
Joe reluctantly agrees and those journal entries make up the bulk of the novel. Ruth finds out that Joe kept a journal about the Denmark trip and asks him to read the journal entries.

He reads the postcard, and it brings back the memories of a European trip that the couple took years ago. Joe discovers a postcard from a friend in Denmark. They have settled in Northern California after a long career in the New York City publishing world. The Spectator Bird is the story of retired literary agent, Joe Allison and his wife, Ruth. Finally, I have read this well-received Stegner novel. I would get ready to read it, and then I would put it down for something else.

I’ve been meaning to read his work for at least 20 years, and The Spectator Bird has been on my shelf for the past five years. Unfortunately, Wallace Stegner fell into this category for me.

But other books (and authors) would come before it. As a reader, there are some books (and authors) you have been meaning to read.
