by Sue,
I think this will be an enormous contrast to
“The Rosie Project”, though there’s a sprinkling of academics here, too. And,
if a quick look at the first few pages is any guide, a self-aware central
character with a sense of humour. Heft of a book, though - far longer than Mr.
Simsion’s little joy. The central concern of “Flight Behaviour” is climate
change - its impact on the environment and communities supported by that
environment. I hope that after last month’s effervescence this will not be a
worthy plod of a read.
A lot to think about, though, for example:
what does the novel say about the characteristics of poverty? With which character
do we most sympathise as events unfold? Does the novel give any realistic
indication of what the world might look like by the end of the century?
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteWe’ve got snowdrops and crocuses out in the parks – things are improving. Hope they are for you, too, Katie. I hope, too, your travel plans are going well, Nancy.
I was right about the book: it was a long haul. On balance, though, I enjoyed it. Dellarobia was terrific. Her humanity, humour and intelligence made her a great raconteur. Her perceptions were sharp and the reader trusted them. Her failings were those with which one could sympathise. Her self-awareness, personal development her relationships with others were wonderfully drawn. I thought the portrayal of the farm and its environs was marvellous. The subject matter was clearly very relevant to us all.
However, the conversations in which the topic of climate change was explained and the character’s viewpoints rationalised were often too didactic – with the exception of Ovid’s interview with Tina Ultner – and I wondered how many readers who were not interested in this topic would simply stop reading. There again, readers not interested in this topic wouldn’t have chosen to read the book. (Except when you’re in a book club and thus a captive audience – sorry ladies.)
To answer my own questions: the situation of poor people was wonderfully drawn in Leighton Akins’s Sustainability Pledge in which most of the items do not apply to Dellarobia as she’s too poor to abuse the planet anyway. The shopping expeditions around Christmas time, the long sequence in the Second Time Around shop, the free food pantry for Feathertown’s needy to which Dellarobia herself gives some of Preston’s outgrown pants – a whole life lived in poverty is the background for the book. Poverty’s impact on diet, access to information, and educational opportunities were graphically shown. Of course, it’s the poor who are most at risk of the impact of climate change. Correct me if I’m wrong, Katie, but weren’t the poorer sections of the community most affected by Hurricane Katrina because they lived on lower level land?
I found some sympathy for everyone – no-one was left without some reason for apparently dreadful behavior – well, maybe not Bear. And the suggestion is that if we carry on as we are, by the end of the century (or sometime thereafter) there will be only grief and horror. The flood is inevitable.
Not a cheerful read, then – but all too convincing.
Hope you weren’t too depressed, ladies.
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteOh dear Katie, I hope you are starting to defrost !! I’ve been seeing some extreme photos of the ice and snow in your part of the world, I hope all is OK.
Sue, our UK plans are moving along slowly, I keep finding new things I’d like to do without enough time to do them! I will be asking for your expert advise soon. I trust you are well and not missing Jay too much.
I need to start this comment on Flight Behaviour by saying I absolutely loved Dellarobia - What a woman. I also really enjoy reading Barbara Kingsolver novels. I’ve read three so far and loved them all.
I am also very interested in the climate change debate and at present I’m reading Naomi Klein’s provocative new book, This Changes Everything, in which she claims climate change isn’t about carbon it’s about capitalism. It is heavy going and very disturbing.
One of the elements I enjoyed most about Flight Behaviour was the insights into life and community in the Appalachians. Kingsolver lives in this area so seems to know her subject well. I find it fascinating to read about possibly why people believe, think and act the way they do. I feel it helps to make me a more tolerant and accepting person.
I enjoyed all the characters and believe Kingsolver did a fine job of making each of them credible and real.
At times I found the scientific explanations a little tedious, but felt they needed to be there for any readers who didn’t know this stuff. I was always too keen to get back to Dellarobia and her awakening to all life may have to offer and all she already possessed.
Kingsolver highlighted the plight go the poor very well as you say Sue. I can’t help feeling within our society Dellarobia may have been fortunate to be living in an isolated rural community. Our urban poor have no access to the fresh food available to her and are so often the target by big business of the processed cardboard pollution causing cheap food that is so toxic and causing so much ill health and burdening people with health bills they can’t afford either.
Your question Sue, on what our world will be like at the end of the century is something I believe each and every person should ask themselves and then decide how we can at least make it a world that is habitable. I don’t think it’s going to be a gentle rising of the oceans we walk away from, more like Dellarobia’s flood, devastating and catastrophic.
Sorry Ladies, I feel I’ve been having a bit of a rant, but I’m fairly sure Barbara Kingsolver would be happy to know she pushed the buttons she was aiming for in me !!
love to you both.
Hello Ladies!! Luckily we are not as north as Boston which is being brutalized by this winter, but we aren’t being spared winter’s attention either. Please enjoy some warmth for me, Nancy! Sue, it sounds like your winter is settling down!
ReplyDeleteThis novel was a bit depressing only insofar as its truthfulness. While a fictional work of literature, the events described are very much real to present day events. The sorrowful situation our planet is being put into by mankind’s greed and selfishness is sobering. I know it’s not appropriate to bury ones head in the sand, but at the same time it was almost to horrifying to read (even as a work of fiction).
I really identified with Dellarobia. We were so poor when I was growing up. I could count on one hand the number of outfits I owed where I was the original owner. Hand-me-downs ran rampant through our house. I remember so many meatless meals and sleeping in one bedroom as children for warmth. I shop now at thrift stores as a means of reducing our carbon foot print. I don’t know if either of you read Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, but the part of it that always stuck with me was how the society was taught “to end is better than to mend”. It seems our society is being trained in the same mindset.
Nancy, you thought YOU were going on rant… hahaha. Sorry. Flight Behavior was a good read despite the sorrowful underlying message. Sue, for your question, I do believe the poorer communities did suffer the greatest after hurricane Katrina. As for our future, I believe we will lose many beautiful species before we wake up and correct our ways. That’s very sad to imagine. Hopefully more people will read novels like this one and try to be proactive in the fight for our planet. Sorry for being such a downer!