Elsewhere in the Land of Parrots

by Jim Paul

Book Overview

Reclusive David Huntington writes rigorously meaningless poetry to great acclaim. But he lives fearfully, sleeping and working with earplugs, rarely going outside, drawing his life more closely around... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151004951
• ISBN13: 9780151004959
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

A Delightful Story With Wonderful Insights into the Lives of Parrots

Everybody refers to me as "the parrot guy" so it was not exactly unexpected that a friend of mine browsing the shelves of a bookstore in Great Barrington would get me "Elsewhere in the Land of Parrots" as a gift. I enjoyed everything about this book. Some people might find it incredible that a few random encounters with our psitticine friends might wind up snowballing into life-changing events, but this kind of thing happens more often than one might think (it happened to me)! I was also delighted to see that Mark Bittner (the real-life protagonist of "Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill") turns up as a character. I enjoyed the story and especially the many insights into the lives of our wonderfully complex bird friends provided along the way. This book gets Five Squawks!

Birds of a Feather

Jim Paul's novel is a very enjoyable read. For anyone who has seen the movie "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," this novel adds another dimension to that experience by explaining the native origin of the parrots as well as the "civilization" origin. Intermingled with the story of the parrots is a charming love story of a woman who is investigating the parrots in their native habitat and a rather grumpy, lost soul who has contributed to the fate of parrots who are released far away from their natural home. I would highly recommend this book; in fact, I've already given a copy to each of my children.

Finely Written!

The two characters, Fern and David, are poetically developed, in alternate chapters. Their passionate interest, not only in parrots but also in their ties to nature, lead us through a very unusual adventure and love story. Hopefully there will be a sequel!

Refreshing story in a time of cynicism

If you love birds, or animals in general, and quirky characters in your novels, give this one a try. A beautifully written story with an upbeat message awaits you. If you liked "The Parrots of Telegraph Hill" (book or movie), this book will hit the spot--Mark Bittner (as a character) even has a cameo role. I also learned more about Ecuador than I ever knew before which opens up another whole arena of interest. Enjoy!