The Hummingbird: A Novel

A book abojt love, redemption and how to take steps toward forgiveness and peace. It covers many topics: love in difficult circumstsnces, the role of hospice and some little known history of WWII. It i cludes a book within a book and near the end you no longer care if tne storuy is true or not but the value is in the lessons you learn along the way

Every book I read leaves me with at least one small gift of knowledge, introspection, entertainment or gratitude, which is tucked away somewhere in my memory when the last page is read. This book provides all that and more, and is one that will remain with me for a long time. This is the first of Kiernan’s books that I have read, but it won’t be the last.

I wanted very much to like this book. I should’ve been able to relate, because I have lived on the Oregon coast and inland my entire life, and my daughter is going to school to become a hospice nurse. However, I found the book extremely boring. I tried four times over an 18 month period to get started on this book, but each time I had to reread the first 30 pages or so because they were so forgettable. The character that could’ve been developed so much better and had such a huge impact on the story was Barclay Reed, but the author failed to explain several important details so I was left confused about him and the motivations for his actions. I would’ve given the book one star if it weren’t for the storyline between Ichiro Soga, Hannah Baker and Donnie Baker III. To me, that was the most fascinating portion of the book and those were the only characters I truly grew attached to throughout the story. I felt like Deb wasn’t believable as a modern day woman. To me, it seems that the author just wasn’t sure which story he wanted to tell so he ended up telling many people’s stories only part way. That made for a very unsatisfying read. I will never recommend this book and I would discourage others from reading it. I kept thinking it must get better... but it never did.

I found this book both deeply moving and enlightening. It's such a difficult subject, hospice and dealing with life, yet the author does it beautifully. Death is universal and unique .

...whether or not this book is “true” or not, and you’ll have to read it to find out.And you should read it in the first place because it contains many larger truths than mere facts.As with “The Baker’s Secret”, wartime is the setting for revelation of deep human realities. From my own work with WW II and Vietnam survivors, I can vouch for the way that you come away from these two books with enlarged awareness of bonds and survival. The same is true for living with cancer (another kind of war).The structure of both books shifts your contact among characters and among places and times. So the books require some work from readers to integrate the experience. So much the better. It’s real.Good job. Bravo.

Good details about hospice work. Aviation sections are weak--the guy has done some homework, but clearly is not a pilot. Snapshots of Japanese culture are interesting. Iraq-Afghan-Nam PTSD sections are handled smoothly, but are not totally convincing. The crusty croaking prof is not completely realized, perhaps because his dialog is arch and stilted. In summary, a great plot, competent prose, just misses in a couple of areas, one of them key.

It deals with some of the most disturbing problems in our society today. Successfully helping soldiers to blend back into society, hospice care and Learning how to deal with the steps through a long death, forgiveness and peace.There are three main characters, a plucky hospice nurse, her husband Michael a soldier trying to reinvent a new life after a third tour in Iraq and an damaged academic professor who had a damaging life. All three are going through black periods of life. Can they help each other or will they be selfish and refuse help. Read this book and learn some remarkable ideas plus be informed about a little known attack by Japanese on the Oregon coast during 1942.

This book is wonderful. My husband is a combat veteran, and it can be so hard to understand his mind and the way he thinks. It can be even more difficult to know how to be supportive. This story really shows some of the raw emotion and real things that happen when a loved one comes home from being in an active war zone, and I found myself able to relate to the main character a lot. The other plot in this book relates to her job working with a particularly challenging Hospice patient - but the stories intertwine, and it is a beautiful, beautiful journey until the very end. This may actually be one of the only books that has ever gotten me so absorbed that I actually shed a tear.

Well written, a bit long. Offers some interesting insights concerning death and dying. As well, the palliative care nurse goes home to a husband with post traumatic stress disorders. Her plate is definitely full. And her patient has written a book about a Japanese pilot during WW2 who lands in the USA, a parallel story which is carried throughout the book.

This book was really 3 stories in one. One is the story of the symbiotic relationship that develops between the nurse and professor; the second is the historical narrative written by the Professor, (which is based on historical fact) as it is read by the nurse; the third and probably the weakest of the three, is the relationship between the nurse and her PTSD suffering husband and how it is altered and ultimately strengthened as a result of her time caring for the Professor in his final days. I enjoyed this book. I found it thought-provoking and that I related to the characters. I have given copies to friends, which is usually the highest recommendation I can give to a book.

This may be the best book I have ever read! Was gripped by the depth of the characters' personalities as well as their issues. Never before have I paused approximately 30 pages short of the end of a book to record the possible threads the author, Stephen P. Kiernan, might include in the ending. Then realized all these ideas were within me because of the ride/read I had loved so much.Am most avidly awaiting his next book, The Late Great Charlie Fisk!

So wonderfully written. I couldn't put it down. I loved how he was able to capture the emotions of the characters with intention and sincerity.

A thoroughly thought provoking novel....enjoyed it immensely and friends are lined up for their turn to read it!