Synopses & Reviews
In the tropical paradise that is Miami, Avis and Brian Muir are still haunted by the disappearance of their ineffably beautiful daughter, Felice, who ran away when she was thirteen. Now, after five years of modeling tattoos, skateboarding, clubbing, and sleeping in a squat house or on the beach, Felice is about to turn eighteen. Her family Avis, an exquisitely talented pastry chef; Brian, a corporate real estate attorney; and her brother, Stanley, the proprietor of Freshly Grown, a trendy food market will each be forced to confront their anguish, loss, and sense of betrayal. Meanwhile, Felice must reckon with the guilty secret that drove her away, and must face her fear of losing her family and her sense of self forever.This multilayered novel about a family that comes apart at the seams and finds its way together again is totally involving and deeply satisfying, a glorious feast of a book.
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"A gripping, beautifully written portrait of a family falling apart and trying to mend itself." —Good Housekeeping
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"Abu-Jaber...employs her descriptive talents in bringing Miami to steamy, pulsing life." —Bliss Broyard, Elle
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"Abu-Jaber's sensuous descriptions of impossibly intricate desserts and her subtle observations about love and loss make this an unusually satisfying read." —Susanna Sonnenberg, More
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"Swells with life and style." —Alan Cheuse, NPR
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"It is 's neither predictable nor merely haphazard momentum and its rich cast of characters that make us feel we're in deliciously capable hands." Bliss Broyard
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"An unusually satisfying read." Elle
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"Miami comes alive . . . the ambitions and accents of its inhabitants become as impossible to resist as a postprandial siesta in the tropics." Susanna Sonnenberg More
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"It is Birds of Paradise’s neither predictable nor merely haphazard momentum and its rich cast of characters that make us feel we’re in deliciously capable hands." Bliss Broyard
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"Brilliant... is likely to add further luster to [Abu-Jaber's] literary reputation. ... With her evocative prose and accomplished style, Diana Abu-Jaber's explores with wisdom and insight the emotional fallout of a shattering family crisis. Yet in this profoundly moving novel, she also manages to unearth the inherent, cathartic beauty of family and individual survival in this complex and perilous new century." Cristina Garcia New York Times Book Review
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"A meticulous, deeply moving portrayal of imperfect human beings struggling to do right... Glorious descriptions, both of nature and Avis's mouthwatering pastry, offset yet intensify the jagged emotions of the Muirs." Washington Times
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"Abu-Jaber makes us wonder about more that what will happen to one girl with a guilty secret. What, after all, does it mean to be a family? Is love really "exchangeable, malleable"? We can't help turning pages full of stunning prose to find out." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
"A full-course meal, a rich, complex and memorable story that will leave you lingering gratefully at [Abu-Jaber's] table."--Ron Charles,
Synopsis
At thirteen, Felice Muir ran away from home to punish herself for some horrible thing she had done--leaving a hole in the hearts of her pastry-chef mother, her real estate attorney father, and her foodie-entrepreneurial brother. After five years of scrounging for food, drugs, and shelter on Miami Beach, Felice is now turning eighteen, and she and the family she left behind must reckon with the consequences of her actions--and make life-affirming choices about what matters to them most, now and in the future.
Synopsis
“A full-course meal, a rich, complex and memorable story that will leave you lingering gratefully at [Abu-Jaber’s] table.”—Ron Charles, Washington Post
About the Author
Diana Abu-Jaber is the award-winning author of Origin, Crescent, Arabian Jazz, and The Language of Baklava. Her writing has appeared in Good Housekeeping, Ms., Salon, Vogue, Gourmet, the New York Times, The Nation, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. She divides her time between Coral Gables, Florida, and Portland, Oregon.