I really enjoyed this magical novel, unusually written in operatic form, its chapters becoming scenes, its varied characters actors on stage, its words both colourful and musical. Set in Seville, it charts the poignant story of young Diego Clemente, the illegitimate son of a convent girl whose marriage to the gentle Emilio is only to save her from further disgrace. Diego's love of books develops into a fascination with maps and exploration but especially with drawing the wonderful exotic birds he reads about.