursuing his passion for birds and surviving by sketching and selling bird drawings. Emily works with the local council. When circumstances bring them together again, will it be easy to go back to where they were all those decades ago? Can their relationship survive the secrets and the heartbreaks of the past and even the present? Or is the chasm too wide to jump over?

The story is mainly narrated in the contemporary timeline from the 1st person perspective of Emily and 3rd person perspective of Stephen. There are also some 3rd person flashbacks about their younger years.

Where the book worked for me:

✔ I loved the experience of reading a book that is dedicated to a sibling relationship and focusses only on it without forcing in a mandatory romantic side-track.

✔ The main characters and a few of the secondary ones are quite well-sketched. Stephen is the best carved. While you might feel a certain prejudice against him at first, he grows on you as the story progresses. Emily takes the exactly opposite character path. To see them both in tandem, working through their issues is a nice experience.

✔ I loved how birds and bird-watching were integrated into the story, much beyond theirs being Stephen’s passion. Even the flashback episodes were named after birds such as swift and geese and every flashback had something to do with a bird-related memory.

✔ The ‘home’ in the title can be interpreted in so many ways. Stephen is looking for a home. Emily is trying to complete her home with her long-lost brother. Their parents have chosen their own homes over their families. The birds in the story are also either looking for homes or finding a way home. It’s been ages since I have seen a title that is so perfect for the plot, both literally and metaphorically.

✔ The cover of my UK edition copy is gorgeous and it does perfect justice to the book.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

⚠ Some parts of the plot seemed to work too conveniently. The ending especially seemed a bit rushed, as if it was much in a hurry to tie everything together neatly.

⚠ Some things in the past, especially some decisions related to the secondary characters, are left unexplained. I understand that this would have shifted focus from the siblings to the other family members, but at least a sentence or two would have provided some clarity on the rationale for their actions.

⚠ The middle part of the book gets a bit dragged and repetitive. It is also quite slow at times. If you are in the right mood for literary fiction, this unhurried pace won’t affect you much.

⚠ I would have appreciated it if both the character voices were either in first person or in third person. By writing Emily in first person and Stephen in a distant third person, it felt as if we were forced to be closer to Emily.

All in all, this is an emotional and a heartwarming read. If you read it when you are in the right mental space, it will provide you a touching and uplifting experience. Definitely recommended, but to be picked up on the right mood day.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan, Mantle, and NetGalley for the ARC of “How To Find Your Way Home”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Trigger warning: One horrifying scene of animal (bird) cruelty.