Whistling Women and Crowing Hens
A girl with aspirations too big for a small town comes of age as a traveling performer in the thrilling historical novel Whistling Women and Crowing Hens.
In Melora Fern’s enchanting historical novel Whistling Women and Crowing Hens, a woman comes of age through a musical road show.
Nineteen-year-old Birdie is a talented trombonist who can whistle and imitate bird calls with perfect pitch. Dismayed by her sister Lydia’s matchmaking and the slim romantic prospects in their Pennsylvania town, she auditions with a traveling musical troupe. Nervous but excited to leave home, she joins Flo, Mary, Helen, and Adelle in a quintet, with Hugo, an ambiguous flirt, as their manager. She experiences backstage camaraderie and the thrill of performing. Tensions arise across the tour stops; at each turn, Birdie yearns to meet challenges without compromising her values.
Beside Flo, who exudes flapper sophistication, and Adelle, who has a prickly demeanor, Birdie feels somewhat insecure. She is soothed by advice from her family members, including “Don’t quit when things go wrong,” which helps to keep her grounded. She is a naive but endearing heroine whom others feel drawn toward, and she matures over the course of the novel as she encounters the unsavory side of the entertainment business. For example, she overhears another cast member discussing harassment. Bootlegging is also uncovered, and an assault stirs anger among the women. Birdie develops deeper perspective on the problems that people face and the grace that is required to meet challenges.
The 1920s setting is developed in terms of its styles, including drop-waist dresses; Birdie wants a cloche hat and bobbed hair. Period idioms like “the bee’s knees” are included, and the quartet’s song selections mix classics with popular tunes. The social expectations of the period are handled with nuance as well, as when the quintet, staying in boarding houses during the tour, deal with outside supervision. They are also bound by their contracts to avoid involvement with their audience members or their managers—a rule that Birdie questions and others ignore with varying consequences.
Momentum gathers in the book’s latter half when the quintet rallies to help boost ticket sales. How Birdie and her friends manage this is a testament to their creativity and cooperation. Though a late complication surrounding Birdie’s self-doubts and attraction to a woman friend are somewhat unresolved, her realizations about family and choosing her own future are rewarding signs of growth.
Whistling Women and Crowing Hens is a lively historical novel in which a talented ingenue gains wisdom and confidence through her new friendships.
Reviewed by
Karen Rigby
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