The last illusion a novel

"In a tiny village in rural Iran, Zal's demented mother--horrified by his pale skin and hair, the opposite of her own--becomes convinced her baby is evil. She puts him in a wire birdcage on her veranda with the rest of her caged flock, and there he stays for the next ten years: eating birdseed and i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Khakpour, Porochista
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Bloomsbury, 2014.
Edition:First U.S. edition.
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Summary:"In a tiny village in rural Iran, Zal's demented mother--horrified by his pale skin and hair, the opposite of her own--becomes convinced her baby is evil. She puts him in a wire birdcage on her veranda with the rest of her caged flock, and there he stays for the next ten years: eating birdseed and insects, defecating on the newspaper he squats upon, squawking and shrieking like the other birds.He is rescued from that hell and adopted by a behavioral analyst who brings him to New York and sets out to help him find happiness. Zal is emotionally stunted, asexual, physically unfit, and trying desperately to be human as he stumbles through adolescence. His fervent desire to be normal grows as he ages, but the fact that he still dreams in "bird" and his secret penchant for yogurt-covered beetles make fitting in a challenge. He forges a friendship with a famous illusionist who claims he can fly--another of Zal's bird-like obsessions--and embarks on a romantic relationship as well. His girlfriend, Asiya, crumbling under the weight of her supposed clairvoyance, sends Zal's life spiraling out of control"--
Physical Description:ix, 323 pages ; 22 cm
ISBN:9781620403044 (hbk.)
1620403048 (hbk.)
Author Notes:Porochista Khakpour 's debut novel, Sons and Other Flammable Objects , was named a New York Times Editor's Choice, one of the Chicago Tribune 's Fall's Best, and the 2007 California Book Award winner in the first fiction category. Her honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars, Northwestern University, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, Ucross, and Yaddo. Her nonfiction has appeared in or is forthcoming in Harper's , the New York Times , the Los Angeles Times , Spin , Slate , and Salon , among many others.Khakpour currentlyteaches at Columbia University's MFA program, FordhamUniversity, and Wesleyan University. She lives in New York City.