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Confessions of a Homing Pigeon

George Bernini, the five-year-old son of the Flying Berninis of Ringling Brothers Circus fame, becomes the ward of his eccentric Uncle Fritz when his parents die in a freak trapeze accident. Following in his uncle's wake, George is exposed at a tender age to the footloose existence of a 1950s, self-styled expatriate musician who lives and studies in Paris, drinks to excess, frequents the local bordellos, enjoys café society, and lives a seemingly carefree existence. When Fritz's lifestyle and George's educational deficiencies are discovered by more conventional family members, a custody suit ensues, and George is transported to the traditional family environment of his Aunt Susan's home in Chicago, where he lives and attends the Marcus Leader Workingman's Progressive School, until he runs away at age fourteen to rejoin his Uncle Fritz. George's life in Chicago is treated with far less appeal and enthusiasm than his years in Paris, and in comparison Chicago appears rather dreary. However, Confessions of a Homing Pigeon remains a beautifully poignant novel of childhood and adolescence. If the child appears a bit too precocious, he is easily forgiven because of the sheer beauty and delight of his story.

  • Format
  • hardcover
  • Pages
  • 378
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9780385271981
  • Release date
  • 1981