Flight Behavior

Written with rich, realistic characters and a fascinating premise, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is my first book by Ms. Kingsolver but I anticipate many more enjoyable moments spent with her books in the future. Can nature change your life? It certainly seems so for the main character Dellarobia Turnbow, who has almost what could be described as a vision, though it is a real event, on her way to an illicit affair one morning in rural Tennessee. The arrival of monarch butterflies in the woods near her home changes her life and outlooks on almost everything she knows. All the characters are exceptionally written and real; they could be people I know, work with, am friends with. Interlaced with the telling of Dellarobia's domestic life and the changes brought about by this miraculous and at the same time disastrous natural happening are also insightful commentaries via the character of etymologist Ovid Byron about climate change, the nature of science and the media, our places in the natural order, and whether or not we are too late in our efforts to save this planet from the atrocities we have inflicted on it's natural systems and beings. I can not think of a better work of fiction I have read this year and would without reservation recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good novel and especially to those who care for the state our planet is in and want to have a better understanding of what's at stake and how nature can affect every one of us, whether scientist, homemaker, or average Joe. A great read!

In the opening chapter, as Dellarobia made her trek up the mountain, intent on violating her marriage vows, I thought this was going to be another chick-lit piece of fluff. Happily, the assignation didn't happen and the story quickly redeemed itself with serious content. Likewise, it was heartening that the author resisted the opportunity to include an affair between the heroine and the renowned scientist. This has to be one of the most stunning pieces of descriptive prose I've ever read, describing the terrain, the people and the irremediable poverty of the Appalachian region of America. Kingsolver outdoes herself without being cloying. She provides just enough rich, graphic description to set the scene, then goes on to fill each chapter with succinct, satisfying narrative. The book's central theme - global warming - is presented in a way that the lay person can understand. The example of the Monarch butterflies is something that hits so close to home it should be enough to scare the daylights out of even the most stalwart debunkers. All is nicely woven into a believable story with believable characters. One minor irritation: The heroine's name. The author might have given her something less awkward. Failing that, a shortened version ("Dell" or "Della") or even a judicious, greater use of pronouns might have saved the reader having to endure reading the long and bizarre "Dellarobia" eighteen times on each page. Kingsolver must have had a "hot key" programmed to save typing it out every time. There are some really great moments in the story. I think my favorite was where Dr. Byron cut the urbane and clueless TV newswoman down to size, while our heroine's best friend videotaped the whole thing and sent it viral. Nice. I was a bit disappointed with the ending. The reader is left wondering if the Turnbow home survives the flood, and whether Della's separation from her husband is permanent or only for the duration of her continuing education. I would have been nice to have at least a few small hints about the heroine's future. Overall, a good read. Go for it.

***SPOILER ALERT*** I really enjoyed reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior. Yes, it was really dense and I think some parts of it could’ve been shortened, but I really liked the critiques on society’s inaction and denial of climate change throughout the book. I also enjoyed the different stories woven in throughout it such as Dellarobia’s infidelity, her feeling trapped in her life, and the overarching theme of the monarch butterflies serving as a warning for climate change. I think Dellarobia’s infidelity springs from her feeling trapped in her life. Everyday is the same: pinching pennies, changing diapers, lying down next to a husband you’re not in love with, and maybe never were to begin with. Who wouldn’t be miserable? There were several instances in the beginning of the book (and mostly in the beginning, since in the latter she discovers she has more agency than she realized) where Kingsolver explains Della’s feelings of wanting to get out of her life. Dellarobia also had to make a lot of compromises, like going to church when she had little desire to do so. It feels like for the most part, until she actually becomes involved in helping with the butterflies, Della feels that the only way she can escape her life is through cheating, or thinking about cheating. I’m not sure if that’s a fair assessment, because it’s a lot more complex than that, but it’s not until the very end when she sees how happy Ovid is with his wife Juliet that she drops her dreams of being with him and realizes that there are other ways to escape her life than by getting emotionally attached to another man. I think another component that aids in her feeling trapped is Cub. Even though she bosses him around for a good portion of the book, there are still a lot of gender roles at play. Like when she’s talking to Dovey and saying that Cub wouldn’t want her working because it would be a negative reflection on Cub as her husband and as a man (190). Her having a job really shouldn’t affect Cub’s manhood, but it does, so she feels trapped into continuing on as a stay-at-home mother until Dovey convinces her otherwise. It’s not until she actually obtains a job and is progressing through it that her family starts to respect her, even Hester. And of course, the possibility of splitting up their family, one that she seems to question at times, is another thing that keeps her from leaving in the beginning. It’s obvious that she loves her kids, but love doesn’t always stop you from asking huge ‘what if’ questions about your life. Then there’s money and the lack of it. When Dellarobia is talking to Ovid about the failing educational system in her town, and the about the irrelevance of college for kids from her town, it’s really disheartening, and I think one of the most important parts of the book. It seemed like upward mobility in the town was severely limited if you weren’t an athlete in school, whom Della notes as having the town in their hands (223). She says to Ovid, “Doctor of all the sciences, Harvard and everything… there’s not room at the top for everybody. Most of us have to walk around in our sleep, accepting our underprivileged condition” (225). The acceptance of this stunts anyone’s agency and it obviously stunts Dellarobia’s until the end when she realizes that it’s not too late for her to go to college and do something else with her life. And finally, climate change. The book centers around the town’s complacency with some serious warning signs. Of course the butterflies that everyone wants to regard as miracle are abnormal. Then there’s the constant raining and flooding, which throws off their wool production. Still, the people of her town are in active denial and it’s most easily seen through Cub and through Dellarobia as well. Cub dismisses it in a biblical sense, saying that only God can control the climate. Ovid and Della’s conversation steers more in the direction of her just ignoring the signs. She says to him, “They say it’s just just cycles… that it goes through this every so often” (281). The inaction and denial from the people of the town comes from them claiming that there’s no visual evidence. As of yet, these peoples haven’t been tragically affected by climate change, besides the raining, which they choose to see as ‘just a cycle’. Because of this denial, it makes it all too easy for people to say that climate change doesn’t exist. You hear about it on the radio, see it on the news, but if it’s not actively affecting your daily commute to work or school, then it’s easy to act like it’s not that bad. We all do it. The butterflies that are at the crux of the story serve as a warning that something is coming and that things are changing. But throughout the book, there is still denial, because the butterflies are just so beautiful to look at.

Climate change is one of the most urgent issues facing the planet. But the problem for the novelist wanting to write about this subject is how to do it without being too worthy and hectoring. Barbara Kingsolver gets round this by setting her story on a sheep farm in the poor and deeply religious Bible Belt. Most of its people are highly suspicious of scientists and are happy to believe that all disturbances in weather patterns are just part of God’s plan. Dellarobia Turnbow is trapped in a dull marriage and is mother to two small children. She is bright but was unable to take advantage of educational opportunities when she was at school. Her whole life changes when she goes up a mountain on their farm and discovers a sea of orange fire – this turns out to be millions of Monarch butterflies who have had their migration pattern upset and are now off course. Dellarobia gains (unwanted) social media fame as people come to see this awesome sight. One visitor is Ovid Byron, an African American etymologist who stays on the Turnbow’s farm with a small research team. This is a turning point in Dellarobia’s life as she learns more and more about the butterflies and how the environment can be fatally affected by outside events. Flight Behaviour is a stunning novel. The plot unfolds beautifully and the characters are incredibly well drawn. There is Della’s bitter mother-in-law Hester, her lummox of a husband Cub, her loyal best friend Dovey and the generous spirited church minister Bobby. Barbara Kingsolver has a brilliant eye for detail and Dellarobia exhibits a sharp wit throughout the book. When an environmental campaigner asks Dellarobia to sign a pledge to reduce her energy use she expresses puzzlement. She has no computer to leave on stand-by, she can rarely afford red meat, she can’t afford to drive far, she buys secondhand clothes and she has never been on a plane. Just as we find out about the life cycle of butterflies, we see Dellarobia on her own cycle of turning into something admirable. The title “Flight Behaviour” could refer to the butterflies or to our heroine’s own life choices. I hope I haven’t made this sound too didactic. It is a perceptive book which is very funny in parts. One of the best books I have read all year – highly recommended.

A wonderful book. poignent, yet dramatice in places. It makes you think about many things - love, the environment, the beauty of our world. The delivery problems however did not help!

An engrossing, entertaining and educational read . . . with a small Appalachian mountain farm as the background, a young wife's discovery of a huge colony of monarch butterflies changes her life and her relationships with family, church and community members. It also brings the feisty, warmhearted and determined heroine into contact with a monarch research biologist who takes up temporary residence at the farm to study the unique phenomenon as related to climate change. As The New Yorker states: "[Kingsolver's] keen grasp of delicate ecosystems - both social and natural - keeps the story convincing and compelling."

Goed boek, vlot ontvangen

Als ich mir das Buch bestellt habe, war ich sehr von der guten Qualität des Buches an sich überrascht. Wunderschönes Cover, hochwertiges Papier, da macht das Lesen richtig Spaß. Zum Inhalt: ich finde, dass Buch sollte jeder lesen. So eine berührende und inspirierende Geschichte von einer jungen Frau, die so viele aktuelle Themen tangiert, dass es einem als Leser oft zum Reflektieren anregt. Es ist zu einem meiner absoluten Lieblingsbücher geworden!