Sepha Stephanos, an Ethiopian immigrant, has fled the Red Terror in his youth and settled in a gritty neighborhood of Washington, DC. His friends Kenneth, an engineer, and Joseph, a waiter, both share his African immigrant status. When Judith, a white professor, and her daughter, Naomi, a bi-racial 11-year old, move in and completely renovate a run-down mansion as part of a "gentrification" of the area, Sepha begins to feel the stirring of connected and affectionate relationships with them.

His resigned apathy about his immigrant life and Judith’s naive idealism contribute to the failure of that connection being truly made; possible reverse racism, but surely resentment toward Judith's wealth, destroy the chance of relationship among the three.

I liked the subtlety of the issues being raised in this novel. There were no in-your-face stereotypes or out-and-out political or social judgments made. The effectiveness is from the first person perspective of Sepha, an appealing, sensitive and intelligent man who has "settled" for the life he lives, yet really may never have had a chance for more anyway. Kenneth is portrayed as someone who has striven to better himself in this country, yet also is isolated and not 100% "one of us."

A line at the end of the novel quotes Sepha's father, "What was it my father used to say? A bird stuck between two branches gets bitten on both wings. I would like to add my own saying to the list now, Father: a man stuck between two worlds lives and dies alone."

Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1152037__Sbeautiful+things+that+heaven+bears__Orightresult__X5?lang=eng&suite=pearl