“Both heartbreaking and sharply funny…Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey is brilliant and surprising at every turn.”—Rebecca Makkai, Pulitzer finalist for The Great BelieversA heart-tugging and gorgeously written novel based on the incredible true story of a WWI messenger pigeon and the soldiers whose lives she forever altered, from the author of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk. From the green … Takes a Walk.
From the green countryside of England and the gray canyons of Wall Street come two unlikely heroes: one a pigeon and the other a soldier. Answering the call to serve in the war to end all wars, neither Cher Ami, the messenger bird, nor Charles Whittlesey, the army officer, can anticipate how their lives will briefly intersect in a chaotic battle in the forests of France, where their wills will be tested, their fates will be shaped, and their lives will emerge forever altered.
A saga of hope and duty, love and endurance, as well as the claustrophobia of fame, Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey is a tragic yet life-affirming war story that the world has never heard. Inspired by true events of World War I, Kathleen Rooney resurrects two long-forgotten yet unforgettable figures, recounting their tale in a pair of voices that will change the way readers look at animals, freedom, and even history itself.
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Lovely story
A look at history thru the eyes of a feathered friend
Based. on a true story about how a homing pigeon saved America’s Lost Batallion deep in a salient surrounded by Germans in WWI. Told from the perspective of the pigeon and the unit commander.
A brilliant book that will stay with a reader. The first world war is shown with clarity. It caused me some discomfort.
I liked the history in the book but there was too much needless sex escapades that detracted from the story.
I loved the originality of this book. The history of it was amazing.
In this wildly original story Rooney takes on a familiar setting for historical fiction—WWI– and ‘quirks’ it up significantly. She focuses on a single engagement, the famous Lost Battalion, pinned down for days in the trenches by fire both enemy and friendly, and tells it from the POV of two unlikely (but real life) heroes of dubious sexuality—a beloved gay major and, of all things, a mis-sexed pigeon. But that description barely scratches the surface of this rich tale.
You’ll adapt to the talking pigeon as easily as you did Charlotte and Wilbur, and come to appreciate her aptness as a neutral narrator who comments with genuine curiosity on the bizarre behavior of humans and their penchant for killing each other. And, you’ll be entranced by the story of her species, their role as vital messengers, and their ability to love and bond with each other, as well as humans. These were my favorite chapters.
The major is the oddball in this narrative–full of decency and desire, uncomfortable in his hero’s skin and graced with only the momentary glimpse of a genuine love that could have been with a man with an affinity for pigeons. It all makes perfect, tragic sense.
Fabulous book based on two historic characters. Read this book – I promise you will like it a lot!!
This story has two narrators. Cher Ami is a homing pigeon serving with the US Army in the last battle of WWI, who was instrumental in saving the lives of 194 men of the “Lost Battalion” as she carried a message from the site the men were under fire to the allied command 25 miles away in 25 minutes. When she arrived, she’d been shot in the breast, lost an eye, and one of her legs was destroyed. She died several days later from her wounds. She was treated as a fallen hero, awarded medals, and is now ensconced in the Smithsonian Institution albeit stuffed.
The other narrator is Charles Whittlesey, the commander of the battalion under siege by Germans and trapped in a small depression on the side of a mountain. He lost 356 men to the German artillery and never recovered from the ordeal. He, too, was awarded a medal, the Medal of Honor from the US.
Rooney has written a book using historical facts wrapped up and immersed in a complex tale of courage and betrayal during war time. She has also used two real heroes as her narrators. While the setting, the time leading up to WWI and the war itself, is not unique, the characters are. They are both so well drawn that you will forget Cher Ami is a dead pigeon and that Charles’ demons from the war were added to his personal demons.
The author gets inside the head of Cher Ami and uses her to act as a foil to Charles’ angst and guilt. Her perceptions of human behavior are insightful and will make you think about the truths she tells us. You’ll undoubtedly will think of Cher Ami long after you put the book on a shelf.
If you like your historical novels based on a little-known fact with major consequences, with characters who are brought back to life, and that is so well written you’ll be hard pressed to set the book down, then this is most certainly the book for you.
My thanks to Penguin Books and Edelweiss for an eARC.
Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey by Kathleen Rooney is an excellent historical fiction novel taking place during WWI and is based off of true events.
The subject of messenger pigeons is something I have read about before, however the author’s totally unique perspective of writing in alternating chapters (one of which is as the pigeon herself) is beyond ingenious and amazing. This book has it all: history, true events, a great plot and characters, excellent pace and descriptions, and best of all: the viewpoints of a courageous and intelligent messenger pigeon! Who could ask for a better book!
Excellent book. I cannot recommend it enough.
5/5 stars