Why Peacocks?

March 15, 2021
Unplanned adventures raising peacocks. As longtime GQ correspondent Flynn, a winner of the National Magazine Award, notes, it all started innocuously enough, with a text from a neighbor: "Any chance u guys want a peacock? No kidding!" His curiosity piqued, the adventure began, even though he had no experience raising peacocks and no previous desire to do so. When he saw the peacocks for the first time, he thought they were the "most magnificent creature I had ever seen." Just a day earlier, he writes, "I hadn't wanted any peacocks, and for the same reason I'd never wanted koalas or a narwhal: The idea had never occurred to me." After seeing them, he decided to take home three. "A peacock...was a flicker of happy imagination," he writes, "an impossibly magical creature escaped from a dewdrop of unicorns and wood nymphs." Flynn shares the ups and downs of taking care of birds--including the chickens he already owned--and he interlaces his personal story with intriguing information about the history and science of the peacock and its representation in art and religion. The author also chronicles his travels, from a cathedral in New York to a castle in Scotland, to learn more about these spectacular birds. While at a meeting of the United Peafowl Association, he even met a man who had sold peacocks to Flannery O'Connor, known for having an affinity for birds. As readers follow Flynn's journey, his clever insights and pleasing prose style will leave them alternating between moments of shock and bursts of laughter. In the last few chapters, however, the tone shifts into a more somber mode. The author follows a linear path to the end of his story, but he never fully comes to terms with the question posed by the title. Though not the most profound meditation, the book makes for pleasant reading, especially for bird lovers. A unique journey punctuated with insight, humor, and lessons learned.

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Starred review from March 29, 2021
Journalist Flynn (3000 Degrees) returns with a wry and moving account of his time keeping peacocks at his North Carolina home. Following the death of his son Emmett’s python, Flynn purchased three peacocks—Carl, Ethel, and Mr. Pickle—after being persuaded by a woman who claimed they were at risk of being killed by a marauding owl. The reality of managing the peafowl proved more challenging, logistically and financially, than Flynn had anticipated—despite his belief that he could learn the ropes from Martha Stewart, who also keeps peacocks—and he got by thanks to his family’s assistance and an awareness of his own fallibility. Along the way, Flynn considers the bird as a cultural and religious symbol (it was a favorite of Greek goddess Hera, for example), and offers stories of other notorious peacock-keepers, among them Damian Williams, who takes care of the birds in their sanctuary in Dunfermline, Scotland. Flynn brings the birds to life as characters (“From her perspective,” he writes of caring for Ethel, “assuming she had one, I was her captor”), and a conversation he has with his son about animal death is especially touching. Fans of Lauren Scheuer‘s Once Upon a Flock should give this a look. Agent: David Black, David Black Literary. (May)
Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly noted this was the author's first book.

May 1, 2021

An impulsive decision to raise and keep peacocks inspired journalist Flynn to learn more about the birds' history. Flynn approached the subject of peafowl just as he would a writing assignment--he used his reportorial skills to understand the birds and their place in the world and in his family. His narrative explores the lives of peacocks around the world (mating displays, rituals, etc.), both in domestic situations and in the wild. He also profiles some of the people who are similarly drawn to these curious birds. Through it all, Flynn writes with wonder and humor, whether describing the expense and work of housing the birds, or conversations with his family about whether or not peacocks are the ideal pet. Flynn recognizes the privilege inherent in keeping peacocks; throughout the ages, the birds were esteemed for their beauty, and owning peacocks was a way to display wealth and power. The author also notes the downsides of living alongside peacocks, who are quite noisy. VERDICT Blending memoir and natural history, this candid journey into the world of an unusual bird will spark the interest of fans of popular science.--Mark Jones, Mercantile Lib., Cincinnati

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 22, 2021
Flynn's midlife crisis (at least in the eyes of his wife, Louise) takes on the form of an infatuation with peacocks, specifically a trio he "rescues." Flynn brings his award-winning journalist skills and wry sense of humor to investigate the fascination humans have had for peacocks throughout the ages, which leads him to consider existential questions of evolution and aesthetics. When the family menagerie meets danger and death, Flynn grapples with finding a way to address that most distressing fact of life with his young sons. His research takes him from home in North Carolina to far-flung destinations like a United Peafowl Association conference near Kansas City to Dumfermline, Scotland. Along the way, Flynn discovers quirky and charming bird lovers both historical (Flannery O'Connor for starters) and contemporary (including his bird vet, the chortling and unflappable Dr. Burkett) while learning that near Palo Alto, a serial peacock killer remains at large. Flynn's self-deprecating voice brims with curiosity and unabashed, never-mushy love for his family and pets. A delightful charmer of a memoir that will appeal to all readers.

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