Who’s ready for emotions? :D

The first chapter of this book reminds me of the first ten minutes of Pixar’s Up, in that we are introduced to our protagonist, given some lovely heartwarming imagery, and then once our guard is down we are thoroughly gutted. And then the story begins.

Alberto the carpenter lives in the town of Allora, which is know for its fish that fly out of the sea in such great numbers that there’s no need for fishermen; they catch themselves. Alberto lives in a house on the edge of town near the cemetery, with his wife and three children.

And then the sickness comes.

The town is nearly wiped out as more and more people die, and finally Alberto’s family succumbs. As the town’s coffin maker had already died earlier, Alberto takes it upon himself to make coffins for his family and them himself.

Only the sickness doesn’t take him.

He wishes it did.

And that’s just the first chapter, so hold onto your hats! We pick up the story a few decades later, when Alberto is commissioned by the pompous Mayor to make the grandest coffin of all for him. Expensive wood, expensive ornamentation, the works.

Alberto has become the town’s official coffin maker over the years, and he mostly only talks to the dead people he’s making coffins for. It’s a quiet, solitary life. And then one day, he notices food going missing. He manages to catch the thief in the act…and it’s a boy. A boy with a beautiful bird friend. They take off at once, but over time Alberto manages to slowly gain the boy’s (Tito) trust.

Tito slowly comes to trust Alberto, and even asks to learn how to make coffins too. All he wants is a place to feel safe from the powerful man that pursues him, and as time passes he finally feels he’s found a safe home.

Until the day the man comes to town looking for Tito.

This is Matilda Wood’s debut novel, and it has this wonderful timeless quality. It’s a delightfully heartwarming tale of quiet friendship with a bit of mystery and magical realism.

The Boy, the Bird and the Coffin Maker - Likewise Book Reviews

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