An Evening with Birdy O’Day

Roland Keener is an aging hairstylist living with his longtime partner, Tony, in the same small Canadian town he grew up in. When he hears that Birdy O’Day, a washed-up singer and his childhood best friend and first love, is playing in his hometown, Roland pulls out the scrapbook he kept of their childhood in the 1960s. The two boys, both of whom grew up poor and were raised by single mothers, became instant best friends in school. When Birdy got his big break, however, he left Roland behind. With Birdy coming back to town, this one night could give them the chance to finally come to terms with the past. Kearney (The Desperates) offers a funny and heartfelt novel about growing up as an outcast in the 1960s. Narrator Sky Gilbert does a phenomenal job capturing the boisterousness of the aimless youths, balanced perfectly with the older version of themselves as they find their places in the world. Gilbert narrates with the tone of a lifelong friend, fondly reminiscing about years past—both flashy and comfortably ordinary—while acknowledging the tough times that came before.