Darwin has just moved to the Trinidadian city of Port Angeles, leaving behind his mother and the Rastafarian faith he was brought up in - for the only employment he can find is digging graves and tending to Fidelis cemetery grounds; a job no Rastafarian would agree to do. Despite his misgivings, his work turns out to be pleasanter than expected - caring for the grave plots, attempting to sooth the bereaved - until he discovers the predatory behaviour of his fellow workers.
Above the city, in an old house which remains standing far longer than it should, live Yejide and her extended family. Through her maternal line, Yejide has inherited a strange obligation - to care for the dead. to talk to them and calm their spirits; a power which family tradition attributes to their descent from the 'corbeau', huge black birds which fly east at sunset with the souls of the dead.
Unsurprisingly Darwin and Yejide, even before they meet, are drawn together, their destinies intertwined, one supplying something which the other lacks.
Told from their alternating points of view, not in first person but still with the rhythm and cadence of Trinidadian speech, When We Were Birds is about family (its secrets and obligations) and destiny (and trying to avoid it). It's a wonderful mix of the mundane and the fantastical, full of the sights and sounds of its setting, and the hopes and fears of two very different young people. Magical realism at its best. Surprisingly it's a debut novel, so the author is definitely one to watch out for.
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