New York: Vintage Books, (1999). Winner of an American Book Award from the before Columbus Foundation. A novel about " two young women and the transformative power of art. . . a baroness locks herself up in the Green Palace, only to have her seclusion interrupted by a parrot that flies through the window. When a sailor arrives to retrieve his companion, the young man and his pet delight her with three inspiring stories, while an unscrupulous suitor schemes to lure her out of her house and into his arms." 183 pp. ISBN: 0-375-707220.