Other Birds

 

Other Birds

By: Sarah Addison Allen

Genre: Fiction

Summary:

A group of people all living in the same condo complex have more than their living arrangements in common. All of them have had their lives blessed by a loving person who changed their lives for the better. And all of them have lost that source of love, but have forged on. Here is the story of how unconditional love can come from anywhere, change your life and heart, and stay with you long after it has physically left your life.

Let me just say that I am so happy Sarah Addison Allen has brought another book to the world of readers who have missed her work. It's been a handful of years since her last book and I, for one, have missed her storytelling. She has been a beloved author to me ever since she captivated the world with Garden Spells. Welcome back! You have been missed. 

Other Birds is all about grief and the different ways it can present itself. The characters within this story have all experienced sad, lonely and heartbreaking pasts. And they were all touched by someone who came into their lives with the unconditional love they never knew they needed. And they've all lost that said love one. However, several of them still have lingering traces of them in their lives.

Zoe has recently graduated high school and is waiting to start college. She has moved into her mother's old condominium after leaving her father's house. Within his house, she always felt like an intrusion and as if they were ready for her to leave. Always the outsider to the life he now has with his wife and her children. She was lonely and her world was tiny. Just her and Pigeon, her pet bird that is invisible to everyone- but her. 

Lisbeth is the neighbor haunted by the compulsion of her mental illness. As the book unfolds, you get her perspective and you see her world through it's distorted lens. The day after Zoey moves in, Lisbeth is found dead. It doesn't take long for you to get a glimpse into her world of saving any and every piece of paper with writing on it. Boxes upon boxes are stacked in her apartment. Her compulsion had run unchecked. As the story progresses you get her perspective on how her life ended up so isolated.

Mac wasn't always the talented chef her is now. In fact, he came from nothing. He was the poorest of the poor in his neighborhood. Until an elderly neighbor takes him in and gives him the love and life he never knew could exist. She teaches him how to cook and he goes on to make a name for himself with her favorite ingredient as his inspiration: cornmeal. Now, every morning, he wakes up covered in cornmeal.

Charlotte is running from her past. After losing her best friend to an illness that was never treated, she leaves the cult her family had been in. However, she takes something with her that always has her looking over her shoulder and never staying in one place too long. Until now. Loving her life as a Henna artist, Charlotte doesn't want to leave. 

Lucy is Lisbeth's sister. You learn about their dynamic and the heartbreak both sisters endured. You'll read how both lives were forever haunted by their pasts. 

Lastly, you have the condo manager, Frasier. The man overseeing the complex and the residents. He knows them all and has a few surprises up his sleeve as to how he knows some of them. 

I have to say, I had a hard time getting into this story. I wasn't enraptured with this book as I was with her previous ones. However, I think that's mostly because I wasn't able to relate to the characters. This book is aimed for those who are mourning someone they dearly loved. While I've lost loved ones, I've been able to accept the loss and carry them with me. I've been able to let them go. Other Birds is a love story to those people who love a lost soul so much that they change the person for the better. It's an ode to the people you love dearly, but had to say goodbye to- ready or not. 

This book was beautiful, but heavy in ways I wasn't expecting. Sarah still tells a mystical, whimsical story, but it wasn't a feel good one. I wasn't charmed by the story like I thought I would be. But, maybe that wasn't the point of the book. Love and loss aren't always done in the ways we're ok with. Some readers are going to relate to everything within this story. Others may not. There are plot twists I didn't see coming. While I didn't love this book, I'm glad I read it.