Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang is a post-apocalyptic dystopian novel by Kate Wilhelm. First published in 1976 and a 1977 Hugo Award winner, the book follows a broken community rebuilding itself through a cloning procedure. Critics claim that Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang redefined the genre. The book is enduringly popular with readers who enjoy hardcore science fiction. Wilhelm is the bestselling author of numerous science fiction and dystopian books. She received an induction to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2003; the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) praise her contributions to the genre.

A post-apocalyptic novel, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang is set around Shenandoah Valley, Virginia just after society’s collapse. There is no civilization thanks to deadly pollution levels, disease, and climate change. Isolated, survivors must rebuild a life for themselves. Most people who survived this apocalypse are wealthy, educated, and privileged, but status means nothing in this strange new world.

One such family is the Sumner family. Knowing society wouldn’t survive much longer, they prepared for the apocalypse far in advance. They live comfortably now, gloating that they are still alive and disease-free. They forget that they only survived because they are wealthy scientists, and colleagues warned them before civilization collapsed.



Family head Grandfather Sumner leads the main group who live in the largest house on the farm, but he is also responsible for the smaller families living nearby. They all work together to grow food, protect the crops from blight, keep safe from the unpredictable climate, and stay healthy. Many members of the Sumner family are agricultural scientists or doctors, and so they are well placed to keep the valley running.

Although Grandfather Sumner controls the extended family, the story’s protagonist is David Sumner. David feels he doesn’t fit in with everyone else. He feels they ignore him, pretending he is not there. Knowing he brought shame to the family a few years back, David is not surprised that they have rejected him.

Years ago, David fell in love with Celia. She loved him back, and they started seeing each other. Although they were cousins, they didn’t care about the consequences; all they cared about was being in love. They decided to marry when they were old enough, but the family wouldn’t let them. Celia later died in an accident, for which everyone blames David even though he had nothing to do with it.



One day, Grandfather Sumner makes a catastrophic discovery—every human left on the planet is infertile. Once they all die, humanity is finished. Grandfather Sumner and the other family scientists lock themselves away to hatch a plan; they plan to clone everyone.

Grandfather Sumner believes that the genes of the cloned humans will eventually mutate, restoring fertility. Although the Sumner family must clone people for many generations, nature will eventually find a way to make things right. David Sumner, however, worries that this is a fantasy. As it turns out, David is right.

The cloned humans don’t want anything to do with humans. They don’t want to have sex, either. Because of their biological makeup, the cloned humans don’t respond to sexual stimulation. The cloned humans quickly take over the valley, insisting on making more clones. Soon, the clones vastly outnumber the born humans, and the Sumner family has a new emergency on its hands.



The Sumner family must find a way to reverse the damage they have caused. However, as years pass and the family dies out, it seems impossible to fix the cloning mess. Midway through the novel, only a handful of Sumners remain. It is up to them to fix humanity. The remaining Sumners learn everything they can about the clones because everything has a weak spot. Once the Sumners find this weakness, they can destroy the clones or assume control over them.

After months of failed experiments, progress is finally made. One boy realizes that the clones need each other to survive; they cannot survive on their own. The clones don’t trust other clones who spend too much time with humans. “Rebel” clones are exiled and left homeless. It’s only a matter of time before these rebel clones hatch their own plan.

Two rebel clones, Molly and Ben, sleep together. Molly becomes pregnant with a son, Mark. The clones expel Molly and Ben from the community, but they keep Mark. They want to study him because he is truly unique. The remaining birth humans want to study him, too, but they can’t get anywhere near him.



Mark leaves the community when he is old enough. Unlike the clones, Mark can think for himself and live on his own. He doesn’t need anyone else. However, when the Sumner family dies out, it is up to Mark to save everyone. He starts his own community of rebel clones, and soon they are all thriving and reproducing. The original clone community, on the other hand, vanishes. Nature restored itself.