Most
of Genie's story revolves around his
blind Grandpop — his conflict with Genie's father, his regrets over Genie's Uncle Wood, his lonely seclusion in a room surrounded by caged birds, his intention to go through with a ritual to make Ernie a
man on his 14th birthday, and the
mystery of the yellow house out back, with a tree growing right through it and swarms
of birds ever present.