Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

 

Summary (from the publisher): Between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.

Right off the coast of South Carolina, on Mallow Island, The Dellawisp sits—a stunning old cobblestone building shaped like a horseshoe, and named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment on an island outside of Charleston, she meets her quirky and secretive neighbors, including a girl on the run, two estranged middle-aged sisters, a lonely chef, a legendary writer, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn’t yet written.

Review: The Dellawisp is a historic building on Mallow Island off the coast of South Carolina, named after the tiny birds that inhabit its courtyard. Zoey has inherited an apartment in the Dellawisp from her mother and shows up right before she is set to start college to claim her inheritance. There she meets and befriends other residents including a young woman on the run, two estranged middle-aged sisters, a renowned chef, a writer, and three ghosts, all with their own story to tell. 

This book was surprisingly endearing. Each of the residents of the Dellawisp have their own unanswered longings and sad histories. Somehow, it is Zooey with her cheerful optimism and friendly nature that bring the characters together and help put them all on a course to finish their stories on happier notes. There are so many likeable characters in this book including Mac, the burly chef who was once an abandoned child, Charlotte, the young Henna artist who is running from a sad and tragic childhood, and Oliver, who was a very unloved, unhappy child but returns to the Dellawisp after his mother's death. All have in common sad childhoods punctuated by loss and absence of love from those who should have loved them the most. 

This book had some touches of magical realism. Mac is watched over by the spirit of his beloved adoptive mother, who sprinkles cornmeal on him every night as he sleeps. Zooey has an invisible pet pigeon that only she can sense. While these feel like far-fetched details, Allen weaves them into the narrative so beautifully that I couldn't help but like these spiritual touches of those that love the characters even after death. 

A truly lovely, little novel that somehow felt really good despite being about characters who have all experienced great pain. 

Stars: 4