Odd Bird

3.5 stars. I thought this one looked super intriguing because of how awkward Simon was. Simon studies bird coupling and he is having some issues with his own, coupling that is. After a recent break up, Simon struggles to find that ZING that makes him want to stay in a relationship. He feels like there needs to be more to it and he wants to feel longing for someone.
At a work colleague's party he meets Kim. Kim is lovely and she makes Simon feel things he longs to feel. After the party, a series of events keep Kim and Simon from meeting again, but he still holds out hope for Kim.
After a while, Kim and Simon do finally find their way to each other, but is it everything that he hope it would be, and more?
This story was a little choppy and I did struggle with the writing. I'm not sure if it was the way it was written or if it was translated or not. The story jumped months at a time and I felt it lost some of the longing Simon might have felt because I didn't feel what he was supposed to be feeling. In the end I really liked this story and the moral that came out of it. I don't want to give too much away, because it is a great twist ending, but I do want to say that I enjoyed the book overall and was glad to see the book end the way it did. Simon was quirky and the book was fun.

This book is an interesting take on the theme of finding love. I enjoyed the parallels made between human relationships and that of birds. The central character is relatable and modern. The style of writing is easy to get into and this book is good for a holiday read.

The story of Simon, newly single when he meets Kim and becomes slightly obsessd with her. Can he learn from the behaviour of birds and apply it to human relationships, and will it help him or not?

I would have liked to have seen an epilogue to see what happened next!

An enjoyable and quirky read.

Beautifully written, reminiscent of Adrian Mole, this was a terrific read. I enjoyed reading a romantic story from a male perspective. The characters were finely crafted and Simon was so endearing as to break anyone’s heart. Absolutely hilarious dialogue with scene stealers like Simon’s best mate, Phil. A really terrific book - would happily give any book by this author a try.

This is a quirky book with plenty of humour, most of it provided by our ‘odd bird’ hero, Simon. He’s an ornithologist who knows all there is to know about the mating habits of birds, but when it comes to humans then he’s lost. He hampers himself even further with his somewhat complicated systems of dealing with the world and people.
Helped, but occasionally hindered by pal Phil, Simon tries to get over the break-up of his marriage and find a new relationship. Easier said than done with our gauche and over-thinking protagonist.
It’s an easy read, with short punchy chapters, lots of dry wit and humorous episodes, and plenty of interesting snippets about birds. Refreshingly different.

This was a really sweet and unique romance. I loved spending time with the characters as well as learning a bit about orinthology.

This was great, a socially inept bloke falls in love with an alpha woman, loathed by his best friend and conscience. It all resolves itself in the end and brought a smile to my face.

I absolutely loved this book. The story was so original, the characters were loveable. I'm so glad I read this book, I flew through it in a day!

At first put off by the quirky character involved, then on realising that it was about an autistic character; verything fell into place. What a brilliant portrait of an autistic expert ornithologist Simon and his relationships in which he is hopeless. After breaking up with a relationship he then becomes besotted with an engaged woman. After her engagement breaks up, she seizes upon Simon who adores her, on which she revels. His friend Phil tries to warn Simon off the narcissistic woman whose fiancé had abandoned her due to her infidelities. The story of Simon’s research work and his social relationships with colleagues and friends and how aided and abetted by his friends he is able to finally overcome his innate inhibitions to find true love provides a fascinating insight into the strange distorted world and handicaps of being autistic. A most life affirming and uplifting story.

The central conceit of this book was quite cute. Simon is a clueless guy who lives for his observations of bird social behavior. He just doesn’t understand people, particularly women. He’s very attracted to Kim and she seems maybe to be attracted to him, but he can’t decipher her behavior.

The entire story is told from his point of view and the author carries through his commentary using scientific allusions. It’s all very cute, but I got a bit tired after a while. I think the book could have been trimmed about 25% without losing any of the plot or style. I was very amused for the first couple of hours, but after a while it seemed like the same joke about Simon’s cluelessness and bird references over and over.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

I simply loved this book – it was a like a cross between BBC’s Springwatch and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. It’s quirky, original and refreshing, and yes, birds do come into it but as far as I am concerned this only added to my enjoyment. I learnt something, and I love stories that allow me to do that.

Told from Simon’s point of view (which is also a novelty when it comes to this genre), the main character is an intelligent nerd who is socially awkward, hasn’t had much experience with women, and has a novel and quite endearing way of relating human relationships and behaviours to the natural world he has a better understanding of. He is naïve, self-effacing and totally lacking in confidence when it comes to anything other than birds. He is endearing and eminently loveable and his friend Phil is a perfect foil in his typical bloke-ishness.

As a reader, I could see the issues Simon was facing when it came to his love-life, but the way he failed to see the issues for himself because of his innate niceness, made me want to give him a great big hug.

This could have been a typical rom-com if the protagonist was a typical male lead. But it isn’t. It’s so much more and all the better for it. Don’t expect cute cafés, bakeries, or sweet village communities. Instead, expect to be entertained by an unexpectedly fantastic protagonist with a tone and style all of his own.

Oh, and it’s funny too.

This quirky read is brimming with humour, endearing characters & references to our feathery friends.

I loved that this was a male lead romantic comedy, I haven't read many so I was interested to read from this perspective, I found it to be a refreshing take on the genre.

Simon himself is a fabulous character amusing and well-drawn, he is very easy to root for. There are some laugh-out-loud exchanges between him and his well-meaning but often hinder some best friend Phil.

I really enjoyed the bird references Simon is constantly comparing his love life to what he knows the courtship behaviour of birds. Which is fascinating & surprisingly similar to our own in places.

Overall, an uplifting debut perfects for fans of The Rosie Project.

A huge thanks to Farrago Books & NetGalley for gifting me a copy in return for an open & honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Reading this book put me in the mind of 'The Rosie Project' by Graeme Simsion and Eleanor 'Oliphant Is Completely Fine' by Gail Honeyman. All three center around an atypical protagonist who initially has trouble maintaining relationships - both platonic and romantic. You can't help but feel for them as they suffer heartbreak after heartbreak.

In 'Odd Bird', the protagonist is Simon Selwood - an Avian Behavioral Ecologist who seems more comfortable around birds than other humans. While he is clearly brilliant, its obvious he is lacking in basic socialization skills - to the point where he is all but oblivious when three separate women come on to him.

His relationship with Kim - a woman he meets through a mutual friend - seems initially perfect, but it doesn't take long for red flags to appear, even if Simon completely misses them every time.

I found the writing to be well done, scientific when needed and conversational when not, and I really liked the secondary characters - especially Pippa & Phil.

Overall, I enjoyed this book very much, and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you Duckworth and Netgalley for access to this arc


Told in first person, this story is sort of like Brit Guy Lit. Introverted, avian behaviorist guy lit. I went back and forth speculating on whether or not Simon is mildly autistic or just crap at social interactions. He does view the world through avian specialist eyes and it sometimes appears that he’s studying his fellow homo sapiens as if they’re field specimens in the wild. Where he’s confident and bold is when he’s dealing with science and interacting with his fellow scientists.

Simon is earnest, honest – to a fault – sometimes clueless and oblivious but I was on his side and cheering him on. Simon wants a monogamous pair bond. He’s not a player, he trusts who he’s dating, and he tries. He tries so hard to be a good and supporting boyfriend and also a good scientist. Sometimes he tries so hard at the first thing that he can’t see the forest for the trees but he tries.

Yet I have read reviews which fault Simon for being “flat,” “unemotional,” “off putting” and the like. I loved the humor but it is dry and at times very sarcastic. There is a lot of information about birds but since this is Simon’s forte and how he views the world, it made sense to me. There were a few subplots in the second half of the story about non-science projects that Simon gets involved in which went on a bit too long for my taste and which I struggled to stay interested in. But when things focused back on him and his relationships, I was hooked again. Then came the finale which, with Phil’s help, wins Simon the pair bond he’s always dreamed of. The scene is hilarious yet also true to the characters. Still, maybe Simon would be better off avoiding karaoke from now on. B

What Could Go Wrong.....?
Delightful escapism. When protagonist Simon Selwood, an academic- his specialist subject, the monogamous sexual behaviour of bird life - applies his expert knowledge to human relationships what could possibly go wrong? Such fun and a rather joyous read.

A quirky read that while Simon & Kim had chemistry, you miss a lot of the longing, the pull with the time jumps.

I enjoyed how the author corresponded the courtship of birds to his main couple, but it lacked the flow needed to really dive into it. I did feel a connection to Simon because of the birds being constantly present & explained, but I lacked a connection to Kim & their relationship.

4.5★s
“Even if I do meet a female who elicits a more profound and sustained love response, she might not feel that way about me. After all, they don’t make a sexy behavioural ecologist calendar, do they? Society has decided, for whatever reason, that footballers and firemen are more attractive.”

Odd Bird is the first novel by British author, Lee Farnsworth. Dr Simon Selwood, behavioural ecologist with a special interest in birds at Empirical University in London, is frustrated. He’s thirty-four, and his two-year pair bond with Claire has dissolved. Will he ever achieve a lasting pair-bond?

His best friend, Phil makes suggestions that are either distasteful to Simon, or unsuccessful: online dating or speed dating. Often proffering an unhelpful commentary when meeting new women is Simon’s paracingulate cortex, that region of his brain making flash judgements of beauty, the bit he dubs his PC, and whose remarks frequently don’t conform to the commonly accepted definition of PC.

His Uni colleague Pippa resolves to reignite Simon’s social life, but is less than pleased when he fixates on beautiful PR person, Kim McFale: “She enjoys the power she has over men a little too much, in my opinion… You are a nice guy, Simon – a lovely guy but lovely has never floated Kim’s boat, and it doesn’t bring out the best in her either. She would break your gorgeous heart.” Is Pippa right?

But all Simon sees is: “Her hair was long and lustrous, indicating that not only was she currently in good health, but also that she had been in good health for several years. Her skin was pale and her features small, suggesting that a high concentration of oestrogen and just the tiniest trace of testosterone were circulating in her immaculate bloodstream. Brown irises floated in still seas of unblemished white sclera. Best of all, she was highly symmetrical; I reminded myself that I had always wanted to form a pair-bond with a highly symmetrical female.”

It seems a moot point anyway, as Kim becomes unavailable. Why then, some months after her relationship with Michael has been formalised, is she flirting with Simon? He’s sure this is not something pair-bonded females do, but his three-month trip to Sweden on a long-awaited pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) study precludes further exploration of the situation. And surely he’s out of her league? But Simon isn’t too absorbed in his work and his fellow researchers to respond to text messages…

Initially, the plot seems a little predictable, but soon enough, it takes turns that may surprise. Even if we all know who Simon ought to forge that elusive pair-bond with, the story takes a detour into unexpected territory via radio interviews, a book and reality TV shows all examining infidelity and what bird behaviour might predict for humans.

Farnsworth’s protagonist is quirky but endearing enough that the reader will be cheering him on. Simon’s observation “Genuine interest in my work is about as common as a Siberian rubythroat (Luscinia calliope) and so I checked her expression again, just to be sure” partly illustrates of the following…

A degree of social ineptitude, obliviousness to human behavioural cues and literal interpretations, reveal that Simon is clearly the cousin of Don Tillman (The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion); his ornithological preoccupation marks him as a close relative of Hattie Bloom (The Great Escape From Woodlands Nursing Home, Joanna Nell).

Farnsworth’s support cast also appeals: despite the fact that Phil is quite obnoxious at times, he proves himself a true friend to Simon, while Pippa’s heart is plainly in the right place. There’s plenty of humour in this charming debut novel, although it doesn’t fail to tug at the heartstrings occasionally. A very entertaining read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Duckworth Books – Farrago.

This was a fantastic read. The story was beautifully written.
It was intriguing to read a romance story told from a males perspective as it added an entirely different feel to this book.
The characters were realistic and each had their own personalities. I especially liked Simon, he was so incredibly endearing, it was impossible to not feel a connection with him.

A book full of humour and marvellous situations that truly grasp your interest. I would happily recommend this book to anyone!.

I enjoyed this more than I expected to based on the first few pages. That is of course much better than the alternative! The protagonist is an expert in the mating science of birds and feels that his knowledge of this should hold true for human relationships. At some levels I'm sure it does, but this book shows how the things that science cannot measure plays a big part too. It was good to see a romantic comedy penned from a different perspective to what one normally sees.

If you loved Don Tillman, the scientist and undiagnosed "Aspie" hero of Graeme Simsion's "The Rosie Project," then you should definitely read this book. I laughed hysterically throughout "Odd Bird," and I hope Lee Farnsworth continues Simon's story. Simon Selwood is an ornithologist who is looking for his own pair bond, and he is aided, haplessly but hilariously, by his best friend Phil. Simon, like many of the birds he loves and most of the men in his world, falls for gorgeous female plumage with little thought for mutual compatibility. He is genuine and likable, and it's easy to root for him to find his mate. Thanks to NetGalley and Farrago for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.