Marc's Reviews > Birds of Maine

I think what I like most about reading DeForge is that you feel like you've been invited inside someone else's mind. It's not even an invitation, it's more like you've stumbled into Seussian landscapes where oddly-shaped animals with anthropomorphized-intellects try to make sense of humanity. In this case, former birds of the Earth now live on the moon with their own complicated culture and "technology." There's not so much a story arc as there are developments of character, philosophical dialogues, and periodic "radio updates" as if this were some sort of avian Lake Wobegon.

Whereas, young humans might experiment with drugs or sex, developing birds flirt with danger by experimenting with junk science like economics or dream of a career in fashion design. It's hard to capture the dry wit and quirky humor of DeForge's writing, but it pairs incredibly well with his trippy fungal networks and colorful settings. Here's an exchange between two birds infatuated with how attractive another is:

Ginni: James is so hot, I'd let him nest in my ribcage.

Ramil: James is so hot, I'd like to have sex with him.

Ginni: No, Ramil---you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to say he's hot and then follow it up with something awful you'd let him do to you.

Ramil: James is so hot that I'd move in with him so we could start a life together. As the years go on, he'd gradually grow distant as he found himself drifting away from me. It wouldn't be for any specific reason. He'd never say a word to me about it. After all, He still loved me... But he'd never respect me, which is why he'd never do me the courtesy of leaving me. Instead, we'd simply suffer in silence. We'd die that way, too... Loving each other, in utter agony...

Ginni: James is so hot, I'd scramble and eat an egg if he asked me to.

Quirkily mundane... or maybe insightfully banal, DeForge has a voice and visual style that work incredibly well together.