BOOK BEGINNINGS: A certain feeling comes from throwing your good life away, and it is one part rapture. Or so it seemed for now, to a woman with flame-colored hair who marched uphill to meet her demise. Innocence was no part of this. She knew her own recklessness and marveled, really, at how one hard little flint of thrill could outweigh the pillowy, suffocating aftermath of a long disgrace.
FRIDAY 56: Butterflies crossed her field of vision continuously at close range, black-orange flakes that made her blink, and they merged in a chaotic blur in the distance, and she found it frankly impossible to believe what her eyes revealed to her. Or her ears: the unending rustle, like a taffeta dress.
GENRE: Literary / Women's Fiction / Political
NUMBER OF PAGES: 416
AMAZON LINK: Flight Behavior
MY THOUGHTS: Ever since I read The Poisonwood Bible, I've been a Barbara Kingsolver fan. Although I'm only on Page 75 of Flight Behavior, I can tell it's going to be another favorite. I love her humor and the way she captures the beliefs, superstitions, and daily life of an Appalachian farming community - and that's just in the first 75 pages.
AMAZON SYNOPSIS (partial):
AMAZON SYNOPSIS (partial):
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 looks 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.
That would be something incredible to witness. Just imagine!!
ReplyDeleteI added you to the linky. :-)
I have had my eye on this one...I haven't read anything by this author yet, but I love your excerpts!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog...
She sometimes gets a little heavy on the environmental stuff, but that's a theme in all her books. The story is nicely written and I'm enjoying it.
DeleteHow exciting! "Unending rustle, like a taffeta dress"... I love the imagery here. Happy Thanksgiving, Sandy!
ReplyDeleteMe too. The book is full of similar beautiful descriptions.
DeleteThat would catch everyone's attention. Thanks for visiting.
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting. I still have The Poisonwood Bible on my TBR, but this one will get added to it as well. Maybe i'll get around to them sometime. Thanks for visiting my friday post earlier.
ReplyDeleteIf you read this one, you'll learn more about Monarch butterflies than you ever wanted to know! I found the details regarding how scientists conduct research on butterflies (and other insects) to be fascinating.
DeleteI tried to read a Kingsolver book a few years ago and gave up. I couldn't connect to the characters or the writing style at all.
ReplyDeleteMy immediate response to reading the two excerpts was "eerghhh!" but I reread them and found myself intrigued despite my preconceived ideas (once I got past the "a woman with flame coloured hair" part)!
Have not read any Kingsolver. I like the idea of getting to know more about life in the Appalachian area. I grew up in the South but never visited that area.
ReplyDeleteI have read all of her books, except for this latest one, including non fiction. She is a marvelous writer!
ReplyDeleteI really liked BEAN TREES and its sequel PIGS IN HEAVEN, as well as THE POISONWOOD BIBLE.
DeleteI just love that opening - I really need to find the time to read a Kingsolver title.
ReplyDeleteI loved The Poisonwood Bible and this has been on my list. Thanks for sharing that beautiful excerpt...now I'll have to move it up! Sheesh! So many things to read :)
ReplyDeletethis one is definitely one my TBR list!
ReplyDeleteI have this on my TBR because I just love Kingsolver! The snippets confirm I MUST READ THIS!
ReplyDeleteHave you read Prodigal Summer yet? I highly recommend it :)
Here's mine: http://guiltlessreading.blogspot.ca/2012/11/book-beginnings-friday-56-persecution.html
I have to yet read 'The Poisonwood Bible' and now this book too! thanks for sharing.. and thanks for visiting my blog as well.. I am thinking reading so many books at the same time might not be a good idea after all.. for I want to keep reading every book I have to the end (they are all good!) - the only thing redeeming is that they are all different so i am not confused with plots.
ReplyDelete