Publishers Weekly
07/18/2022
In Allen’s charming latest (after First Frost), a motley cast inhabit a condo building on a South Carolina island. Recent high school graduate Zoey Hennessey leaves behind her father and stepmother in Tulsa, Okla., to spend the summer in her deceased mother’s apartment in the Dellawisp, named after the birds who stalk the residents. There, Zoey is disappointed to find little in the way of clues about the life of her late Cuban immigrant mother, Paloma Fernandez Hennessey, but she does encounter a cast of intriguing and quirky neighbors, including Charlotte, a henna artist raised in a cult who is at first reluctant to become Zoey’s friend and hides a major secret. Lizbeth Lime, a hoarder killed by a falling bookshelf on Zoey’s first night at the condo, providing an impetus for the plot as Zoey is hired by the manager to clear out Lizbeth’s apartment, then gets help from Charlotte. Allen skillfully weaves the various threads, as vignettes narrated by ghosts of former building residents provide further context as the plot unfurls, shedding light on the mysterious birds and absent figures such as Lizbeth’s estranged son and her reclusive sister. This will move readers. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
The New York Times Bestseller
“Whimsical, wise, and delightfully mysterious.” —Real Simple
“If you’re looking for a bit of mystery, whimsical characters and a keen sense of place, Other Birds offers all these delights and more. Allen immerses readers in this island world, as well as in the processes of self-discovery, the experiences of being haunted and the gift of surrendering to what we can and cannot control.” —Book Page
"The biggest challenge for the reader is to try to not turn the pages so quickly in order to extend the fun. ... An outstanding reading experience. Readers who enjoy a Southern story, a touch of the unexplained, and works by Fannie Flagg and Karen White will all be delighted by this novel." —Booklist (starred review)
"A lyrical mystery that embraces letting go and living freely." —Kirkus
“Languid and peaceful, gentle and comforting, Allen’s newest showcases her talent for tender stories of near magic. Her fans will be lining up for this.” —Library Journal
“Allen skillfully weaves the various threads, as vignettes narrated by ghosts of former building residents provide further context as the plot unfurls…This will move readers.” —Publishers Weekly
"This story is so magical, beautiful and wise, with a wonderful cast of eclectic characters, and even a few ghosts. It filled my heart." — Clare Pooley, New York Times bestselling author of THE AUTHENTICITY PROJECT
"A master of her craft, Sarah Addison Allen draws you in with her whimsy and poetic language, only to lay bare the deep emotional truths of being human. Other Birds captivated me by its utter uniqueness. Is it a ghost story? A fairytale about a girl and her imaginary pigeon? A character study of a motley crew of hard-knocks survivors? It is all these things—along with being one of my favorite books of the year." — Colleen Oakley, bestselling author of THE INVISIBLE HUSBAND OF FRICK ISLAND
"For her latest treasure of a tale, Allen has concocted a mesmerizing cast of characters, all with mysterious pasts and quiet secrets, and placed them in a dreamy Southern resort town famous for its marshmallow candy. It’s a story of community, forgiveness, and the myriad ways the past haunts the present. Absolutely luscious and a true page-tuner."
—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue
“With a dash of her signature magic, Allen dishes up a touching story that hits the sweet spot between heartache and healing. Set in an atmospheric island town, Other Birds interlaces the disappointments and dreams of a group of creative, lonely people who have more in common than they know. And that’s the real magic in this story: the human ability to connect with people and places in meaningful ways that transform our lives.”
—Glendy Vanderah, best-selling author of Where the Forest Meets the Stars and The Light Through the Leaves
"Oh, joy of joys! A new book by Sarah Addison Allen, and Other Birds is her best yet! Dark and sweet, brutal and wise, full of delectable food and plenty of meddling ghosts, and soaked with an abiding tenderness and hope. One of my favorite books this year." —Barbara O’Neal, author of Write My Name Across the Sky and When We Believed in Mermaids
“This delightful novel is rife with magical realism as Zoey learns what home really means and how helping others can help heal one's own heart, too.” —Good Housekeeping
“Allen’s gift for whimsical, poetic language, makes Other Birds one of our most-anticipated books for 2022. You’re going to want to read this one with your book club.” —Reader's Digest
“Tinged with magic, interlaced with loss and longing, each character’s story unfolds in layers creating an intricate puzzle that teases and delights." —Southern Bookseller Review
“Fans of Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building’ and Netflix’s ‘Dead to Me’ will warm to this quirky tale.” —Los Angeles Times
Library Journal
05/01/2022
Allen (First Frost) returns after a seven-year break with a novel that gathers ghosts and lost souls on Mallow Island, SC. On what was once a rice plantation, where the echoing voices of enslaved people can still be heard, on what became a candy-making powerhouse, where sugar still scents the air, and where a man once wrote a book that sustains the island's tourist industry, sits the Dellawisp, a tiny apartment block occupied by thieving turquoise birds. The human occupants are just as interesting: a talented chef who grew up in the poorest part of the island; a college freshman who inherited her mother's apartment; a henna artist desperate for safety; two sisters living both feet and miles apart; and three ghosts and the caretaker who can see them. In prose not quite as lavish as in her earlier novels, but with the same keen skill building characters and crafting dialogue, Allen unfolds the histories of these people, slowly braiding their lives together in a quiet, resonant story about holding on, letting go, and finding home. VERDICT Languid and peaceful, gentle and comforting, Allen's newest showcases her talent for tender stories of near magic. Her fans will be lining up for this.—Neal Wyatt
Kirkus Reviews
2022-06-22
Ghosts with untold stories and guests with long-buried secrets reside in Mallow Island’s mysterious Dellawisp condos.
Made famous by Roscoe Avanger’s legendary novel Sweet Mallow, quaint Mallow Island, South Carolina, proves a welcome respite for Zoey Hennessey. With her inattentive father and stepmother’s eagerness to convert her bedroom into a crafting oasis, the 18-year-old decided to leave her home in Tulsa to spend the summer before college at her late mother’s old studio on the island. She hopes that the condo, located at the horseshoe-shaped Dellawisp complex, will unearth memories of Paloma, who died 12 years ago in a car accident. Joining Zoey is her imaginary bird, Pigeon, and when they arrive, Zoey is disappointed to discover few traces of her mother…though her new environment proves anything but lonely. Maintained by the elderly Frasier, who is constantly tailed by turquoise dellawisp birds, the condos house a hodgepodge of colorful neighbors, including the burly redheaded chef Mac; the guarded, henna-covered artist Charlotte; the paper-hoarding busybody Lizbeth and her chain-smoking recluse sister, Lucy. When Lizbeth unexpectedly dies the first night of Zoey’s stay, Frasier asks Zoey to clean out her neighbor’s cluttered home. With Charlotte’s help, Zoey is determined to understand the secrets of this eccentric woman, but she soon realizes that Lizbeth may not be the only Dellawisp resident haunted by the past. Allen weaves together an intriguing mystery, following each resident of Dellawisp as they navigate loss and love and uncover what is true and what is real. Charlotte’s story in particular stands out; once beholden to her parents’ religious cult, she hesitates to trust Zoey’s innocence and Mac’s selflessness. Allen breathes life into her characters, those living and those in between, and fashions a narrative that imparts a powerful belief in everlasting memory: “Stories aren’t fiction. Stories are fabric. They’re the white sheets we drape over our ghosts so we can see them.”
A lyrical mystery that embraces letting go and living freely.
