White Bars by David Dagley

Summary:

     White Bars is the comical tale of two myna birds trapped in neighboring cages in a pet shop, and their plot to escape. Soren, a young myna plucked from his nest as an egg, has never known what it means to be free. But Fife, an older, worldly bird does, and he longs to fly home to the tropical forests across the Pacific Ocean. Every evening after the pet shop closes, the store becomes a stock market where the caged animals trade what they have for what they want: seed, sand, plants and bugs. Will Soren and Fife be able to barter for their freedom? Or will their wings stay clipped?

My Thoughts:

     This is a rather short story (barely over 100 pages) about friendship and freedoms.  White Bars is a very heavily metaphorical story told through lives of two myna birds trapped in cages in a pet store.  One has been there his entire life and the other was newly caged in order to help the other escape and taste freedom for the first time.     
     This was meant to be a heartwarming and funny tale to make you think about life and independence.  My issue is that from the start you are just thrown right into the action and never really given the chance to make a connection to the main characters.  The only character I had any feeling toward was Juliet, a recently widowed love bird, and even that aspect of the story was minor and short.  
     I am not much for deeply metaphorical stories but I feel that if a few more pages would have made a big difference in this tale.  White Bars is an interesting take on social issues but fell flat for me because there was no chance to get to know any of the characters. 
Interesting idea and concept but just wasn't for me: 2/5 stars

 About the author: 

David Dagley has been working in the Bering Sea for the last 10 years and traveling through South East Asia in his off time. He resides in Seward, Alaska. He is currently working on his next book, Cale Dixon and the Women of Cho, a sequel project to Cale Dixon and the Moguk Murders, which was recently released in paperback by Strategic Book Publishing. 

Author's site: http://www.davidcdagley.com/