This strange Canadian piece of literature isn’t a typical read for me, but it’s short length tempted me, as did the quality of the paperback print I collected from the second hand bookshop.
It’s less than two hundred pages, but each page is expertly crafted and printed on temptingly thick paper with a very intentional font. First published in 2011.
Growing up on the English Pennines, and since then living a very urban lifestyle, I’ve never particularly had to worry about wildfires.
Clearly, many Canadians feel quite differently. England is deforested land, and has been for centuries. The damage done to the English landscape by simply lacking trees deeply concerns me, but it also means that my main reference point for a meaningful fire is the Great Fire of London in 1666, and not much else.
For the Canadian societies that live in villages surrounded by these arboreal sentinels, summer wildfires are a very real threat. The Great Matheson fire of 1916 referenced in And the Birds Rained Down was a real event, and its far from being the only inferno to befall North America.
I spoke to a Canadian colleague shortly after finishing this book, and they confirmed that even this year, in 2026, their property had been threatened by a wildfire that had come close to their area. A change in the wind could have caused a lot of misery for my friend.
The book isn’t really about the fires themselves, though they feature prominently. I would say the central theme is more focused on how people cope with the kinds of disasters that can completely crush the soul. In that sense, it’s a book about people who have seen into the abyss and choose to keep living on the edge of it. Life before death, and always with hope.
The subject matter is inescapably miserable, and yet deeply important. It asks the reader to question whether they would let themselves be consumed by a life shattering event, whether that’s a wildfire or imprisonment, or whether they would keep fighting to escape the dark pull.
(Or, a secret other option, to live within the darkness to create art with unmatched depth.)
Aside from the above, what drew me to read this book was the concept of an octogenarian romance. I read too many books about young and pluck heroines, so this was a fabulous departure from the norm.
I also enjoyed the commentary on mental illness and the meaning of quality of life.
Overall, I would strongly recommend this book for readers looking for a quick dip into literature.
For those interested in some truths behind the making of And the Birds Rained Down, check out:
“There’s only one character in the novel whose drawn from my own life…”
Jocelyne Saucier on the writing of And the Birds Rained Down
“But hearing about them [wildfires] is not the same as experiencing one firsthand.”
Interview with survivor of the real fires.
Additionally, there’s a film adaptation of the novel, which came out in 2019.
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