The Bird Factory

R. Gordon Moyles is professor emeritus of English at the University of
Alberta. He is co-author of Imperial Dreams and Colonial Realities:
British Views of Canada, 1880–1914, author of The Salvation Army and
the Public, and editor of “Improved by Cult

This is Luke Gray’s predicament: “So here was I in a house, which
was mine and not mine, swallowing little pills, which might or might not
help, trying to get my wife pregnant, which might or might not
happen.” Everything in his life seems highly satisfactory until this
moment of ultimate pressure—his marriage to Julia has been a happy
one, he likes his in-laws, his flaky parents are out of his hair and his
bird factory, though not making a mint, is prospering in a weird sort of
way. But now things begin to fall apart. Fertility clinics, hormone
injections, in-vitro sessions all become a family affair. This, coupled
with the fact that his bird factory is fast becoming a rehab centre,
threatens to destroy the equanimity of domestic life. It does not, of
course, and, though the ending is somewhat unexpected, it is
satisfyingly positive.

For this novel is, though sometimes ironic, often sardonic, a tribute
to the power of love, warped and fickle though it often is. Not that the
novel is in any way sentimental. Far from it. Layton’s art consists of
creating poignant humour, making us laugh and wince at the same
emotional crisis. He is sardonic and satiric, but always sensitive to
the inherent sadness of his subject. His novel is therefore eminently
readable, cleverly crafted, and superbly written. A novel well worth
reading.