Paloma's Ghost Story: Chapter 24 Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Chapter 24, “Ghost Story: Paloma,” is told entirely from the first-person perspective of Paloma Fernandez Hennessey, Zoey's deceased mother, who has been present as a ghost throughout the novel. The chapter opens with Paloma marveling that she can speak again, noting that Zoey calls her “Pigeon.”
Paloma recalls a song her grandfather sang to her, passed down through generations, about a woman who died in childbirth and whose soul entered a bird's body to watch over her son. The bird warned the boy of danger and led him to food, until a hunter killed it, forcing the mother to leave her son forever. The song's final lines express the mother's sorrow that her soul still needs to fly even though she has found a place of happiness.
Paloma explains her family's deep connection to birds. Her grandfather, known as the Birdman of Havana, kept pigeons named after deceased relatives, and Paloma believed as a child that the birds were literally her transformed ancestors. Her favorite pigeon bore her mother's name. When her grandfather died, her brother freed the birds, and Paloma hated watching them go, feeling abandoned once again. Her brother insisted they were free now, and they fled Cuba by boat that very night.
During the crossing, a storm overturned the boat. Paloma clung to the hull, calling for her brother until she lost her voice. A bird landed beside her, and she knew it was her brother's spirit, keeping his promise to ensure her safe passage. However, even in death, her brother tried to control her. He disapproved of her staying in Miami, of her move to Charleston, of how she made money, and of her relationship with Alrick.
Paloma insists she was not taken advantage of by Alrick, despite meeting him as a teenager while he was much older. She knew what she was doing. Alrick was possessive, demanding she see only him, and he bought her the Dellawisp condo on Mallow Island. Paloma fell in love with the island, walking endlessly, enjoying pretty clothes and pastries, and feeling like an American movie star. On Mallow Island, she said goodbye to her brother's spirit, setting him free, and became the person she felt the storm had birthed.
When Paloma discovered she was pregnant, she realized the baby would have everything—her love and Alrick's money. She concealed the pregnancy for months, claiming irregular periods, and persuaded Alrick to marry her by insisting nothing would change. They married at the courthouse, but two months later, Alrick's partners voted to sell his business, which involved imports and ships in Charleston. With no reason to stay, Alrick moved them to Tulsa, where Paloma felt out of place and childish in his eyes. She often returned to Mallow Island with baby Zoey for weeks at a time, but always came back.
Paloma demanded a divorce repeatedly, but Alrick refused, unwilling to part with his money. He only agreed after meeting another woman—the woman Paloma describes as snotty, with young children of her own. Paloma challenged the settlement aggressively to secure as much as possible for Zoey. She died just after the divorce was finalized, and Alrick resented that the settlement went into a trust for Zoey rather than back to him.
As a ghost, Paloma stayed with Zoey, just as her brother had stayed with her. She vexed Alrick's new wife by knocking over tiaras and pageant trophies and breaking a perfume bottle. But now, Zoey is letting go of her, and Paloma feels restless. She spends more time with the dellawisp birds, whose energy makes her feel alive. Some of the younger dellawisps want to fly away to new adventures, and Paloma knows she will go with them if they do. She is sad that Zoey no longer needs her, and she does not want to leave this world yet. She concludes that she is like the song her grandfather sang—her soul still needs to fly.
Key Events
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Paloma reveals her full backstory: her childhood in Cuba, her grandfather the Birdman of Havana, and her escape by boat after his death.
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The storm that killed her brother and the bird that landed beside her, which she recognized as his spirit.
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Her brother's ghostly control over her life, and her decision to set him free on Mallow Island.
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Her relationship with Alrick, including the Dellawisp condo purchase, her concealed pregnancy, and their courthouse marriage.
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The sale of Alrick's business and the move to Tulsa, where Paloma felt out of place.
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Her repeated divorce demands, Alrick's refusal, and his eventual agreement after meeting another woman.
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Her death just after the divorce was finalized, and the trust fund for Zoey that Alrick resented.
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Her ghostly haunting of Alrick's new household, vexing his second wife.
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Zoey's emotional release of her mother, and Paloma's growing restlessness and attraction to the dellawisp birds.
Character Development
Paloma is the chapter's sole narrator, and her voice transforms the reader's understanding of her. Earlier in the novel, she existed as a presence—a ghostly mother watching over Zoey. Here, she becomes a fully realized person with agency, regrets, and desires. She is fiercely protective of Zoey, manipulative when necessary (as with Alrick), and deeply aware of the patterns of control and abandonment that have shaped her life. Her arc in this chapter moves from a ghost tethered to her daughter to a soul preparing to fly free, mirroring the very song her grandfather sang.
Zoey, though absent from the scene, is central to Paloma's narrative. Paloma's love for her is the anchor of her afterlife, and Zoey's growth and happiness are what allow Paloma to consider moving on. Zoey's act of letting go is presented as a gift, even as it saddens Paloma.
Alrick is characterized through Paloma's memories as controlling and money-driven, yet also as someone who was manipulated by Paloma in turn. His refusal to divorce until he found another woman, and his resentment of Zoey's trust fund, paint him as self-interested and emotionally distant.
Paloma's brother appears only in memory, but his ghostly presence shaped Paloma's early adulthood. His controlling nature, even in death, parallels Alrick's possessiveness, and Paloma's act of setting him free on Mallow Island is a pivotal moment of self-determination.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Birds as spirits is the chapter's central motif. Paloma's grandfather's pigeons, the bird that was her brother, the mother-bird in the song, and the dellawisps all represent souls in transition. Birds are both guardians and symbols of freedom, and Paloma's connection to them deepens as she prepares to leave.
The mother-bird guardian song frames the entire chapter. The song's story of a mother who becomes a bird to watch over her son, and whose soul still needs to fly, directly parallels Paloma's own situation. She is the mother-bird, watching over Zoey, and her restlessness echoes the song's final lines.
Freedom vs. control is explored through Paloma's relationships with her brother and Alrick. Both men tried to control her, and her journey is one of repeatedly reclaiming her freedom—from Cuba, from her brother's ghost, from Alrick's marriage, and finally from her own ghostly attachment to Zoey.
Rebirth through storm appears in Paloma's description of the boat storm as feeling like being born again. The storm that killed her brother also birthed her new identity, and this motif of transformation through chaos recurs in her afterlife.
Letting go of the dead is the chapter's emotional core. Paloma let go of her brother; Zoey is now letting go of Paloma. The chapter suggests that release is an act of love, even when it is painful.
The Dellawisp condo as sanctuary is reinforced through Paloma's memories. It was the place where she was happiest, where she set her brother free, and where she returned with Zoey. It remains a place of refuge and transformation.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is the emotional and narrative keystone of Other Birds. It transforms Paloma from a mysterious ghostly presence into a fully realized character with a rich, painful history. It explains the novel's title and its central metaphor—birds as souls, guardians, and companions—and it provides the backstory for Zoey's connection to Mallow Island and the Dellawisp condo.
The chapter also resolves a major thread of the novel: Zoey's relationship with her mother. By showing Paloma's perspective on Zoey's growth, the chapter gives the reader a sense of closure while also opening the possibility of Paloma's own departure. It deepens the novel's themes of family, freedom, and the bonds that persist beyond death, and it sets up the final chapters by suggesting that Paloma may soon fly away with the younger dellawisps.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does the song Paloma's grandfather sang foreshadow her own fate?
The song tells of a mother who dies in childbirth and becomes a bird to watch over her son, only to be killed by a hunter, forcing her to leave him. Paloma's life mirrors this: she dies after Zoey's birth, remains as a ghost to watch over her daughter, and now faces the prospect of leaving. The song's final lines—about a soul that still needs to fly—directly express Paloma's own restlessness and her desire to move on.
2. Why does Paloma describe the storm as feeling like being born again?
The storm that overturned the boat killed her brother and nearly killed her, but it also marked the beginning of her new life in America. Clinging to the overturned boat, suspended between water and sky, she was stripped of her old identity and forced to become someone new. The phrase suggests that trauma and loss can be transformative, birthing a new self even as they destroy the old.
3. How does Paloma's relationship with her brother parallel her relationship with Alrick?
Both men tried to control Paloma. Her brother, even in death, disapproved of her choices and sought to direct her path. Alrick was possessive, demanding she see only him and wait for him. In both cases, Paloma had to assert her independence—she set her brother's spirit free on Mallow Island, and she eventually divorced Alrick. The parallel suggests that Paloma's struggle for autonomy was a lifelong pattern, and that her ability to break free from one controlling relationship prepared her to break free from the other.
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