Birds of Paradise

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.

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.