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Birdy

Birdy

Paperback

About the Book

Hailed upon its publication as "a classic for readers not yet born" (Philadelphia Inquirer), Birdy is an inventive, hypnotic novel about friendship and family, dreaming and surviving, love and war, madness and beauty, and, above all, "birdness." It tells the story of Al, a bold, hot-tempered boy whose goals in life are to life weights and pick up girls, and his strange friend Birdy, the skinny, tongue-tied perhaps genius who only wants to raise canaries and to fly. While fighting in World War II, they find their dreams become all too real—and their lives are changed forever.

In Birdy, William Wharton crafts an unforgettable tale that suggests another notion of sanity in a world that is manifestly insane.
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About the Author

William Wharton
William Wharton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1926. He published his first book, Birdy, after a long career as a painter. Mr. Wharton fought in World War II, where he was part of the Army Specialized Training Program. Birdy grew out of his experience with army psychiatric hospitals and was made into a film in 1984.

Mr. Wharton's oher novels include Dad, A Midnight Clear, Franky Furbo, Scumbler, Pride, Tidings and Last Lovers. More by William Wharton
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