Elsewhere in the Land of Parrots

Orlando: Harcourt, 2003. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A highly collectible first edition/printing, tight clean copy, protected in a new brodart wrapper, no inscriptions, unclipped dustjacket, this is not an Ex-Lib or a BCE/BOMC edition. A reclusive poet and an adventurous scientist with nothing in common but an unusually keen interest in parrots find love in this witty, charming--if not entirely convincing--novel by the author of Catapult (1991) and Medieval in L.A. ( 1996). The poet, David, having in childhood developed a vague, but powerful, fear of, well, just about everything, is so averse to the world outside his apartment, he has a bookcase blocking his bedroom window. The opposite who attracts him is Fern, a doctoral student unafraid to venture alone into the mangroves of Ecuador in search of an elusive species of small, green parrot. Separately, both are appealing. David is especially winning. His earnest, clumsy steps to break out of his self-imposed isolation provide most of the book's humor, which ranges from sly to slapstick. But the romantic attraction feels contrived, arriving too fast and flowing too smoothly. Still, because Fern and David are so likeable, readers very likely will set aside any skepticism and just be glad for their happiness.