Brood Audiobook By Jackie Polzin cover art

Brood

A Novel

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Brood

By: Jackie Polzin
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
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Buy for $13.50

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An exquisite new literary voice—wryly funny, nakedly honest, beautifully observational, in the vein of Jenny Offill and Elizabeth Strout—depicts one woman's attempt to keep her four chickens alive while reflecting on a recent loss.

“Full of nuance and humor and strangeness…[Polzin] writes beautifully about everything.” —The New York Times
Over the course of a single year, our nameless narrator heroically tries to keep her small brood of four chickens alive despite the seemingly endless challenges that caring for another creature entails. From the forty-below nights of a brutal Minnesota winter to a sweltering summer which brings a surprise tornado, she battles predators, bad luck, and the uncertainty of a future that may not look anything like the one she always imagined.

Intimate and startlingly original, this slender novel is filled with wisdom, sorrow and joy. As the year unfolds, we come to know the small band of loved ones who comprise the narrator's circumscribed life at this moment. Her mother, a flinty former home-ec teacher who may have to take over the chickens; her best friend, a real estate agent with a burgeoning family of her own; and her husband whose own coping mechanisms for dealing with the miscarriage that haunts his wife are more than a little unfathomable to her.

A stunning and brilliantly insightful meditation on life and longing that will stand beside such modern classics as H is for Hawk and Gilead, Brood rewards its readers with the richness of reflection and unrelenting hope.

Accolades & Awards

Los Angeles Times Book Prize
2021
Literary Fiction Los Angeles Times Book Prize Animals Women's Fiction Fiction Family Life Genre Fiction Funny Marriage
All stars
Most relevant
This story takes the skill and enjoyment of raising suburban chickens with the hope for a child to raise.

A metaphor on life

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A humorous book about a couple raising chickens. I totally enjoyed the book but found the narration of the audio book to be flat and at times monotone. However if you are looking for a short book to listen to that has a good mix of humor and information on urban chicken farming, you’ll likely enjoy the book.

Brood

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Knowing the author's mother, being from the author's hometown, and owning chickens of my own made this even more spot on. The descriptions of chicken behaviors, of an egg, of losing one of the brood, of a marriage, and of infertility were each well studied and described with comforting detail.

Small Town Wonderful

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The author’s phrasing and word choice are lovely. The humor is subtle. Ultimately this is a highly pastoral work. Likely not for everyone but I am glad to have experienced it.

Beautifully Written and Intriguing

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A simple sweet story about a woman, her husband, and her much loved chickens. Every day things, life as it is. I enjoyed how uncomplicated this story is. You feel the beauty in just the movement through and feelings of a regular, or not so regular, day. If you’re from MN, like I am, you’ll recognize some of the places mentioned. ❤️

Refreshing....

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