Other Birds

 

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

Fiction

2022 St. Martin's Press

Finished on April 8, 2023

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

From the acclaimed author of Garden Spells comes an enchanting tale of lost souls, lonely strangers, secrets that shape us, and how the right flock can guide you home. 

Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It's called the Dellawisp and it is named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside the human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother's apartment at the Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors, including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn't yet written.

When one of her new neighbors dies under odd circumstances the night Zoey arrives, she is thrust into the mystery of the Dellawisp, which involves missing pages from a legendary writer whose work might be hidden there. She soon discovers that many unfinished stories permeate the place, and the people around her are in as much need of healing from wrongs of the past as she is. To find their way they have to learn how to trust one another, confront their deepest fears, and let go of what haunts them.

Delightful and atmospheric, Other Birds is filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won't let you go. Sarah Addison Allen shows us that between real and imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.

I'm not an ardent fan of magical realism, so despite the rave reviews I'd read, I hesitated to borrow this book when I saw it at the library. I read and enjoyed Garden Spells in 2008, but didn't care for Lost Lake, which I read almost a decade later. I was pleasantly surprised by this story and the motley cast of characters, but I easily solved a few of the "mysteries." 

Other Birds is a story about family; those into which we are born and those we create. It's a story of grief and letting go of the past, and it's a story about broken souls and mending hearts. I was entertained and enjoyed the interactions between characters (and especially savored the references to Mac's cooking), but I doubt the novel will stay with me in the coming months. A good beach read.