One Bird's Choice - Iain Reid

 

- Iain Reid -

A hilarious account of Iain moving back in with his parents - a returning to the nest story.

This book is extremely relatable. Everyone thinks their house is 'normal', until they leave and live independently for a decade, then you realize how weird your parents really are. And, without kids around the parents tend to get more extreme and, I won't say weird, I'll say eccentric. Reid has plenty of examples of his parents hobby farm, and all the animals, taking over most of his parents' time and sanity. In one case his mother has a five page list of directions on how to feed the cat! From the timing, to the ratio of hard to soft food, to exactly how to mix in the cat's medication...there are instructions like this for all the pets. It's obsessive to the point of being funny.

The generational divides really show up as well. Reid is used to the young, single life of eating whenever the mood strikes, and eating badly (saltines for dinner anyone?). His parents, on the other hand, eat three solid meals a day. They talk about these meals for hours a day. They spend hours preparing them. They spend the time eating by planning the next meal. Then the Dad always says the same thing after every meal, "we eat well"....he says it after every single meal, every day! Months after moving back Iain is still giving stories about the food and after every meal his Dad still says, "we eat well". The daily routines are so far removed from Iain's life that it is funny.

And the phone! The phone call situation at the farm I can totally relate to. Reid screens calls, but his parents find it extremely rude to not answer the phone. So there is a constant battle when the phone rings. Iain tells them to screen the call, but the parents get so worked up that they have to answer it...the phone is always for Iain which makes it even funnier. But, even if it is a telemarketer, the parents' will politely listen to the caller until they can politely say good bye. Oh that generation!

This was probably one of the funniest books I've read in years. I actually laughed until tears came into my eyes at some points. It's just so relatable!