Barbara Kingsolver's writing, especially in Flight Behavior, is ...
596191
Barbara Kingsolver's writing, especially in Flight Behavior, is magnificent. I listened to the audiobook. I kept rewinding so I could listen to the language again. Her imagery of the Monarch Butterflies in the trees has stayed with me for several years, so i purchased the book for a friend who is starting a Monarch butterfly sanctuary.
197027
Am I the only Kingsolver fan who found Poisonwood Bible to be a disappointing, heavyhanded departure from the humor and gentle social commentary we'd all discovered with delighted surprise in The Bean Trees?  I still think that her first novel is her best, but I was glad to find her returning to her roots in Prodigal Summer, a simply plotted, well-written novel with the procreative forces of nature at its core. Rather than preach unilaterally about environmental issues, Kingsolver explores many sides of the issues with her cast of characters which are all more complex than at first they appear.  Particularly enjoyable are the two elderly neighbors who represent opposite ends of the environmental spectrum and hurl verbal abuse at each other throughout the book, but at the end discover some common ground, even while neither comes close to converting the other.  Likewise, the farmer's widow and passionate environmentalist gets her come-uppance with a rapacious patch of honeysuckle, while the coyote-killing hunter treads through the novel with surprising dignity and self-knowledge.  Kingsolver weaves serious exploration and description of environmental issues into her prose with a great deal of grace, even if the result is not completely seamless.  Whereas by the time I finished Poisonwood Bible, I was rooting for the bad guys (i.e., Rachel) simply to get some relief from the rest of the insufferable prigs I was obliged to tolerate, Prodigal Summer had me finding good and bad within each individual character, and the need to take sides was eliminated.  And this, mind you, from a fast-food-eating, fossil-fuel-burning, bug-killing reviewer.
4910950
Jo-Anne McLean has created a fun read for those with flights of fancy:
as a child, Emelynn has been gifted a remarkable ability by a
stranger, one that she only discovers to its full extent as it
develops through her teenage years. Leaving Toronto to start a new life on the West Coast in British
Columbia, Emelynn reconnects with old friends but also discovers more
of a new life than she bargained for: a complex involvement with a
world of others of a similar ability, including their leader, the
tetchy Jackson.  What will she do with this new world with rules and
regulations that would baffle Einstein? Can she handle the dangers mere
mortals don't have to deal with? Embrace them or avoid them? What should she do about her attraction to
Jackson? Romantically naive, should she embrace him and become more of
a woman or avoid him? Find out. Book your flight with Air McLean at an
outlet near you.
4493537
Barbara Kingsolver is a great story teller.  I thoroughly enjoyed this story about a poor family whose life and outlook are changed by thousands of migrating butterflies to their property.  The author always manages to teach you a little something you didn't think you wanted to know about. In this case you learn a lot about the butterfly and its life cycle and migration.  The author paints characters you feel you know or at least would know if you ran into them.
3152392
An collection of essays united mainly by their general theme of perspective, this book reminded me of John McPhee's work, except that the author is both a flyer and a writer, and in a strange way seems to be a master of his topic, as elusive as that topic is when I try to define it.
The book exists in the shadow of his father's how-to flying book -- without doubt the most famous in its completely practical genre, and remarkably though deservedly still in print after about half a century.
But this book is not about airmanship, although pilots will detect the signs of clear expertise. Few if any other instructors make a specialization of chasing storms from coast to coast, apparently in part for the instructional value but also for the solitary non-landscape seen and felt by the instrument pilot.
It is interesting and perhaps unexpected that this is more a book about perception and awareness, and treated with respect to both individuals and societies.
I know it's cliche, but "I couldn't put it down".
4035276
What I most appreciate about a book is good writing and this book is superbly written. I was able to enjoy vicariously Nancy Cowans fascinating experiences with birds of prey, and I especially appreciated her confessions and explanations of her errors and mindset during many of those incidents. I liked the way she knew her birds were not pets, but she made clear that they had a place in her heart.

Although I was raised in a family of hunters, my inner-bunny-hugger prompted me to question the ethics of falconry. I was surprised at the stringent protocols for both the sport and the rehabilitation of injured wild birds, which earned my respect. I also recalled the words of Joseph Campbell who said, All life feeds on life, a mystery which is at the heart of many myths.
3709605
Barbara Kingsolver, in my opinion, along with Margaret Atwood and Toni Morrison, is perhaps the finest crafter of works in the late 20th Century.  If only I could write half this well, with the words just flowing like a river to create a story.
I haven't read a bad Kingsolver book yet.  You would be doing yourself a favor by reading all she has to offer.
891307
I read Fear Of Flying forty years ago.  Now, there's Fear of Dying with a different narrator, but the earlier one is constantly referred to.  The writing is saucy and bawdy, irreverent, and compelling.

Obviously, there's a lot about death here, but it's also life-affirming.  There's lots of sex here as there was in the earlier book.

There are loads of quotes from literary sources, some preceding each chapter and many within the test.  Aldous Huxley is often quoted.  Even Rober Heinlein is once quoted.

Yes, this is about death and how we react to its reality.  But it's also about how to live.

Not everyone will be able to relate to this book, but it's definitely worth your try.
1904180
Kingsolver writes so welll, and brings her home in the hills and her sheep into the story.  She writes of a hugely improtant current concern  ("global warming", "climate change", call it what you will) - one our politicians and policy makers are turning a deaf ear to.  Nicely woven until the end -- you'll wonder:  "Is this really the end of the world?".
4186195
This book is undoubtedly more memoir than travel book, but the writing is visual and appealing especially when the author writes about birds.
The premise is simple. While the author's parents are busy making a living, traveling, and accumulating wealth, Nikki is being raised in Miami by her Popi and grandmother who shower her with love and create a safe haven for her. Her grandfather in particular oasses on his love and fascination of birds to Nikki and the tantalizing promise of the  Bird Market of Paris. Nikki later runs into the road blocks of life and drinks to much, has problems with relationships, and is unhappy. As she traverses the ups and mostly downs of her life, she seeks out the bird market to reconnect with her passion for birds and the happiness she enjoyed with her Popi.
While I hoped Nikki would delve into the general topic of birds and the Bird Market, this was really more of a device used to signal Nikki's return to happiness and finding herself.
While not a particularly unique story, I thought this book was very well written and the grandchild grandparent bond resonated with me and actually reminded me of my own grandfather's love of the birds that he bred and doted over. It was a sentimental return to a sun porch with a labyrinth of cages and connectors for me.
This book is almost poetic in some passages and very well written and enjoyable.
3637208
"Skyfaring" is one of my favorite books. I was smitten with aviation at an early age and, fortunately, was able to feed my need to experience flying as an air force navigator and private pilot. I'm now 87 and have read many books relating to flying. In my opinion I feel that Mark Vanhoenacker expresses the essence of the joy of flight to the nth degree. You will enjoy the story as well as his style.
R. Williams
2883526
To take to the sky in an open-cockpit biplane and putt across America at low altitude, exploring remote airstrips, small-town cafes and modest motels, is the stuff of dreams for those addicted to flight. Steve Coonts did it, shepherding a beautiful yellow Stearman to each of the lower forty-eight states over a single summer. His low-key account of that enviable triplaced with a solo pilot's musings, insights and observationsis guaranteed to keep fellow aviators' heads bobbing in agreement. Whether an experienced pilot with a tattered logbook, or a wannabe thirsting for flight, the reader who "gets it" will concur: Coonts is one hell of a writer, who captures flying's thrill, peace, beauty and occasional seat-creasing moments of terror in down-home eloquence.
2056889
Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite contemporary authors; almost everything she turns her hand to has a way of becoming magic.  Her latest novel is no exception.  in _Flight Behavior_, migrating monarch butterflies turn up unexpectedly in the small Tennessee valley near Feathertown.  Everyone who sees this amazing sight, from Dellarobia Turnbow to the tourists and activists who eventually make their way to this remote corner of the world, is forever changed as a result.  The background topic of the book is the tremendous upheavals caused by climate change, but Kingsolver never bludgeons the reader with ideology, instead allowing the various viewpoints to emerge organically from her characters. If you are a fan of Kingsolver, or if you enjoy luminous prose, good storytelling and memorable characters, you will enjoy this book.
379644
I've read other books by Barbara Kingsolver, but this is one of her best. It has strong, interesting characters, a wonderful plot, and is informative as well. I highly recommend  this to anyone as a way of learning how man's attempt to bend Nature has had devastating effects.
1878269
This book is a bit of a touchstone in my life. I've been a land-based textbook aviator forever, always yearning to take flight instruction (in a real airplane, not just on a home pc simulator), but too timid to pursue it. Now in my 50's and semi-retired, it's time, and I've signed-up for that first hands-on-the-yoke lesson at a local airport. The author Simmons brought me to this moment. A needed push. A very interesting bio, too. I was taken in by his trials as an academic--his struggle teaching literature at M.I.T.--and about his distant relationship with his father, his stifling relationship with his mother and the ridiculous dogma she forced on him as a child, and then the final nail--his failed marriage. It all fed powerfully into his escape to the cockpit (inspite his white knuckle fear of flying!!!). Here's a mid-30s hard-working guy, full of angst, rage and chronic disappointment over the choices he's made thus far, trying to do the right thing to please everyone but himself. He confronts his most acute fear, airplanes. Ultimately, it's in the air that he finds exhileration in mastering intricate flight systems and in managing such risk, which gives him confidence in his powers to change his life for the better. He brings the insecure but rational-thinking student-pilot to life as I've never read anywhere else before. And the personalities of the flight personnel who helped him along the way to becoming a private pilot are revealed in wonderful, believable detail. I really enjoyed this book.
3403671
I was totally floored to find I could not make myself read this book!  I have enjoyed Barbara Kingsolver's writing, fiction and non-fiction, for decades and considered her one of the best American writers working today.  I hope Flight Behavior is a fluke in her career.  I found it tedious, boring, and worst of all pretentious.  I tried to read it three times and simply could not get beyond the first chapter.  If Ms. Kingsolver was unable to realize how far below her usual standard this book is, where in the world was her editor?  And did the professional reviewers who gave it all those glowing reviews actually read the book?  A terrible disappointment from an otherwise excellent writer.
265128
I've got to admit, there were parts where I wouldn't have given this book more than two stars, and parts where I swore it deserved more than five stars. So I'm going to split the difference and give it four stars.

I think where Barbara Kingsolver really shines is when she gets to talking about politically loaded views. She is much more liberal than me, and no one can make me change my mind like she can. Stone Soup in particular was an essay that really stuck with me, where she remarked on divorce and broken families, and really made me see the merits of having an untraditional family. Civil Disobedience at Breakfast was a fascinating take on parenting; it held my rapture even though I'm not a mother ... not even close.

In the Belly of the Beast and Jabberwocky were urgent, emotionally resonating essays on the importance of reducing war and violence, and never forgetting that the people on the other end of the gun are PEOPLE, and not merely faceless, soulless enemies to be destroyed.

I loved reading her accounts on what it's like to be a full time writer, because that's been a dream of mine ever since I discovered reading as a knee-high tyke. Postcards from the Imaginary Mom and Careful What You Let in the Door are two good examples of this.

Where she falls short, I feel, are her essays on traveling. The middle of the book, with The Memory Place, The Vibrations of Djoogbe, and Infernal Paradise, lags. I feel like her travel essays are much more focused on what she observes rather than what she's thinking, and her observations don't have the same enthralling quality that her thoughts and opinions do.

The beginning of her book felt a little haphazard as well. I felt like within the course of an essay, she would sometimes let her mind wander and just follow it wherever it chose to go, and I felt like her prose could have used some tightening. I did not feel this way with her later essays, so perhaps this was a problem that resolved itself as she matured in her writing abilities.

In summation: Not every essay packed a punch. But the ones that did got you right in the gut.