Dellarobia Turnbow is a restless farm wife who gave up her own plans when she accidentally became pregnant at seventeen. Now, after a decade of domestic disharmony on a failing farm, she has settled for permanent disappointment but seeks momentary escape through an obsessive flirtation with a younger man. As she hikes up a mountain road behind her house to a secret tryst, she encounters a shocking sight: a silent, forested valley filled with what look like a lake of fire. She can only understand it as a cautionary miracle, but it sparks a raft of other explanations from scientists, religious leaders, and the media. The bewildering emergency draws rural farmers into unexpected acquaintance with urbane journalists, opportunists, sightseers, and a striking biologist with his own stake in the outcome. As the community lines up to judge the woman and her miracle, Dellarobia confronts her family, her church, her town, and a larger world, in a flight toward truth that could undo all she has ever believed.
I hope I'm not about to hurt someones feelings, but I'm not sure I can do this any other way. I would like to be able to give those of you who came here looking for a full review of Flight Behaviorr by Barbara Kingsolver, what you wanted. Sadly, I can't do that. I could pretend to have read the entire book, but I would have to lie to you, and that's the last thing I ever want to do. It's not that I didn't read the first and the last page, because I did. It's just that I skipped and skimmed my way through the book, hoping for something to grab my attention.
I did manage to read the first 50-60 pages before I gave up, and started my skimming/skipping process. I wanted so much to enjoy this book, the premise and the issues it explored, grabbed my attention when I agreed to review the book. And I know a ton of other bloggers who really enjoy this author's work. So I feel left out of club, one that I desperately want to belong to. I want to be able to enjoy the author's writing and the story she created, but for whatever reason, I'm just not able to. Nothing on the page grabbed onto me. Nothing within the covers of Flight Behavior managed to capture my imagination.
I know I'm going to be the minority on this one, and I'm glad for it. I don't ever want to give the impression that I don't think this book is worth reading, because for people who don't live within my own skin, it probably is. I have to accept the fact that I'm not one of them.
I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book. Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.
12 comments:
This one's been getting mixed reviews so I don't think you're alone. I'm a Kingsolver fan, though, so I'll probably give it a try one day.
Aw... too bad. I've been wanting to read a book by her, but I don't think this is the one to start. I also just had a book like that, but I didn't read the last page. :)
Whew! It's not just me ... I DID manage to read The Lacuna Coil, but I simply couldn't see what the fuss was about.
What I love most is that you're honest. I start to get suspicious when a reader loves everything that they open. It just can't happen. We all have different tastes so finding out why this didn't work for you gives me a lot of information. I'm still on the fence as to whether or not this is one for me. Thanks for your great thoughts on this one!
Ryan I appreciate the honesty and life's too short to read a book you can't get through.
I have this book on my stack and picked it up, but did not get into it and set it down with every intention to try another time. Thanks for your honesty.
Not every book works for every reader, so I can understand that you didn't connect with this one Ryan. Thanks for being on the tour though.
Don't you hate when that happens? You dislike a book but everyone else seems to like it. Hate that feeling.
I've only ever read a few pages of Kingsolver so I'm kind of with you. Though she is extremely popular, I've never been able to get with the program.
You gave it a shot though, that's what counts, Ryan. You did your best.
I absolutely loved this book--it's probably the next book that I will be reviewing on my blog.
I listened to it, which may have made the difference. I found the first several chapters a bit tough to get into. I found myself wondering if I would ever like Dellarobia or find her story interesting.
However, the story picks up steam and I ended up being blown away by the ending.
Kingsolver is one of my favorite living authors--Prodigal Summer and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle are among my favorite books.
Too bad this didn't work for you.
I have LOVE everything by Kingsolver that I have ever read and I can't wait to pick up this one. I'm glad to see how much you enjoyed it!
I'm a Kingsolver fan but I'll admit that I find her books to be uneven. She always has an agenda and sometimes it can get in the way of the story.
It's a shame that you didn't like it, but we each have our own tastes and some books don't do it for everyone. That being said, I'm currently reading her book, The Poisonwood Bible, and really enjoying it so I will probably give this one a shot too...someday. ;O)
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