Other Birds

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There is so many things that I loved about this book. There are some surprises in this book. I loved the magical realism. I loved the characters too, especially Zoey. The writing was beautiful. With titles like The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, and her release of Other Birds, which we’re covering in this blog post, translated into over 30 languages, Sarah’s captivating stories endure. Book Club Questions for Other Birds Giddy with the possibility of all she might discover, Zoey started going through the drawers and cabinets. Zoey is immediately mesmerized by the beauty of the island and it’s unusual birds, the Dellawisps! They are beautiful and very vocal turquoise birds. Zoey has traveled with her bird, called simply Pigeon, and is anxious to move into the condo. She loves the beauty of the condo but was hoping to find some signs of her mother, Paloma, there, but she does not. Marshall, Alli. "Book Report: The Girl Who Chased the Moon". Mountain Express . Retrieved 3 November 2013.

The 'magical realism' in this also felt very light to me. I love ghost characters, but I didn't get where Allen was going with these particular ghosts. Their sections were few and far between, and the moments the characters 'saw' them or interacted with them weren't striking or memorable. I guess maybe this is symptomatic of reading lots of thrillers and expecting the ghosts to stand out more in general, even if they weren't set to scare? I'm not sure what I expected, but I don't feel that I found it. Other than everyone's 'witch balls' getting broken, I think they could have been erased from the book almost entirely without affecting much.Zoey’s search for a sense of home after her mother’s passing is a central theme. What does the idea of home mean to Zoey, and how does it evolve throughout the story? Reflect on your own concept of home; is it defined by a place, the people, or something else? Everyone’s looking for the new Dorthea Benton Frank…and who knew Sarah Addison Allen might be it. This plot was so wholly original and firing on all cylinders. It feels like the quintessential NEW type of beach read for the 2020s. It was smaller than Zoey thought it would be. Every story she’d ever heard her father tell of her mother had been prefaced by her love of money and her conniving ways of getting it, so this wasn’t a place Zoey would ever have thought her mother would want to be—tiny and quiet and hidden. She felt a small thrill of happiness. Already she was learning something new. Stories aren’t fiction. Stories are fabric. They’re the white sheets we drape over our ghosts so we can see them.’ - ROSE AVANGER, Sweet Mallow The story opens with Zoey arriving at a remote tiny island off the coast of South Carolina named Mallow Island. Zoey’s mother, Paloma, owns a condo there secreted in the middle of town where Zoey intends to stay. She came for the summer to attempt to find information about her mother, who died years ago. Zoey brings an empty bird cage which holds her imaginary bird, Pigeon. The condo building is horseshoe-shaped, and maintained by an elderly man named Frasier who is written like Saint Francis because of the turquoise dellawisp birds that follow him.

Zoey nodded, wondering which of the landing units was hers. There appeared to be only five condos—two landing units each on either side of the U-bend, and one second-story unit perched above Frasier’s office in the bend itself. A twisting metal staircase led to its balcony like a long curl of hair. In addition to Zoey’s, multiple perspectives are shared by the residents of the Dellawisp (and their ghosts). There’s Mac, an executive Chef, Charlotte, a henna artist, hoarder Lizbeth Lime, and her shut-in sister, Lucy Lime, as well as Oliver, Lizbeth’s son. The community is run by Frasier, the caretaker who holds a special affinity for the Dellawisp birds. I loved all of the characters, but there was something about Mac’s story that touched my heart. I love stories of found families and I got a delightful one here. The world has tried to break each member in a different way but they’re survivors. Teenaged Zoey is still hopeful and open. Charlotte is distant and skittish. Mac holds so strongly to the past that he can’t see his future. There are other members of the tribe (even some ghostly ones) but I don’t want to give any plot points away. These characters complement each other well and begin long-overdue healing processes. Zoey is 18 and right out of high school when she comes to claim her mother’s condo at the Dellawisp, on Mallow Island off of Charleston, SC. Zoey’s a bit of an oddball, with an invisible parrot as her only friend. She sets out to meet her neighbors, including a chef, a henna artist, the condo manager and two reclusive old sisters. Oh, and the place is also haunted by ghosts that are bound to the various individuals. On the other side of the country, a young man finds himself without a job or means and decides to return home. Consider the importance of names and identity in the book. Charlotte, for instance, changes her name as she escapes her past. How does a name relate to one’s identity? Discuss the significance of names for characters like Roscoe/Frasier and Paloma/Pigeon and how it connects to their identities. What does your name mean to you?

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Situated right off the coast of South Carolina lies Mallow Island, a fragrant, sugary village that was once famous for its marshmallow candy. Eternally preserved in Sweet Mallow, a bestselling cult classic by the mysterious Roscoe Avanger, Mallow Island is now part tourist trap, part beloved home to its small-town citizens. We arrive on the island with 18-year-old Zoey Hennessy; she recently has inherited a condo from her mother, Paloma, who died when she was still a child. Zoey's greedy father has never been kind about his relationship with Paloma or his preserved connection to her thanks to his daughter. So when she gets the chance to enroll in college across the country and take ownership of the condo, she practically flies at the opportunity…along with Pigeon, the mysterious invisible bird who has been her constant companion since her mother’s death. Zoey turned to him with surprise. Her mother had lived in a hayloft? In her wildest dreams she wouldn’t have come up with that.