Word: bluejays
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Dates: during 1948-1948
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...expanse of pale yellow wall separated two harshly sunlit windows which faced the bed. Between these windows stood the woman. She did not notice Joel, for she was staring across the room at an ancient bureau: there, on top of a lacquered box, was a bird, a bluejay perched so motionless it looked like a trophy. The woman turned and closed the only open window; then, with prissy little sidling steps, she started forward...
...woman, who is his father's wife, Miss Amy, proceeds to hit the bluejay with a poker. This proves to be an appropriate introduction to the household. Other inmates are the languid and effeminate Cousin Randolph, Jesus Fever's granddaughter Zoo Fever, and Joel's father, Mr. Sansom, who is mysteriously sick and invisible. Joel begins to think maybe he doesn't exist. But in the evening a red tennis ball bumps down the stairs as if it had a life of its own, and rolls into the parlor. That is how he learns that...
Sinister Summer. In this atmosphere, half sickening and half magical, the events of the summer continue to shock the boy's senses like the bluejay and the red ball. At first Joel misses his aunt in New Orleans. But the sinister fascinations of Skully's Landing increase, centering on the tomboy, Idabel, who lives up the road, and on Cousin Randolph, who drinks sherry, calls him "darling" and holds his hand...