The Bird That Sang in Color
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The Bird That Sang in Color Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Grace Mattioli (Author, Narrator, Publisher)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 183 ratings
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Part family drama and part self-actualization story, this is about Donna Greco, who in her teens, subscribes to a conventional view of success in life and pushes her freewheeling, artistic brother, Vincent, to do the same. However, he remains single, childless, and subsists in cramped apartments. She harbors guilt for her supposed failure to ensure his happiness, until she discovers a book of sketches he made of his life, which allows her to see his internal joy and discover the secret to living free.

Thought-provoking, humorous, and filled with unforgettable characters, this book invites listeners to ponder what pictures they will have of themselves by the end of their lives.

"A refreshing family portrait about interpersonal evolution...presented with affection, humor, and insight...an inspiring slice of life blend of philosophy, psychology, and transformation that draws readers into a warm story and examines the wellsprings of creative force and future legacies...evocative, uplifting." (Midwest Book Review)

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  1. Listening Length
    7 hours and 18 minutes
  2. Author
    Grace Mattioli
  3. Narrator
    Grace Mattioli
  4. Audible release date
    February 4, 2021
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Grace Mattioli
  7. ASIN
    B08VYSSN54
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 7 hours and 18 minutes
Author Grace Mattioli
Narrator Grace Mattioli
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date February 04, 2021
Publisher Grace Mattioli
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B08VYSSN54
Best Sellers Rank #571,292 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#5,109 in Fiction Sagas
#9,662 in Family Life Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#37,213 in Family Saga Fiction

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
183 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Iris J. Arenson-Fuller, PCC
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, Rich Characters
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2021
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I was delighted to be re-introduced to the characters I had met in the author’s previous work. This time they have been further developed and enriched, so that I felt I truly knew and understood them. We learn about everyone from Donna’s viewpoint in the third volume of the family trilogy. In this tale of several generations of a New Jersey Italian family and their love, foibles, quirks and struggles, I recognized some of the familiar warmth and some family interactions I remember from my youth in Brooklyn. I am not of Italian background, but had many close friends who were when I grew up in a very ethnically diverse neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. We were constantly in and out of each other’s homes and my father always joked that we were “honorary Italians by affection and association”. This is a fine novel, worth reading. I was very drawn in by the characters and by Ms. Mattioli’s excellent storytelling. I look forward to seeing more from her.—Iris J. Arenson-Fuller, Author/Poet, Life & Loss Transformation/Life Reinvention Coach.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read!
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2021
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This story is about a big brother named Vincent, who wanted to go to art school, but a headstrong father refused to accept anything creative, often saying that he would just be “another starving artist.” Told in the POV of the sister (Donna,) story follows a girl’s coming-of-age story encompassing her family and spanning the years from 1970 to 2012. Books, movies, songs, and philosophy are colorfully immersed in a delightful tale.

Over the years, Vincent didn’t amount to much with a philosophy degree; he was broke and living under his dad’s roof. Donna always knew that he was smart and talented and could do anything he wanted. Instead, he was proving their dad’s bogus prophecy. While Donna was living the great life she intended, Vincent was at the bottom of the barrel. If he would just clean himself up and stop wasting time on movies, he’d have everything—good job, nice house, a family. We see all this through the eyes of Donna as she goes through childhood, college, dating, pregnancy, and a rocky marriage.

Story was easy-going with a nice narrative. Full of drama and life. An interesting read.
3 people found this helpful
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Irish3
3.0 out of 5 stars Dysfunctional family
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2022
This was an interesting novel about society expectations, how we but into them and a truly free and living being. Donna is a rather pathetic, self-centered character while Vincent is the colour in the story.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc
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Carol Gardner
5.0 out of 5 stars An unforgettable family
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2021
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Grace Mattioli’s newest novel is an entertaining, absorbing roller coaster ride about a large Italian family in New Jersey, from the 1970s to the present. Mattioli deftly captures the pains and joys of growing up and navigating adulthood for Donna, the narrator, her brothers Anthony, Vincent, and Carmen, and her sisters Gloria and Nancy. Their father Cosimo is an overbearing, arrogant alcoholic, while mom Gilda, who is beautiful and a fabulous cook, holds the family together. Throughout the novel, Mattioli skillfully weaves in details that create a vivid sense of the times: the music, the clothes, the TV shows, the hair!

The heart of the book is the close relationship between Donna and her multi-talented, quirky brother, Vincent. Vincent calls to mind Saul Bellow’s Augie March, whose credo is, “I go at things as I have taught myself, free style, and will make the record in my own way…” The clash between family pressures and expectations and Vincent’s adherence to his “own way” cause Donna to question, “What is happiness?” What is success?” Eventually Donna figures out her own answers, not only for Vincent, but for herself, in a very moving way.

The Bird That Sang in Color is enjoyable on many levels. Mattioli has written a fine book.
2 people found this helpful
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Kelly
4.0 out of 5 stars Why did I wait so long!?!
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2023
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Today I am sharing a mini review on a book I was asked to read from the author. I am embarrassed to say how long it took me to get to this one! I wish I wouldn’t have waited so long because this was a beautiful read!
——
“That sounded so good to me - us all going home to be together, all except for the person who made the house a home. Without her, our home was just a house, a nameless structure, an abandoned warehouse. She was what made it home. She was what made us a family. I knew that without her, our family, for the most part was only being held together by strings, would fall apart.”
——
This was so good! So many emotions and thought provoking moments.
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CarolM
5.0 out of 5 stars A Satisfying Read
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2021
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I read Grace Mattioli's two previous books, "Olive Branches Don't Grow on Trees" and "Discovery of an Eagle" and was eagerly awaiting the release of "The Bird that Sang in Color". I was not disappointed. It was everything I hoped it would be - well written and absorbing. I fell in love with the characters in the first two books and really cared about their journeys. Being able to learn more about the history of the characters in the backstory was so satisfying. I love Grace's writing style and was really able to relate to the loveable, dysfunctional family. She's a talented storyteller who really makes you care about her characters while having some aha moments of your own. I didn't want the story to end and hope this is not the last I will be able to read about the Greco family.
4 people found this helpful
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EB
4.0 out of 5 stars Better as a memoir
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2021
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My mistake. I read about a third of the way through this thinking it was a memoir, loving much of it, until I stumbled on something that made me wonder about my footing in it. When I re-checked, I saw this was no memoir but a novel, and suddenly the book wasn't as good as it had been. It wasn't moving well, the pace was off or maybe it was out of balance in some way.

So I pretended I was reading a memoir and loved it again. Thinking of it as a "fictional memoir" gave me the patience I needed to accept the story I was being told.

Siblings Donna and Vincent share philosophical theories, listen to music, and Donna admires Vincent's artwork as they grow up in the crazy 1970s. Their father, lacking any appreciation of Vincent's gifts, frequently threatens to throw his son out and causes tension in the family overall.

This generally well-written book tracks their stories, leading readers through more than forty years to a satisfying and relatively unsurprising conclusion.
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Top reviews from other countries

Celia Ritchie
4.0 out of 5 stars A family saga
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2023
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A saga about an American Italian Catholic family spanning some fifty or so years told through the eyes of the author, so no plot as such, but still a pleasant, interesting story.
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Beekeeper's Wife
5.0 out of 5 stars It gets better and better
Reviewed in India on June 17, 2021
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It is only after the 40% mark that The Bird that Sang in Color begins to wrap you up. As it is the story of Vincent an artist and musician, there is a lot of art and music in it, which is always appreciated, and there is food, perhaps too much food. Though there are instances where it feels as if the conversations could be deeper, especially the ones with Vincent, the book exudes a warm glow.
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beverley
4.0 out of 5 stars A book for jaded souls
Reviewed in Australia on August 24, 2021
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If you are at a point in your life where the future seems uncertain, then this is the book for you.
This is not a book for lovers of plot and big narrative spirals. This is for the readers who cherish finely drawn characters, for the thinkers, the lovers of family, relationships, the creatives and believers in the music of life that we don’t always see, but which is often staring us in the face.
It’s likely you’ll need a box of tissues, but it’s also entirely possible you will find yourself awakening to the possibilities of living your own better life.
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Okay
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 15, 2021
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It started out well but then I started to get bored. The event described in the blurb doesn't happen until near the end of the book, so a lot of the book is taken up with Donna's miserable adult life, then only a brief glimpse into her future right at the end. More depressing than uplifting. The characters are flat and under developed, you never really get to know them, making it difficult to keep track of who's who or care about them.
One person found this helpful
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Booney
3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing Happens
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2021
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There is nothing particularly wrong with this novel, in fact it is well written. However, I spent the whole time reading the book waiting for something interesting or exciting to happen and it never did.
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