As a whole, this book hasn’t aged well, but it stays on my bookshelf for this one epic, beautiful, moving story. It has a very early depiction of a deaf character seen as an asset, the aliens are believably bird-like and the fundamental story of rejection and finding a home and family among an entirely alien species is joyous. Another one that made me cry, on first reading AND re-reading.
First published in Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction, ed. Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel, The Overlook Press, 1999
A Personal Anthology 