Jon Day begins his book with the start of this race, and threads updates on the birds’ flight back to London all the way through it. Day, an academic and literary critic, weaves in some lightly-worn learning on the lore and science of pigeons. What, Day wonders, can pigeons teach him about the value of making a home? A pigeon race, as flyers say, has “one starting gate but a thousand finishing lines”. • Homing: On Pigeons, Dwellings and Why We Return is published by John Murray (£16.99).

Source: The Guardian June 07, 2019 06:22 UTC