Like a Bird - Paperback Edition

Fariha Róisín

Featured in the New York Times, The Guardian, and Huffington Post One of NPR, The Globe and Mail, and Vogue’s Best Novels of 2020

Like a Bird follows Taylia Chatterjee, a teenager living on Manhattan's Upper West Side with her older sister Alyssa and overbearing yet emotionally distant parents. As Taylia grows up and is forced to leave home, she finds herself seeing the city and its many ghosts in a new light. A story of both survival and joy, Fariha Róisín’s debut novel is an intense, provocative, and emotionally profound portrait of a young woman’s inner life.

Praise for Like a Bird - Paperback Edition

"Taylia’s story is one of survival and the power of community, something Róisín captures with her beautiful prose and a piercing perspective that touches on today’s political and social climate."
—VOGUE,

"In lustrous, lyrical language, multifaceted artist Róisín has written an ode to the joy and healing power of self-love. This powerful novel is highly recommended."
—Library Journal, Starred Review

"Fariha Róisín's novel sings of building joy within sorrow and spins a gossamer reverie that clings to the consciousness... With its profound testaments to the love of found families and the courage involved in daring to open a cracked heart, Like a Bird is an unforgettable novel."
—Foreword Reviews,

"Well-paced and hopeful, this stirring work will resonate with those interested in stories of young women breaking free of oppression and trauma."
—Publishers Weekly,

"In Like a Bird, Róisín grapples with big issues, from identity to racism to sexual assault, but she does so with a lyricism and generosity that allow the reader intimate access into Taylia's experience, and the opportunity to feel the same empowerment and freedom that Taylia achieves for herself."
—Kristine Iversen, Refinery29