Other Birds

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapter 6–Interlude 3

Chapters 10-15

Chapter 16–Interlude 7

Chapter 20–Interlude 9

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Chapter 20–Interlude 9Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 20 Summary

Lucy reflects on watching Sam over the past few weeks. At first she felt sorry for Sam, knowing what it meant to not have a home. But when Lucy saw Sam come in carrying a knife, she leapt to Oliver’s defense instinctively. She knew from past experience that if you can prompt someone to violence, you can have them arrested; she attempted the same technique with Sam, but found her body less resilient than it once was.

Now, as Oliver comes to check on her, Lucy remembers returning to Mallow Island when she was released from prison, hoping to reconnect with him as a boy. She reflects on her childhood, ostracized by Lizbeth and her mother and abused by her father. She was unable to find Lizbeth and Oliver until Frasier found her and gave her a place to stay. In an effort to protect Oliver, she remained close while keeping her distance. Oliver announces that he’s staying in the Dellawisp.

Chapter 21 Summary

After Sam is taken away, Zoey inquires about the name Sam used—“Pepper.” Charlotte deflects her question.

Charlotte prepares to leave Mallow Island with a new identity. Mac invites her to stay over, and they talk about Charlotte’s past. She admits that she is Pepper and that she assumed Charlotte’s identity. Mac convinces her to let go of the past and stay there with him. The next morning, they wake up together and Mac realizes there isn’t any cornmeal in his bed.

Interlude 8 Summary: “Ghost Story: Camille”

Camille takes a brief moment to say goodbye and express her happiness at moving on.

Chapter 22 Summary

Zoey prepares to leave for college. She regards a photo of Oliver with a butterfly on his head, leading a local tour, and another of Mac and Charlotte doing henna art at her new gallery space. Charlotte is becoming less like her manufactured identity and more like her true self. Zoey looks for Pigeon, who is around less and less. She goes to her balcony and finds Charlotte, Mac, and Oliver waiting for her with a send-off breakfast. Zoey and Oliver grow closer, and the group helps Zoey pack for her move. Zoey is still disappointed she didn’t get to see Lucy in person. She says goodbye to Pigeon and leaves the Dellawisp.

Interlude 9 Summary: “Ghost Story: Paloma”

Paloma introduces herself, adding that Zoey calls her Pigeon. She looks back on her upbringing with a grandfather who kept pigeons, naming them after deceased family members. She grew to believe the birds were her family reborn. After her grandfather’s death, Paloma and her brother left Cuba for America. They were caught in a storm and her brother died, though he returned to her as an invisible bird. Soon after, Paloma met Zoey’s father and became pregnant. Zoey’s father then lost his job, and they relocated before divorcing. Paloma put her divorce settlement into a trust for Zoey, remaining with her in the form of a bird until Zoey was ready to move on with her adult life. Now that she is free, Paloma intends to follow the dellawisps onto new adventures.

Chapter 20–Interlude 9 Analysis

This final section serves as the novel’s denouement, tying up loose ends and hinting at the stories still to come off the page.

The section explores the meaning of families, considering its many characters relationships in the context of Blood Family versus Found Family. The only chapter told from Lucy’s perspective gives context to Lizbeth’s memories when she reveals the true nature of her father’s attention: What Lizbeth mistook for preferential treatment was actually his sexual abuse of Lucy. Their birth family was destructive and horribly dysfunctional, but Lucy did not lose all ability to build bonds: She also describes her love for her son Oliver—a connection that she maintained despite their distance. Oliver decides to stay indefinitely. Even though he doesn’t realize Lucy is his mother, the story suggests that they will rediscover a loving family relationship together and Lucy will have a second chance at motherhood. Ironically, although they are blood relations, Oliver and Lucy proceed forward as a found family—adults who choose to act as kin to one another.

The ghosts in the novel here complete their periods of Grief and Renewal, each moving on to the next phase of existence. Camille has bid Mac goodbye, happy that he has grown up into a caring and fulfilled man. Similarly, it is revealed that Zoey’s imaginary pet pigeon is actually the ghost of her mother Paloma, who has shepherded her daughter into the early stages of adulthood and can now let go. As Zoey leaves for college, the growing distance between her and Pigeon is a marker of burgeoning independence. Paloma’s ghost story gives new cultural and symbolic context to the novel’s symbolism around birds. Rather than moving on like Lizbeth and Camille, Paloma chooses instead to explore the world with new eyes. This image helps the novel end on a note of hope, renewal, and possibility as each of the core characters leave the ghosts of their pasts behind and move toward the next chapters of their stories.