num_pages: 336
description: In an Iranian village Zal's demented mother horrified by the pallor of his skin and hair is convinced she has given birth to a white demon. She hides him in a birdcage for the next decade. Rescued by a behavioral analyst Zal awakens in New York to the possibility of a future. A stunted and unfit adolescent he strives to become human as he stumbles toward adulthood. As New York survives one potential disaster Y2K and begins hurtling toward another 9/11 Zal finds himself in a cast of fellow outsiders. A friendship with a famous illusionist who claimsto the Bird Boy's delightthat he can fly and an affair with a disturbed artist who believes she is clairvoyant send Zal's life spiraling into chaos. Like the rest of New York he is on a collision course with devastation.
language: English
title: The Last Illusion
publisher: Bloomsbury USA