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The Birds of Paradise: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Paul Scott (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
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From the author of The Raj Quartet, a coming-of-age tale about a boy and his childhood friendships with a British diplomat’s daughter and the son of a Raj.

The Birds of Paradise is set in India when the British Raj still seemed a paradise, but a paradise that boy comes to recognize as already lost. As Scott weaves together themes of political and personal history, he makes us feel how the protagonist identifies with the beautiful, mysterious India of the Raj. With a keen eye for character and graceful prose, Scott captures the reverie of a youth complete with parades of elephants, garden parties, and the titular birds of paradise, who are stuffed trophies of an Indian prince, kept as decoration in a gilded cage. When the boy is sent away to England, he experiences his exile as both the personal wound of abandonment and the foreshadowing of the Partition.

Winner of the Booker Prize

Praise for The Birds of Paradise

“A rare literary bird, a novel that in a short space recreates a man’s lifetime. Using exotic backgrounds, it manages to say something useful about growing up—a process that only children believe takes place mainly in childhood.” —Time

“Scott’s vision is both precise and painterly. Like an engraver crosshatching the illusion of fullness, he selects nuances that will make his characters take on depth and poignancy.” —Jean G. Zorn, New York Times Book Review

“One of the best novelists to emerge from Britain’s silver age.” —Robert Towers, Newsweek

“Far more even than E. M. Forester, in whose long literary shadow he has to work, Paull Scott is successful in exploring the provinces of the human heart.” —Life
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    292 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    The University of Chicago Press
  5. Publication date
    August 22, 2013
  6. File size
    3802 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Extremely interesting. . . . Mr. Scott’s montage is first-class. The book is beautifully composed.”

― Times Literary Supplement

“The Birds of Paradise is a rare literary bird, a novel that in a short space recreates a man’s lifetime. Using exotic backgrounds, it manages to say something useful about growing up—a process that only children believe takes place mainly in childhood.” ― Time

About the Author

Paul Scott (1920-78) was a British novelist best known for the tetralogy The Raj Quartet, published by the University of Chicago Press. Scott was drafted into the British Army during World War II and was stationed in India, an experience which shaped much of his literary work. The University of Chicago Press has also published his novels Six Days in Marapore and Staying On, the latter of which won the Man Booker Prize for 1977. 

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00E1YSYU4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of Chicago Press (August 22, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 22, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3802 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 292 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

About the author

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Paul Scott

Paul Scott

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
10 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Uno Amore
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Insightful Writing
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2018
This book wasa gift, through Amazon, from a friend who knows I love the Raj Quartet.

Birds of Paradise is a deeply moving and excellently written memoir of a life lived, complete with its joys, sorrows, mistakes, hopes. The main character is extremely insightful into the workings of his inner self, and his relative lack of real passion. Living birds of paradise do not survive in captivity. Neither do our insights and wishes for our lives. Scott's writing here is perhaps the best he has ever done - with much more insight than that offered in the Raj Quartet. This is a abook to be savored slowly, and one I shall return to often.
One person found this helpful
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Cathy
2.0 out of 5 stars Boring, uneventful, insignificant
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2016
Had this been a record of Paul Scott’s early life it would have justified publication. As a fictional memoir it fails. Boring, unevenful, insignificant . . . these words come to me (and I’m a Paul Scott fan!).
Here is memory and trite description of boyhood in India, fatherhood in England, unhappy marriage, Japan’s military atrocities in Malaya, and childhood friends meeting briefly again as adults. I found myself skipping pages.
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"cathcanada@hotmail.com"
4.0 out of 5 stars Hypnotic
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2001
This earlier novel by the author of the Raj Quartet has a strange, hypnotic charm. The story, told only from the main character's point of view (unlike the multiples in The Raj Quartet) is a very intense rendering of one man coming to terms with the fabric and textures of his Indian boyhood and his painful experiences in adulthood. Scott deftly weaves details of life in the tropics into this narrative.
4 people found this helpful
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Mary Carol Scherb
5.0 out of 5 stars Paul Scott is an evocative, brilliant author
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2000
This is the memory story of the Anglo-Indian William Conway who attempts to rediscover from his childhood in India, his school years in England, the nightmare of his stay in a Japanese prison camp, and the abandoned territory of his heart. Here the author of The Raj Quartet hauntingly recounts a man's lifetime with a masterful blend of exotic excitement and emotional clarity. Paul Scott is also the author of The Jewel in the Crown, The Love Pavillion, and The Mark of the Warrior.
6 people found this helpful
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Fran
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommend if you enjoy Scott
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
The story of Empire is inherently sad. The metaphor in “Birds” is stealth at times and brutally upfront at the next page turn. It left me a bit depressed, yet glad I read it. I do recommend giving it a chance…
One person found this helpful
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