Rebecca Higgins’s characters do weird things in their attempts to negotiate the world. They steal books and hide in bathrooms and treat grocery receipts like tarot cards. They may want solitude, even escape, but they don’t want to be invisible. They move between isolation and connection—on the internet, at uncomfortable parties, in a tent after Hurricane Katrina. These stories are about friendship and loneliness and the awkward, fumbling ways we try to love each other. We lie and leave things out, so often torn between hiding ourselves and needing to be seen.
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Reviews
“The stories in The Colours of Birds display their verve right from their opening sentences. They are playful and sympathetic, particularly to oddballs, and ultimately to all of us scrambling to navigate the surprising, mystifying business of being human.” —Catherine Bush, author of The Rules of Engagement and Accusation
“Rebecca Higgins’s debut collection of stories is bold, enchanting, and highly original. A wonderful, delightful read.” —Helen Humphreys, author of The Evening Chorus and Afterimage
“In The Colours of Birds, disillusioned internet daters, heartbroken book thieves, lonely grocery-receipt collectors, and lovesick builders of gingerbread houses take turns searching for meaning, fumbling for connection, and clinging to hope that something better is just around the corner. This is a charming, unsettling, and splendid debut.” —Jessica Westhead, author of Things Not to Do and And Also Sharks
Author(s)
Rebecca Higgins
Rebecca Higgins has lived and worked in Ireland, Honduras, and Brazil. She has a background in social work and has worked in mental health education since 2011. Her short stories have appeared in such publications as the Toronto Star and the Antigonish Review.