-
Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones
- A Memoir
- Narrated by: Priyanka Mattoo
- Length: 9 hrs
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones
Pre-order for $28.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
From a wry, insightful, and very funny new voice, here is one woman’s peripatetic search for home, from Kashmir to England to Saudi Arabia to Michigan to Rome and, finally, to Los Angeles.
"I would follow Priyanka Mattoo to the ends of the earth, because she would know what to eat there, and how to make a friend, and then sit me down and tell me a story."—Emma Straub
Priyanka Mattoo was born into a wooden house in the Himalayas, as were most of her ancestors. In 1989, however, mounting violence in the region forced Mattoo’s community to flee. The home into which her family poured their dreams was reduced to a pile of rubble.
Mattoo never moved back to her beloved Kashmir—because it no longer existed. She and her family just kept packing and unpacking and moving on. In forty years, Mattoo accumulated thirty-two different addresses, and she chronicles her nomadic existence with wit, wisdom, and an inimitable eye for light within the darkest moments.
Critic reviews
“Distinguished by its sharp wit and beating heart, this is a salve for wanderers of all stripes.”—Publishers Weekly
“I was enchanted by Mattoo’s Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones, a remarkably vivid, moving epic of displacement and its aftermath. With brio, insight, and great warmth, this exceptional debut offers, as art can, a lasting home.”—R. O. Kwon, author of Exhibit
“The magic of Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones is that it takes us all over the world but always feels like it could be happening right next door. Priyanka Mattoo’s writing is steady and true and warm but also exquisitely insightful and precise. Her family is now our family. Her stories are a part of us. This book is an absolute treasure.”—Jami Attenberg, author of I Came All This Way to Meet You
Related to this topic
-
Made in America
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,491
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,232
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,231
In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
- By John on 02-28-14
By: Bill Bryson
-
Barbarian Days
- A Surfing Life
- By: William Finnegan
- Narrated by: William Finnegan
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,461
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,991
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,974
Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2016. Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
What a Jerk.
- By ML Sadler on 03-06-17
By: William Finnegan
-
Ghost Rider
- Travels on the Healing Road
- By: Neil Peart
- Narrated by: Brian Sutherland
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,789
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,597
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,595
In less than a year, Neil Peart lost both his 19-year-old daughter, Selena, and his wife, Jackie. Faced with overwhelming sadness and isolated from the world in his home on the lake, Peart was left without direction. That lack of direction lead him on a 55,000 mile journey by motorcycle across much of North America, down through Mexico to Belize, and back again.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Not happy, but fascinating
- By Jim In Texas! on 09-25-14
By: Neil Peart
-
Call the Nurse
- True Stories of a Country Nurse in Scotland's Western Isles
- By: Mary J. MacLeod
- Narrated by: Gwen Hughes
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,306
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,176
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,173
Tired of the pace and noise of life near London and longing for a better place to raise their young children, Mary J. MacLeod and her husband, George, encountered their dream while vacationing on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides. Enthralled by its windswept beauty, they soon were the proud and startled owners of a near-derelict croft house - a farmer’s stone cottage - on “a small acre” of land. Mary assumed duties as the island’s district nurse.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A 1970's Visiting Nurse on Rural Scottish Island
- By Sara on 09-10-14
By: Mary J. MacLeod
-
Mother of God
- An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon
- By: Paul Rosolie
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 325
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 291
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 293
For fans of The Lost City of Z, Walking the Amazon, and Turn Right at Machu Picchu comes naturalist and explorer Paul Rosolie’s extraordinary adventure in the uncharted tributaries of the Western Amazon - a tale of discovery that vividly captures the awe, beauty, and isolation of this endangered land and presents an impassioned call to save it.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
This whole book is B.S.
- By bob fields on 09-30-18
By: Paul Rosolie
-
The Lost Continent
- Travels In Small Town America
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 918
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 764
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 760
Hardly anyone ever leaves Des Moines, Iowa. But Bill Bryson did, and after 10 years in England he decided to go home, to a foreign country. In an ageing Chevrolet Chevette, he drove nearly 14,000 miles through 38 states to compile this hilarious and perceptive state-of-the-nation report on small-town America.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Written by Bryson's evil twin
- By M. S. Cohen on 08-11-14
By: Bill Bryson
-
Made in America
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,491
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,232
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,231
In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
- By John on 02-28-14
By: Bill Bryson
-
Barbarian Days
- A Surfing Life
- By: William Finnegan
- Narrated by: William Finnegan
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,461
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,991
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,974
Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2016. Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
What a Jerk.
- By ML Sadler on 03-06-17
By: William Finnegan
-
Ghost Rider
- Travels on the Healing Road
- By: Neil Peart
- Narrated by: Brian Sutherland
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,789
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,597
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,595
In less than a year, Neil Peart lost both his 19-year-old daughter, Selena, and his wife, Jackie. Faced with overwhelming sadness and isolated from the world in his home on the lake, Peart was left without direction. That lack of direction lead him on a 55,000 mile journey by motorcycle across much of North America, down through Mexico to Belize, and back again.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Not happy, but fascinating
- By Jim In Texas! on 09-25-14
By: Neil Peart
-
Call the Nurse
- True Stories of a Country Nurse in Scotland's Western Isles
- By: Mary J. MacLeod
- Narrated by: Gwen Hughes
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,306
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,176
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,173
Tired of the pace and noise of life near London and longing for a better place to raise their young children, Mary J. MacLeod and her husband, George, encountered their dream while vacationing on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides. Enthralled by its windswept beauty, they soon were the proud and startled owners of a near-derelict croft house - a farmer’s stone cottage - on “a small acre” of land. Mary assumed duties as the island’s district nurse.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A 1970's Visiting Nurse on Rural Scottish Island
- By Sara on 09-10-14
By: Mary J. MacLeod
-
Mother of God
- An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon
- By: Paul Rosolie
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 325
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 291
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 293
For fans of The Lost City of Z, Walking the Amazon, and Turn Right at Machu Picchu comes naturalist and explorer Paul Rosolie’s extraordinary adventure in the uncharted tributaries of the Western Amazon - a tale of discovery that vividly captures the awe, beauty, and isolation of this endangered land and presents an impassioned call to save it.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
This whole book is B.S.
- By bob fields on 09-30-18
By: Paul Rosolie
-
The Lost Continent
- Travels In Small Town America
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 918
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 764
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 760
Hardly anyone ever leaves Des Moines, Iowa. But Bill Bryson did, and after 10 years in England he decided to go home, to a foreign country. In an ageing Chevrolet Chevette, he drove nearly 14,000 miles through 38 states to compile this hilarious and perceptive state-of-the-nation report on small-town America.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Written by Bryson's evil twin
- By M. S. Cohen on 08-11-14
By: Bill Bryson
-
Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints
- A Guide to Magical New Orleans
- By: Denise Alvarado
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
New Orleans has long been America’s most magical city, inhabited by a fascinating visible and invisible world, full of mysteries, known for its decadence and haunted by its spirits. If Salem, Massachusetts is famous for its persecution of witches, New Orleans is celebrated for its embrace of the magical, mystical, and paranormal. New Orleans is acclaimed for its witches, ghosts, and vampires. Because of its unique history, New Orleans is the historical stronghold of traditional African religions and spirituality in the US.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Gem
- By Amber on 04-09-22
By: Denise Alvarado
-
Ranger Confidential
- Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks
- By: Andrea Lankford
- Narrated by: Julia Motyka
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,225
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,092
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,089
The real stories behind the scenery of America’s national parks. For 12 years, Andrea Lankford lived in the biggest, most impressive national parks in the world, working a job she loved. She chaperoned baby sea turtles on their journey to sea. She pursued bad guys on her galloping patrol horse. She jumped into rescue helicopters bound for the heart of the Grand Canyon. She won arguments with bears. She slept with a few too many rattlesnakes. Hell yeah, it was the best job in the world! Fortunately, Andrea survived it.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Depressing from Cover to Cover
- By Drew (@drewsant) on 04-13-15
By: Andrea Lankford
-
Haunted in America
- True Ghost Stories from the Best of Leslie Rule Collection
- By: Leslie Rule
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 18
Whether you’re a believer, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, you’ll find a story that sticks with you in this compendium of the best of Leslie Rule’s ghost explorations and interviews. With the most-spine tingling stories from the author’s previous four books, Coast to Coast Ghosts, When the Ghost Screams, Ghosts Among Us, and Ghost in the Mirror, along with new and updated accounts and theories, Rule brings her original voice to this omnibus of chilling, fascinating tales.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
The Author capitalized on her "friends" deaths?!
- By M. A. Mann on 05-02-24
By: Leslie Rule
-
The Year of Living Danishly
- Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,287
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,779
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,769
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting content. Unfortunate delivery.
- By Jennifer Soudagar on 11-13-15
By: Helen Russell
-
The Adventures of the Mountain Men
- True Tales of Hunting, Trapping, Fighting, and Survival
- By: Stephen Brennan
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 313
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 276
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 276
The “mountain men” were the hunters and trappers who fiercely strode the Rocky Mountains in the early to mid-1800s. They braved the elements in search of the skins of beavers and other wild animals, to sell or barter for goods. The lifestyle of the mountain men could be harsh, existing as they did among animals, and spending most of their days and nights living and camping out in the great unexplored wilds of the Rockies.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good for boys
- By Mrs. C on 05-12-14
By: Stephen Brennan
-
The Longest Silence
- A Life in FIshing
- By: Thomas McGuane
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 14
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
From the highly acclaimed author of Ninety-two in the Shade and Cloudbursts comes a collection of alternately playful and exquisite essays—including seven collected here for the first time—borne of a lifetime spent fishing.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Narrator had to catch a train
- By Brandon Taff on 01-11-23
By: Thomas McGuane
-
Roadshow
- Landscape with Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle
- By: Neil Peart
- Narrated by: Brian Sutherland
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 613
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 528
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 531
For 30 years, drummer, author, and songwriter Neil Peart had wanted to write a book about "the biggest journey of all in my restless existence: the life of a touring musician." Finally, the right time, and the right tour. In the summer of 2004, after three decades, 20 gold albums, and thousands of performances, the band Rush embarked on a 30th Anniversary World Tour. The "R30" tour traveled to nine countries, where the band performed 57 shows for more than half a million fans. Uniquely, Peart chose to do his between-show traveling by motorcycle, riding 21,000 miles of back roads.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Enjoyable, even for a non-fan of Rush
- By Jim In Texas! on 10-04-14
By: Neil Peart
-
Journal of a Trapper
- Nine Years in the Rocky Mountains, 1834-1843
- By: Osborne Russell
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 691
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 599
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 597
In 1834, Osborne Russell joined an expedition from Boston, which proceeded to the Rocky Mountains to capitalize on the lucrative salmon and fur trade. Beginning at the age of 20, he detailed the life of a trapper in his journal and recorded his adventures through treacherous terrain, encounters with dangerous wildlife, and confrontations with the Rockies natives of the Rockies. Osbourne would remain there for the next nine years. Journal of a Trapper is his remarkable account as he developed into an experienced trapper and a seasoned mountain man of the Rockies.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
early primary source of Rocky Mountain History
- By Ken Pearson on 09-23-20
By: Osborne Russell
-
Four Years in the Rockies
- Or, The Adventures of Isaac P. Rose, of Shenango Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
- By: James B. Marsh
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 582
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 521
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 518
James Marsh's Four Years in the Rockies gives brilliant insight into the life of Isaac P. Rose, a man who forged his own path in the wilderness of the far west. This thrilling account of one mountain man's life at the height of the 19th-century fur industry follows Rose as he overcomes adversity, learns from those around him, and becomes one of the most successful trappers of the Rockies. Four Years in the Rockies is essential listening for anyone interested in the 19th-century fur trade and the adventurers who risked their lives to be part of it.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Years in the Rockies
- By Janie Evans on 01-07-21
By: James B. Marsh
-
Neither Here nor There
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 325
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 273
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 272
In Neither Here nor There Bill Bryson brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Authentic Bryson, but that might be the problem
- By M. Craft on 08-12-14
By: Bill Bryson
-
Vagabonding
- An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
- By: Rolf Potts
- Narrated by: Rolf Potts
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,665
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,954
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,942
Vagabonding is about taking time off from your normal life - from six weeks to four months to two years - to discover and experience the world on your own terms. Veteran shoestring traveler Rolf Potts shows how anyone armed with an independent spirit can achieve the dream of extended overseas travel.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I wanted to love this book...
- By Scott Shepherd on 10-10-16
By: Rolf Potts
-
Where's the Next Shelter?
- By: Gary Sizer
- Narrated by: Gary Sizer
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,512
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,370
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,363
Where's the Next Shelter? is the true story of three travelers on the Appalachian Trail, a 2,000-mile hike that stretches from Georgia to Maine, told from the perspective of Gary Sizer, a seasoned backpacker and former marine who quickly finds himself humbled by the endeavor. If you long for the horizon or to sleep under the stars, then come along for the hike of a lifetime. All you have to do is take the first step.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
If You Liked AWOL, You'll Like This
- By Rebecca on 06-02-16
By: Gary Sizer