A book ostensibly about a young boy brought up in a liberal family and then his junior year abroad in Paris. It, however, felt more like a scaffolding upon which to provide an exploration and critique of philosophical ideas and society. Much of this was spot on and thought provoking. ( )

Remarkably sensitive take on the '60s.Touching "coming of age" story. Oh hell, I really liked it. ( )

This book was difficult to rate. It was my first by Mary McCarthy. The writing was quite good. Mary McCarthy is clearly very intelligent and has much to say about the world in which she lives. Birds of America was a tremendous commentary on the culture, the zeitgeist, of the 60’s in not only the US but in Europe as well. Peter Levi, the primary character in the novel, is a 19 year-old who has split his years to date between the northeast and California. His family life is representative of what is beginning to happen in the US; his mother is on her third marriage and Peter splits his time between his mother and father. Peter’s is a very middle-class, liberal family; his mother is a performing musician but also a musical scholar; his father is Jewish and a history professor at Wellesley.

The novel covers the full gamut of the 60’s: civil rights, the Vietnam War, the politics of the time (Johnson versus Goldwater), art and Nature. It was interesting (compared to what we often experience today) that this liberal-leaning family actively debated the strengths and weaknesses of Johnson and Goldwater before making their choices. While this novel’s exploration of the 60’s was quite well done in many respects, it felt tiresome at times, like a dry lecture, and Peter’s whiny, spoiled nature ultimately grated, so that I never fell in love with the novel. There were enough positives in the novel and more particularly in the writing though that I want to read something else by Mary McCarthy. I have heard that many readers like The Group by Mary McCarthy; I expect that novel is in my future. ( )

רומן על רקע הקרע הפוליטי באמריקה בשנות השישים ( )

Widely regarded as an American classic, but I found this story of a young American spending his Junior year at the Sorbonne in France to be plodding, with an unsympathetic character and a disappointingly ambiguous ending. There are some good moments and scenes, but on the whole the main character of Peter Levi, who determinedly lives his life according to Kant's dicta, is rather narrow-minded and frustrating in his choices. ( )