William Wharton (7 November 1925 - 29 October 2008), the pen name of the author Albert William Du Aime (pronounced as doo-EM), was an American-born author best known for his first novel Birdy, which was also successful as a film.
Wharton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1943, and was inducted into the school's Wall of Fame in 1997. He volunteered to serve in the United States Army during World War II, and was assigned to serve in a unit to be trained as engineers. He ended up being assigned to serve in the infantry and was severely wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. After his discharge, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles and received a undergraduate degree in art and a doctorate in psychology, later teaching art in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
His first novel Birdy was published in 1978 when he was more than 50 years old. Birdy was a critical and popular success, and Alan Parker directed a film version starring Nicolas Cage and Matthew Modine. After the publication of Birdy and through the early 1990s, Du Aime published eight novels, including Dad and A Midnight Clear, both of which were also filmed, the former starring Jack Lemmon.
Many of the protagonists of Wharton's novels, despite having different names and backgrounds, have similar experiences, attitudes, and traits that lead one to presume that they are partly autobiographical[citation needed]. There is precious little certifiable biography available about Wharton / Du Aime. He served in France and Germany in World War II in the 87th Infantry Division, was a painter, spent part of his adult life living on a houseboat as an artist in France, raised several children (not all of whom appreciated his philosophy of child-rearing), is a reasonably skilled carpenter and handyman, and has suffered from profound gastrointestinal problems.
In 1988, Wharton's daughter, Kate; his son-in-law, Bert; and their two children, two-year-old Dayiel and eight-month-old Mia, were killed in a horrific 23-car motor vehicle accident near Albany, Oregon, that was caused by the smoke generated by grass-burning on nearby farmland. In 1995, Wharton wrote a (mostly) non-fiction book, Ever After: A Father's True Story, in which he recounts the incidents leading up to the accident, his family's subsequent grief, and the three years he devoted to pursuing redress in the Oregon court system for the field-burning that caused the accident. Houseboat on Seine, a memoir, was published in 1996, about Wharton's purchase and renovation of a houseboat.
It is worth to be noted that he gained an enormous and very hard to be explained popularity in Poland, which was followed by many editions as well as meetings and, eventually, some works prepared and edited only in Polish.
Wharton died on October 29, 2008 of an infection he contracted while being hospitalized for blood-pressure problems.
In my teens William Wharton was very popular in Poland. I believe it鈥檚 all started with Birdy. At least for me. I read then quite a number of his novels and even though I didn鈥檛 think much of him for years but only for Birdy and A Midnight Clear, and maybe Dad he had and still has a very special place in my heart. Not sure what prompted me to reread that one but here I was, with a flush on my cheeks, like a teenager I used to be, once again fascinated and totally preoccupied with the story.
You may read Birdy, at least at first, like a wonderful and adventurous tale about friendship and boyhood, a tribute to dreamers and escapists. Believe me, it鈥檚 hard not to laugh reading about all these silly boyish things or dangerous at times antics. But slowly as the story unfolds before your eyes dark and more disturbing things are revealing. The whole story starts in mental hospital when Al, crippled by the war, not only physically but also mentally, visits his childhood friend, the strange, skinny boy called Birdy. Narration is divided into two sections. The first one create memoirs of Al trying to remind events from the past to reach Birdy, to touch something hidden deeper inside him, to shake him out of catatonic state he seems to be immersed. The second voice belongs to Birdy and is a kind of inner monologue as he describes his fascination with birds and flying and freedom. And birdness. And from now it reads more like a report of illness.
There is such a fine line between creativity and inventiveness, need for own inner world and imaginary friend and falling into abyss and mental disorder. Between things that exist here and now and states we experience only in our heads, in our dreams. I thought the story was well written, without sentimentality or winking to the reader. I would object if someone looks at Birdy only as a tale about misfits or people no adapted to the world. I do not know if it mirrors any war experiences of the author but I found it reliable and rather real. I鈥檝e learned quite a lot about birdness too but also about frailty of the mind and power of imagination and human spirit. I can鈥檛 do the justice to Birdy and for I don鈥檛 want to reveal too much I鈥檒l say nothing more.
'Birdy' was author William Wharton's first novel, written at age 50. It is a story of two boys growing up in a poor suburb of Philadelphia who have one of those puzzling friendships, due to the boys' different natures, that somehow works. Birdy is a gifted youth obsessed with birds and flying and raises pigeons and canaries. Alfonso, his best friend, is a child abused by a gruff father. He channels his anger into playing sports, at which he excels, and beating people up, at which he also excels. Both share a strict Catholic school upbringing that neither seems to take too seriously.
In the novel, both are narrators and the setting is a military mental hospital in Kentucky where Birdy has been confined after suffering trauma fighting in the Pacific Theater in WW II. Alfonso is brought to the hospital by Birdy's psychiatrist because Birdy's trauma has caused him to act like a bird. He doesn't talk and squats and has to be fed like a bird by his attendant and has the "thousand-yard stare" common to traumatized war victims.
Alfonzo has his own psychological issues and is at Fort Dix undergoing reconstructive surgeries after being shot up in a skirmish in Germany. He visits Birdy daily and talks about the old days they spent together. Alfonzo is not a person of deep psychological insight but does realize that Birdy is acting like a bird to get away from whatever bad things happened to him in the war.
Several reviewers have speculated that this novel was a way for author Wharton to work out his own "issues" from trauma he suffered in World War II. Here's a line from Wikipedia that seems to support this:
"Wharton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From "a poor, hard-working, Catholic family",[1] he graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1943, and was inducted into the school's Wall of Fame in 1997. During World War II, Wharton served in the United States Army and was first assigned to an engineering unit. He was transferred to the infantry, and was severely wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. His memoirs included an account of his role in the killing of German prisoners during the war - "War for me, though brief, had been a soul-shaking trauma. I was scared, miserable, and I lost confidence in human beings, especially myself."
His war experiences seem to be a combination of Alfonzo's and Birdy's, as Birdy was also originally assigned to an engineering unit and Alfonzo was an infantry soldier fighting in Europe. He is not wounded in the Ardennes, as Wharton was, but he is severely wounded and has a long recovery.
Wharton became a psychologist after returning from the war and waited over twenty years to write this book. By the time he wrote it, much more was known about PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but men (and women) of Wharton's generation were not encouraged to talk about what happened in the war, especially if they saw hard combat, and those veterans unable to function in society were labeled as "shell-shocked" and looked down upon by some peers and many civilians. I think, in part, that this book is Wharton's way of exorcising his own demons about the war while showing the sorts of psychological problems that arise from severe trauma. He succeeds admirably in doing this.
That said, 'Birdy' was not always an easy book to read. At its best, the book's narratives are balanced and equal time is given to Birdy's reminisces about his bird-obsessed past and Alfonzo's attempts to bring Birdy out of his shell, so to speak, by rehashing childhood exploits. About two-thirds through the book, however, Birdy riffs on a lengthy explication of the intricacies of raising canaries that somewhat resembles the divagations on whales in 'Moby Dick,' though with a bit less gravitas. I found this section "readable" but it was slow-going for a person as neurotic and addled as I am :).
'Birdy' is one of those books that I'd been meaning to read for years, after watching the excellent movie version starring Matthew Modine as Birdy and Nicholas Cage (back in the days when he still played roles for art's sake) as Alfonzo. Somehow, thirty years passed between the time I first saw the movie and read the book. It is a flawed but beautiful book that humanizes trauma and shows the power of friendship as a bulwark to help us deal with the things that can break us.
I break inside my aloneness to knowledge, the end of knowing; a billowing of an air current; a movement toward necessity. * I stop talking. What鈥檚 the use? What鈥檚 the use of anything? Nobody really talks to anybody else anyway, even if they aren鈥檛 crazy. Everybody鈥檚 only strutting around, pecking and picking. * . How鈥檙e we going to work our way out of this one? Can we possibly kid ourselves into thinking all this makes sense, has some reason? * The whole thing has to end somewhere. Don鈥檛 you know, time pins everybody anyway.
Between my teens and my early twenties I'd pick my friends, according to weather they loved this book or not. Maybe I should start doing it again these days.
What a book. It forces you to think about some interesting questions. Who is really crazy? Am I crazy for trying to mold the world into my perception of "normal"? Are crazy people really sane and just using insanity as a protection for their "humaness". We are de-humanized every day. Scary. Makes you want to fly away--or at least buy a canary.
I remember watching this movie years ago and being fairly blown away. I hadn't read the book until now though and honestly, the book is very strong. It sort of reminded me of in that both protagonists are clearly suffering from PTSD which the army does not fully understand. Birdy and Al both come from impoverished, and in Al's case abusive, backgrounds and are put through hell after being drafted into WWII. However, we don't get the war narratives (both spine-tinglingly realistic, pulled from Wharton's own experience in that same war) but most of the book is about Birdy's obsession with raising canaries at home and Al's recounting their childhood together. We get the two perspectives in alternating chapters and slowly get to know and appreciate both of them. Lovely, powerful prose.
A few examples. Here is Al concluding the "bike" story:
Bird gives the bike a test ride and says its Ok but it'll never really be the same. He's like an old-fashioned Sicilian whose wife has been raped. Even if he knows it isn't even her fault, if she's beaten up from fighting back, he can never feel the same toward her. Birdy's like that about the bike. Its one of the reasons he's willing to sell it in Wildwood and why he never got a decent bike again after that. He loved that bile and after it was violated he didn't want another one. Somebody with a mind like that is hard to deal with. I look at Birdy there, squatting, watching me, open, sot, empty-eyed. I begin to realize he's been violated himself somehow. And now he doesn't want himself anymore. (p. 162)
This is a wonderful passage demonstrating the affinity of the two protagonists. Love it! This exchange reminded me of the how Chief and Randall in Kelsey's masterpiece.
Birdy's watching me. He's giving me his "you must be crazy" look. I'm beginning to believe he's been right about that all the time. I can see them sending Birdy up to Dix in about two weeks. There I am hunkering around in the "altogether," throwing shit at anybody who comes near me. He's sitting with a garbage lid for a shield talking to me about raising pigeons and running away to Wildwood, and ice skating, all that crap. God, it'd be great; just to let go and stop pretending; to let it all out; holler, scream, give Tarzan yells, run up walls or punch them; to spit or piss or shit at anybody who comes near! God, that'd be good What keeps me from doing it? I've been hurt enough; I could do it if I really wanted to. Nobody could blame me. (p. 199)
And one last one from towards the end.
"What's that mean, Birdy? You going back to squatting there in your cage, letting people feed you and I go back to leg pressing a thousand pounds and running around catching people so I can hold their shoulders to the ground for three seconds? I don't see it." "Listen, Al. I think what I'm trying to say is, we really are loons. We're crazy because we can't accept the idea that things happen for no reason at all and that it doesn't mean anything. We can't see life as just a row of hurdles we have to get over somehow. It looks to me as if everybody who isn't crazy just keeps hacking away to get through. They live it out day by day because each day is there and then when they run out of days they close their eyes and call themselves dead."
[Birdy] Al looks straight into my eyes. He's still not sure if I'm talking sense. I think I am, but I've been wrong so often lately. I can't hold back a smile. (p. 302)
Honestly, this was a more touching and more readable book than Pulitzer winner which beat this one out in 1980. I think it was also superior to the other runner-up, . But, I am not a professor at Columbia on that committee so what do I know?
A good friend lent it to me, saying it was his favourite book. I gave it five stars because the structure is so original, the voice pitch perfect...he pulls off something that i would never imagine possible, it is brave, fascinating, funny. The best parts are where Birdy is trying to distinguish between his daytime life and his nighttime dream, between being a boy or a bird, it is delicious, the blending of reality and dream, you start to believe the dream more than the reality, to want him to fly. The writing is pared down, concise, the author never intrudes, he is utterly faithful to the characters voices. A wonderful experience.
A moving bildungsroman set during the Second World War.
Wharton's methods are unconventional but that gives them power.
We start towards the end with his two protagonists meeting each other in a psych ward, where one tries to rehabilitate the other. As the story progresses it starts to become clear that maybe the more disturbed character is the one outside the cage.
This is a great war novel, I put it right up there with All Quiet on The Western Front. Although Wharton's approach to war is to examine the effects of it rather than immerse the narrative in it. He dedicates less than 5% to an actual account of the war but the effects of it smother everything else.
Imagine watching people going into and coming out of a Haunted House. By observing them closely you can guess not only what the Haunted House is like but also what the people themselves are like.
I've read Wharton's biographical account of his time in the war, , which is much closer to All Quiet. It's another fantastic book and one of the only accounts that takes the US military to task for their poor conduct in Europe. In Birdy you can see Wharton's refusal to glorify war, and instead he examines the dark shadow it casts over society and individuals.
Birdy also examines love and obsession but above all else it is a book about the most important question of all; the meaning of life and how to keep seeking it despite formidable adversity.
"Be to, a拧 vis dar nesu tikras d臈l pami拧imo s膮vokos. Kas yra beprotyb臈? Karai yra pati tikriausia beprotyb臈."
Pirmiausia nustebino tai, jog u啪 拧iuolaiki拧ko ir ry拧kaus vir拧elio sl臈p臈si jau laiko patikrintas k奴rinys. Ir kaip taikliai parinkta spalva, kuria subtiliai u啪koduotas knygos turinys ir simbolizuojama viltis.
Romanas prasideda, kai vaikyst臈s draugai susitinka psichiatrijos ligonin臈je. Pasibaig臋s Antrasis pasaulinis karas nusine拧臈 daugyb臋 gyvybi懦 ir paliko daugyb臋 su啪alot懦 啪moni懦. Ne i拧imtis ir jie. Psichiatras, gydantis vaikin膮, pravarde Pauk拧tukas mano, kad susitikimas su vaikyst臈s draugu gali teigiamai paveikti jo b奴kl臋.
Pauk拧tuko palatoje Alas pradeda j寞 kalbinti ir pasakoti apie drauge patirtus dalykus. Kokia gra啪i ir tikra i拧 pa啪i奴ros dviej懦 skirting懦 berniuk懦: lieso keistuolio, susi啪av臈jusio pauk拧膷iais ir raumeningo stipruolio draugys臈. Kiek nuotyki懦, kvailys膷i懦 ir i拧bandym懦 jie patyr臈. Autorius supyn臈 abiej懦 veik臈j懦 pasakojimus 寞 vien膮, o Pauk拧tuko mintys tekste i拧skirtos kursyvu.
Ne寞manoma nesi啪av臈ti Pauk拧tuko u啪sidegimu, entuziazmu ir tuo, kiek jis darbo ir u啪sispyrimo 寞d臈jo 寞 savo pom臈g寞. Be to, labai daug su啪inojau apie pauk拧膷ius: nuo j懦 auginimo, prie啪i奴ros, veisimo iki plunksnos sandaros ir skraidymo. Ir man臋s 拧i informacija visai neerzino, o kaip tik buvo 寞domu.
Steb臈jau kaip du berniukai pama啪u tampa suaugusiais, kaip rutuliojasi j懦 draugyst臈 ir kaip pama啪u i拧sitrina riba tarp gyvenimo ir sapno, taip tikrov臈s ir svajon臈s, tarp normalumo ir pami拧imo. I拧 prad啪i懦 tik臈jausi, kad pasakojime bus daugiau karo. Bet tik perskai膷iusi vis膮 knyg膮, lengviau atsikv臈piau, kad visgi karo nebuvo daug. Keistas, hipnotizuojantis, ta膷iau kartu ir lyri拧kas romanas apie draugyst臈s gali膮.
Who hasn鈥檛 at one time wanted to fly? When I was a kid I longed to be a seagull, soaring over the waves, riding the onshore uplift, sweeping over the shore. Birdy wants to be more, not only to fly, but to become a bird. His best friend Al wants to become a tough guy, to fend off his father鈥檚 physical abuse.
Birdy raises canaries, not for their song but for their flight. Along the way we learn an awful lot about canaries, but it never seems like a lecture. It鈥檚 just what Birdy is passionate about.
Birdy and Al are a mismatched pair, seemingly, but hang together through some terrific adventures, including the damage inflicted by World War II. As we might expect, it鈥檚 Birdy鈥檚 psyche that鈥檚 damaged while the hurt to Al is a physical wound.
This is one of the most unforgettable books I鈥檝e read. Don鈥檛 let me tell you in a couple of years that I know I read it but I don鈥檛 remember what it鈥檚 about. I will remember. It鈥檚 about flight and fight, about freedom and responsibility, about love.
;-; Ptasiek jest genialnie napisan膮 postaci膮, zreszt膮 podobnie jak Al. Zesp贸艂 stresu pourazowego zosta艂 tutaj naprawd臋 dobrze przedstawiony. Ale naprawd臋 nie mog艂am zmordowa膰 ca艂ych stron opis贸w hodowania kanark贸w. Ta ksi膮偶ka ma nieca艂e 300 stron, a m臋czy艂am j膮 przez kilka dni. Chcia艂abym odnale藕膰 w tw贸rczo艣ci Whartona to, co m贸j tata i dlatego b臋d臋 na pewno czyta膰 inne jego ksi膮偶ki. Ta jest obiektywnie dobra, ale nie poruszy艂a mnie osobi艣cie, personalnie (mam nadziej臋, 偶e rozumiecie, co mam na my艣li). Nie odradzam, przeczytajcie sami i zobaczcie, czy to do Was przemawia.
Absolutnie nie wiem co mam my艣le膰 o tej ksi膮偶ce, ale chyba mi si臋 podoba. To by艂o co艣 zupe艂nie innego, dziwnego, chwilami obrzydliwego, ale te偶 fascynuj膮cego.
Do 鈥濸ta艣ka鈥� wr贸ci艂am w ramach wsp贸lnego czytania z moimi ch艂opcami (12,5 i 14 lat). Chcia艂am, by poznali moj膮 kolejn膮 m艂odzie艅cz膮 fascynacj臋. 艁oskot spadania piedesta艂u by艂 bardzo g艂o艣ny. Nie wiem czy spad艂 tylko Wharton, czy m贸j autorytet w dziedzinie ksi膮偶kowych polece艅 wraz z nim. Ta ksi膮偶ka jest przede wszystkim potwornie nudna i nie umia艂am w niej znale藕膰 niczego, co kiedy艣 mog艂o mnie zachwyci膰. Jedynie scena wojenna da艂a rad臋, ale tylko, gdy nie postawi si臋 jej obok Remarque鈥檃, Hellera czy Herra.
Birdy is a weird little novel which feels like something one would be forced to read in junior high or freshman year English class. That鈥檚 not to say it鈥檚 bad, though parts of it actually read a bit like an after school special (only if that after school special were on HBO).
The novel follows two disparate teenage boys who are close friends despite their stark differences. One is a jock/muscle-man and the other dreams of being a bird and living in a bird world. We follow them on their adventures through childhood, into World War II, and then getting out of the war and trying to find their sanity.
Most of the novel focuses on Birdy, his relationship with the canaries he raises, and his desire to be a canary. The anthropomorphism gets a bit creepy at times but I guess it works for what Wharton was trying to achieve.
I found parts of the novel to be a bit uneven, and while the graphic and horrific war experiences thrown in at the end are interesting and in a way Billy Pilgrimish, they are somewhat abrupt and disjointed.
I actually wanted to like this novel more than I did but I guess that鈥檚 what you get by picking out books by reading obituaries (I found this novel when reading William Wharton鈥檚 obituary a few weeks ago as he recently died. I had never heard of him before then).
In all, it鈥檚 not a bad novel. I didn鈥檛 find the writing/language to be anything spectacular, but the big picture thoughts are impressive and the detail around the birds is admirable.