BIRDS OF PARADISE

The author explores how people who share a house, and even genes, may not always be a family despite their best intentions. Narrator Tamara Marston portrays the main characters—mother, father, daughter, and son—with feeling and sensitivity. Her reading recognizes that the city of Miami, where the novel is set, is also a character, and she infuses the descriptions of the landscape and urban setting with meaning. She also depicts the father and son in a way that conveys the grittiness of these male characters and believably portrays the mother and daughter as well. M.R. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2011]