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carlymford's review against another edition
4.0
A girl runs away from her family when she is thirteen as a self-inflicted punishment. Her family is devastated.
I liked this book. I think the family was idiotic (if your child is running away you take them to a specialist, you take them to a mental hospital, god, something!) but I loved the descriptions of Miami, of the different cultures, even of the mother's baking. I thought the over-descriptions of the the dad's job was so purposeful and gave the reader a good sense of who he was. The brother was maybe a bit much, I get it: corporations are evil and he had such a earnest soul, but he basically opened a Whole Foods... The mother, well, she was so helpless but also not. I liked that not every bit of the book was fast-paced and exciting. I liked that pretty much nothing was sexy or glamorous. The sexy glamorous people were ephemeral, like all beauty. They were so young and I'm a high school teacher, so I know how much kids feel their immortality.
I liked this book. I think the family was idiotic (if your child is running away you take them to a specialist, you take them to a mental hospital, god, something!) but I loved the descriptions of Miami, of the different cultures, even of the mother's baking. I thought the over-descriptions of the the dad's job was so purposeful and gave the reader a good sense of who he was. The brother was maybe a bit much, I get it: corporations are evil and he had such a earnest soul, but he basically opened a Whole Foods... The mother, well, she was so helpless but also not. I liked that not every bit of the book was fast-paced and exciting. I liked that pretty much nothing was sexy or glamorous. The sexy glamorous people were ephemeral, like all beauty. They were so young and I'm a high school teacher, so I know how much kids feel their immortality.
maedo's review against another edition
2.0
Diana Abu-Jaber's writing hits all of the marks for high praise in this book about a family coping with the loss of their teenage daughter, a junior high school runaway reaching her 18th birthday and living on the streets by choice instead of opting to stay comfortable in her Floridian upper middle class life.
There are lush foodie descriptions, of the cakes and pastries baked by the girl's wealthy mother and equally, of the organic foods sold and prepared by the proletarian (also by choice) brother. There are white people trying to reconcile their privilege with "streetwise" blacks and Hispanics everywhere, in bordering on "magical Negro"-storyline sorts of ways. (It's all black people that help the white people reconcile their awkward feelings. One of the black persons is Haitian and casts a spell of sorts for a white character.)
Characters get sexually assaulted. Characters try to act blase about affairs. Characters confront their fears about aging and their angst about what it is to be a good parent. If I were feeling crankier I might put a "zzzz" there, because these are all the hallmarks of Very Serious Literature and many of them are without consequence in Birds of Paradise.
There is nothing technically wrong with this book; it's even very touching in places. And, like I said, immaculately polished. But there is also a noticeable lack of levity. Tensions build, people make ill-advised decisions, people go missing and get hurt. And then, to hammer the point home, the climax is a literal storm: Florida's chunk of Hurricane Katrina. Not as devastating as it was to New Orleans but enough to shake up the world of the book.
This kind of sober, relentless, onward march of pain & misery makes the book read all dirge-like. It's exactly the kind of lit that gets those blurbs with a million synonyms for "gorgeous prose" from other writers, but that few non-professional readers actually want to read. Given the choice between a grilled cheese sandwich and a "tahini, African honey, and organic banana sandwich on whole wheat bread," I'm sorry, but I'm probably going to take the grilled cheese every time. The grilled cheese sounds a lot more fun.
There are lush foodie descriptions, of the cakes and pastries baked by the girl's wealthy mother and equally, of the organic foods sold and prepared by the proletarian (also by choice) brother. There are white people trying to reconcile their privilege with "streetwise" blacks and Hispanics everywhere, in bordering on "magical Negro"-storyline sorts of ways. (It's all black people that help the white people reconcile their awkward feelings. One of the black persons is Haitian and casts a spell of sorts for a white character.)
Characters get sexually assaulted. Characters try to act blase about affairs. Characters confront their fears about aging and their angst about what it is to be a good parent. If I were feeling crankier I might put a "zzzz" there, because these are all the hallmarks of Very Serious Literature and many of them are without consequence in Birds of Paradise.
There is nothing technically wrong with this book; it's even very touching in places. And, like I said, immaculately polished. But there is also a noticeable lack of levity. Tensions build, people make ill-advised decisions, people go missing and get hurt. And then, to hammer the point home, the climax is a literal storm: Florida's chunk of Hurricane Katrina. Not as devastating as it was to New Orleans but enough to shake up the world of the book.
This kind of sober, relentless, onward march of pain & misery makes the book read all dirge-like. It's exactly the kind of lit that gets those blurbs with a million synonyms for "gorgeous prose" from other writers, but that few non-professional readers actually want to read. Given the choice between a grilled cheese sandwich and a "tahini, African honey, and organic banana sandwich on whole wheat bread," I'm sorry, but I'm probably going to take the grilled cheese every time. The grilled cheese sounds a lot more fun.
mdsnyderjr's review against another edition
2.0
Waaaaaaay too much unnecessary detail and side stories for my taste.
pghjezbel's review against another edition
1.0
It pains me to admit that I didn't like this book as I've been a huge fan of her other books. I'm not sure what it was but the story just seemed so heavy and sad that I had to push myself to read more than a few pages.
emilyrdean's review against another edition
4.0
A young girl's guilt of betraying a friendship drives her to run away from her loving family. The story is set in Miami and follows each of the four family members--mom, dad, daughter and son--as they deal with the pain of the runaway daughter, not knowing the impetus for her flight. It is a story of love and forgiveness and proves once again you can always go home.
lainecid's review against another edition
4.0
Languid graceful prose that oozes the humidity of miami.
crwolgamot's review against another edition
4.0
This book tugged at my heart, and I could relate to parents trying to make sense of an unbearable loss.
embcrane's review against another edition
3.0
It was beautifully written, but I simply couldn't like any of these characters or wrap my head around their thoughts and motivations.
camalittle's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the prose, but the story was a bit too cloying and slow. The climactic pay off wasn't great, and I didn't understand a lot of the character motivations that drove the story.