The Comfort of Crows

In The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl presents a literary devotional: fifty-two chapters that follow the creatures and plants in her backyard over the course of a year. As we move through the seasons-from a crow spied on New Year's Day, its resourcefulness and sense of community setting a theme for the year, to the lingering bluebirds of December, revisiting the nest box they used in spring-what develops is a portrait of joy and grief: joy in the ongoing pleasures of the natural world, and grief over winters that end too soon and songbirds that grow fewer and fewer.

Along the way, we also glimpse the changing rhythms of a human life. Grown children, unexpectedly home during the pandemic, prepare to depart once more. Birdsong and night-blooming flowers evoke generations past. The city and the country where Renkl raised her family transform a little more with each passing day. And the natural world, now in visible flux, requires every ounce of hope and commitment from the author-and from us. For, as Renkl writes, "radiant things are bursting forth in the darkest places, in the smallest nooks and deepest cracks of the hidden world."

With fifty-two original color artworks by the author's brother, Billy Renkl, The Comfort of Crows is a lovely and deeply moving book from a cherished observer of the natural world.

Spiegel & Grau | ISBN: 978-1954118461 | 10/24/24 | 270 pages

1. The book opens with a New Year's game called "First Bird." If you had to choose a bird or other animal to represent this year for you, what would it be and why?

2. The book begins with two epigraphs, including one by Mary Oliver: "To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work." What does this quote mean? How does paying attention change our lives, and in what ways is it "work"?

3. Epigraphs precede many of the essays in the book. Did this add to or change your reading experience? Did you have a favorite? Why?

4. There are beautiful scenes throughout the book surrounding communities of animals (crows, bluebirds, etc) and how they behave together. What can we take away from their interactions to help us be better humans?

5. In The Comfort of Crows, each season ends up having its own distinct personality. Do you have a favorite season, and if so, what makes it special? Has your favorite season changed over time?

6. Throughout the book, Renkl discusses how the seasons have shifted as the effects of climate change take an increasingly large impact on the environment. What are three actions you can take to help your wild neighbors as their environment changes?

7. There are many examples of the resiliency of nature, as well as its fragility, throughout the book. What do you find to be the most surprising thing about nature? What do you think our landscape will look like ten, fifteen, or twenty years from now?

8. How do the changing seasons connect us back to previous generations?

9. Discuss how the changing seasons connect back to the seasons of life (leaving for school, coming back for the holidays or summer break, etc). What seasons do you have strong memories associated with?

10. Renkl's brother created all the art in the book. Do you have any siblings? Have you ever worked on a big project together? What do you imagine it would be like?

11. How did the art affect your reading of each chapter? Did you have a favorite? Could you always see the connection between the art and the writing?

12. What is the role of faith in the book, religious or otherwise?