Birds of Paradise tells the story of a lonely, long-haul trucker, Joe- Mack, who picks up a runaway, Freddie, in Las Vegas and drops him in Hollywood, offering to help him if needed. When the call comes, he reaches out to the boy and becomes embroiled in the lives of homeless kids. The stakes are high for Joe-Mack, Freddie and a homeless girl, Starlet. The three have in common their search for love and a place to belong. Joe-Mack, despondent over leaving his unfaithful wife, yet spirited by a vision of the road angel, Freddie, searching for relief from a crazy home life and his own identity, and Starlet, who wants to become a famous actress, connect in Hollywood. Set in California’s beautiful, yet challenging neighborhoods, the characters take on risks and maintain thin threads of dignity amidst troubling situations. “With their insides bleeding out bad memories, the runaways in Birds of Paradise are not only fleeing their past but also seeking their elusive threads of future happiness. Their griefs will break your heart, and their triumphs will restore it.” ~Kevin Donahue, poet |
Kathy Handley’s readers enter her debut collection and discover rich and unique pictures of longing and disappointment in broad landscapes from California to Boston to Ireland. The stories span decades. They are raw and real and not an imitation of reality but a portrait of it. A country girl, abused by her husband, learns to tread lightly as she finds refuge in the birch trees and the starkly lit eyes of night creatures. Set in the fifties, a woman’s affair with her husband ends as he lights a Chesterfield and abruptly fires her. An unlikely match, a mixed-race man and a spoiled rich girl, bump into each other and quickly learn of similar losses. In the title story, a naïve black girl journeys with her boyfriend to California, experiences the loss of her baby on the way and then him, and then she discovers a symbol of revenge in the form of a red juggling ball. Rendered in an honest voice, Kathy Handley’s style is very detailed and ultra-personal, including tiny little things that might not seem to make a difference but that add to the understanding of the characters and their struggles, in essence tangential but not distracting, instead adding a whole other layer of depth and insight into the human psyche. |
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