A review by margardenlady
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber

4.0

This is my second Abu-Jaber novel and they were both very well written and completely different from one another. In Birds of Paradise, there is a sense of longing in each of the characters. Longing for connections, for meaning that defines the book. The story reveals itself slowly and while a few lines are left hanging (Solange, Javier) the main characters do find a sort of peace in their lives eventually. Nothing in the book was as I had expected, necessarily, but neither was it a complete surprise. Abu-Jaber is obviously a skilled observer of people with all their idiosyncracies and self-doubts and glories.