What a phenomenal book.
It is so poignant and emotional. Very understated writing but powerful
A gem of a book.

They Came Like Swallows centres around Elizabeth, through the eyes of her two sons and husband, and the pillar of their lives. The Spanish Flu sweeps around them, seizing each family member in turn.

This is a short encapsulation of love and grief. Each character's view is presented perfectly, and the perception of other characters artfully done. For instance, the loveable Bunny can certainly seem insufferable through the eyes of an elder brother. The idiosyncrasies of the whole family and the dynamics are believable.

And, of course, the book is a timely one. The world slowly closes around them, with schools and pool halls and churches shutting their doors one by one. But never does the novel feel claustrophobic.

A beautiful, lyrical family story in the time of Armistice and the Spanish Flu. Maxwell had a delicate touch with words and characters that makes even a heartbreaking story a joy to read.

I must be frank and admit I had not heard of this author before. I only picked this book because it was short, written about an interesting time and had positive reviews. It felt like a treat in the sense of stumbling over something unexpected.


We meet a small American family at the tail end of the first world war. The first few chapters follow the current baby of the household, affectionately known as Bunny, who is the apple of his mother’s eye and pain to his brother. The narrative then moves on to the brother and finally lands on his father. We see the narrators through the other’s eyes as well, and that added a little something to the entire book.


The plot is straightforward: the Spanish flu is making its way through the town as well as the country. Its presence will soon be felt in this simple, reasonably happy household. What happens during is the bulk of the story. The rest is about family dynamics and how kids are not always what they seem (neither are the adults!). I wept for the last part, which surprised me because I did not think I had enough time to get attached.

I recommend this to anyone on the lookout for old classics to try, and the size does help.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I was very excited for this book, even going so far as to add it to my wishlist just in case I wasn't approved! But I was a little bit let down by it I admit, it wasn't quite as gripping as I anticipated and I felt that it fizzled out at the end. I enjoyed reading it but felt that I wasn't getting enough from it in terms of story, it was almost like the meat of the plot was being held back when I desperately wanted more.

First published in 1937, ‘They Came Like Swallows’ has the feel of a more contemporary novel, despite being set even further back in time, during the Spanish Flu epidemic of the early 1900s. This is an intimate portrayal of a middle class American family told in three parts. Two thirds of the story are told from the POV of the young sons of the family: Bunny and Robert. Much of the beauty and poignancy is created by what goes unsaid, by the author, William Maxwell and the patriarch of the family, James. I loved this book. Highly recommended.

They Came Like Swallows is a relevant read right now as we face a pandemic ourselves - and the opportunity to consider how the Flu Pandemic in the 1900's was handled is one that offers perspective and the chance to reflect.

They Came Like Swallows is a really powerful read, told through the perspective of two boys and their dad as their lives are completely changed by the pandemic. By using these different narrators, the reader is able to view the situation from three completely different levels of understanding, causing more investment in the story as you hope that members of the family will communicate with one another and find peace and healing.

I feel like now was a difficult time to read this book but it reminded me that there is hope for the future and I thought of the stories we might tell ourselves after this period.

Although this novel is not a recent release, reading it could not be more timely. There are obvious parallels between the Spanish Flu outbreak and the current Coronavirus pandemic, but what I particularly focused on was the sense of foreboding in the novel. When you begin reading the novel feels quiet and pensive, as if we are waiting for something to happen. I think most people would be able to relate that to the lifestyle that we currently lead. The structure of the novel was well executed, with each narrator giving insight into the role the mother played in their life, gradually building up a picture of both the family and the mother. Reading this novel was quite an emotional experience and it also felt somewhat cathartic; knowing that people have been through experiences like this before and that life eventually goes on.

I had read this book some years ago having just discovered the talent that was William Maxwell. In my memory it was a subtle and vivid depiction of a child's grief. I had completely forgotten that is was set around the time of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.

Re-reading it was an absolute pleasure , being in the hands of a great author. The modern day resonances were poignant. (warning plot spoilers) e.g the father and mother being in hospital in different wards unable (apart from once) to see each other, The pregnant mother being told not to go into Bunny's room to care for him. Also the sound of someone struggling to breathe (thank goodness for ventilators)

Laying that aside the first part about sensitive child< Bunny, with his strong attachment to his mother, is one of the best depictions of the inner world of a child I have ever read. He listens to the clock ticking, imagines shapes in the stains on a ceiling/wall and has an intense sibling rivalry with his brother which erupts in disputes over toys. It really took me back to days in my childhood in terms of the strong emotions and sensations.

The second part focuses on older brother Robert ,who expresses emotion more through his actions. He is not as sensitive as Bunny having learnt to overcome a disability . He is more interested in the outdoors and his friends in the way an older child would. He has a clearer understanding of what is going on with events.

The third part focuses on the father's grief (which reminds me a bit of Max Porter's "Grief is the Thing with Feathers". The visceral, physical form grief often takes is expertly done as is the observation of the puzzlement about the physical things left behind by the person who died. (how can a hairbrush still be there when a person isn't?) The father finds it hard to understand his sons' grief and feels somewhat detached from it all. In some ways he is bound by the social conventions of his time and class, but Maxwell shows us what is going on beneath this social veneer.

Thanks to Netgalley for a ARC. I was keen to re-read and review this book.

With a quiet understated classical style of writing, this was beautifully told and entirely absorbing

I was recently introduced to William Maxwell and his work by one of my friend and I am fascinated. This was the third book and I am absolutely sure about his work being a perfect fit for me.

This book follows an beautifully written story of life under the shadow of the flu epidemic in post First World War of United States. It is told successively through the the eyes of three male characters; two brothers and their father.

The author paints a vivid picture of the affluence of (upper) middle class in early america and 20th century and the differences. The narrators are not very fascinating but the continuous flow in itself is soothing and the book is more for those who like shift in places and times definitely not for the contrasting.

William Maxwell is very observant about the way people's differing view-points and has a unique style of writing it in as real and imaginative way possible.

The story is prominently about love, loss, suffering and hope with some humour in the writing.

Why is it that some incredible novels never join that list of ‘must-read classics’ and get the recognition they deserve. Probably William Maxwell is more famous in his native America, but few people I’ve mentioned his name to in the UK are aware of him, and I only stumbled across his book ‘They Came Like Swallows’ by lucky accident. Having read it with my book group I now want to shout about it as loudly as I can – this is a wonderful but inexplicably neglected classic and whoever decides these things should add it to the ‘must-reads’ list right now!
The book was published in 1937 and is Maxwell's second novel. It tells the tale of an ordinary American family in Illinois whose world is turned upside down by the flu pandemic of 1918. The book begins on the day before the armistice in a small midwestern town, and the events are seen from the perspective, in turn, of eight-year-old Peter Morison - called Bunny, his older brother, Robert, and their father James. They are witnesses to a domestic tragedy written with beauty and a piercing tenderness that at times I almost overwhelming.
Although we never hear directly from her, the mother Elizabeth is at the centre of this story and is also the emotional and practical centre of her family’s life. She is the heart of the novel and we are shown how much all the other characters depend on her.
It was only after reading this book that I discovered that like much of Maxwell’s work, this story is semi-autobiographical. Like Bunny, Maxwell was a small-town boy from Illinois whose own mother died in 1918 days after giving birth to a 3rd son. Maxwell was just 10 years old, and later spoke of how, with brutal overnight suddenness, ‘my childhood ended,’ Saying that "It happened too suddenly, with no warning, and we none of us could believe it or bear it... the beautiful, imaginative, protected world of my childhood swept away."
This is a beautifully written book. Maxwell has a deceptively simple and transparent style that manages to sweep you up in the emotions of his characters without sentimentality or gushing prose. He manages to convey so much in just a few well chosen words so that I felt I was living with and walking around that house with the family, rarely since childhood have I been so totally immersed in a book.
Reading this book during the pandemic of 2020 has probably made the impact of this simple but tragic domestic tale even more poignant. As I read about their schools closing down, fears about travelling by train, and people becoming sick, it all felt like an experience we were able to share in across the years. And while Maxwell creates a wonderful sense of time and place, this book with its understanding of loss and change, feels as fresh as if it was written yesterday.
I very rarely give a book 5 stars but this one deserves nothing less. It is an exquisite, haunting and poignant masterpiece and I will do my very best to spread the word about it.

With thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in return for an honest review.

What a wonderful book.

I am grateful to Vintage Books for the opportunity to read “They came like Swallows”. Without their encouragement and the platform of Netgalley I would have been unlikely to come across this literary gem.
I have been introduced to an author. His texture and pace of storytelling had me enraptured. Indeed after a few pages in, I had purchased The Folded Leaf’ as I loved the way Maxwell writes about children.

This is a novel that interested me as it tells about a family in Illinois at the end of the First World War when the Spanish Flu pandemic affected everyone’s lives like out current concern with COVID -19.

The story is about Elizabeth Morison told in three parts through the eyes of her two sons and husband James.

Bunny at 8 is still tied to his mother’s apron’s strings. When his Mum is present the whole room comes alive to Bunny. He has a few tricks to get by and has fights with his older sibling.

Robert feels more protective to his Mother. At 13 he is a little more grown-up, in part not the least because of a terrible accident when just a small boy which resulted in his leg being amputated. He too has ways to learn things from the extended family. Sadly, he and his brother move in separate worlds perhaps due to the age difference.

Both realise that the biggest secret is that their Mum is pregnant and that a third child will change the family dynamics for good but not perhaps for the better. Bunny may slip from his Mum’s sole attention and Robert worries. For his parents need to go away as the pregnancy carries great risks for Elizabeth.

It is quite a feat to portray this through the eyes of these two children who love their Mother and feel more withdrawn from their Dad. Indeed there seems a disconnect with the men in general in the account, perhaps a sign of the times. A male awkwardness around kids in general and more so boys.

James’ world is his wife. He takes up the narrative in the final part of the story where all seems lost only for his love of Elizabeth to shine through.

You think that this use of different voices to tell a story is a modern construct. For me current novels seem to have gone too far and overplayed the technique.
Here we have developing linear storytelling in a chronological sequence. No chopping and changing but a simplistic unfolding of family life told most appropriately at the natural times by the voice used. Maxwell captures the place of children in a home and a wider family setting. Bunny is adorable. Robert is flawed due to his false leg and childhood trauma but bright and courageous.

Finally James provides in the descriptions of his thoughts and mood a full range of emotions without spelling out those feelings. This pictorial use of language draws the reader fully into the story with empathy rather than that of just an intellectual understanding.

I’m so glad to have found a new author and the door to a past world where we were really no different.

Moved me and filled me with hope for a better future.

This short novel is set in 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic and how it disturbs the lives of the Morison family. It's told in three parts - from eight year old Bunny's perspective, to his older brother, Robert and his stern father, James.

I really warmed to Bunny during his chapters - he needs his mother's love and presence to make him feel safe.He absolutely adores her and this comes through in his chapters. Robert his brother had an accident and lost part of his leg - they quarrel as siblings do. The third part is told through the eyes of James, Elizabeth's husband.

The story is beautifully told with family, love, friendship, unhappiness, sadness, illness and grief. I really recommend it.

They came like Swallows opens on the day before Armistice day, 1918 in a mid western town.
We are given a glimpse into The Morison family’s life at the end of World War 1 and during the Spanish Flu epidemic.

The book is in three sections, the first from the viewpoint of Pete (aka Bunny) aged 8. Bunny absolutely adores his mother and their relationship is incredibly tender.

The second section is seen from Bunny’s older brother Robert viewpoint.
Robert had lost part of his leg during a cart accident and his relationships seem more tenuous with the rest of his family. He feels deeply about things but his position as the oldest child doesn’t allow him to express them.

The final section is from the father’s viewpoint and is hung heavily with shock and grief.

This is a moving and thoughtful book and William Maxwell’s writing is beautiful.

I assumed that the book would really tackle the subject of what life was like for people during the Spanish Flu epidemic. Although the epidemic underpins the whole novel, it is really the exploration into the family characters and their relationships to each other which is the strongest part.

Thanks to Netgalley and Vintage Books for the ARC In return for an honest review.

Maxwell’s writing is quiet, emotional and ideal as far as setting the stage goes; the characters and the gradual progression of the simple plot make for a realistic and memorable, albeit bittersweet, portrayal of family life.

I am ashamed to say I was unfamiliar with this author but am now a huge fan.
Timely story of the suffering of another pandemic - this time the Spanish flu in 1918, this is writing of the highest calibre
The delicate dynamics of family life with Bunny (Peter Morrison) at the centre alongside his loving mother, stern father and annoying brother is beautifully pitched.
Everyday life is wonderfully described. It is through an innocent child's eyes and how the awakening horror of illness and suffering come to haunt him.
Truly excellent.

They Came Like Swallows by William Maxwell is told from three different perspectives within a family during a pandemic.

This is a quietly devastating story of a little family in midwestern USA in the years around the end of the First World War and the spread of the Spanish flu epidemic. Unexceptional, middle class, professional people with two children and extended family of parents and siblings, the Morisons’ lives are about to change, along with countless others around the world. By keeping the reader tightly focused on just the one family the author makes it all so much more poignant. The novel is divided into three sections, giving the points of view of Bunny (the younger son at 8 years old), Robert (the elder at 13) and James, their father. As wife and mother, Elizabeth has huge influence on each of them but for Bunny it is overwhelming - he only feels happy and secure if she is in sight or, best of all, in touch.

We read of their daily routines, their hopes and fears, their relationships with each other and the rest of the family. Bunny is a delight and his section (the first in the book) carried the whole thing for me. The author has not forgotten how scary it can be to be young, trying not to do the wrong thing yet not really understanding what that thing is, piecing together overheard snippets into a terrifying whole, and his calm, understated writing conveys that feeling with subtlety and sensitivity. Beautifully done.

This is a magnificent short novel about childhood and grief. I was going to write that from the opening sentences, you know that you are in safe hands, but that would do Maxwell a disservice. The beauty of his writing and the rightness of his descriptive choices are breathtaking. It's about the effects of the Spanish flu epidemic but it's much more than that. The first section, focusing on 10 year-old Bunny's experiences are as clear and intense a description of a child's viewpoint (delight in and boredom at the world) as you will ever read. The second and third sections, focusing on his brother and father, seem like necessary alternative perspectives which force you to reconsider the intensity of the first section and show you also how fundamentally fair a writer Maxwell is. It's also a gripping depiction of life in small-town Illinois in 1918, and published 1937, which feels historical but not at all dated. Don't read it because it's about an epidemic. Read it because it's fantastic.