On the Appalachian Mountains above her home, a young mother discovers a beautiful and terrible marvel of nature. As the world around her is suddenly transformed by a seeming miracle, can the old certainties they have lived by for centuries remain unchallenged?
Flight Behaviour is a captivating, topical and deeply human story touching on class, poverty and climate change. It is Barbara Kingsolver's most accessible novel yet, and explores the truths we live by, and the complexities that lie behind them.
'Kingsolver's masterly evocation of an age - ours, here, now - stumbling willfully blind towards the abyss is an elegy ... for the ambitious, flawed species that conjured the mass extinction of which its loss is a part. Urgent issues demand important art.
Flight Behaviour rises - with conscience and majesty - to the occasion of its time.' --
Guardian'A compelling plot with lyrical passages and flashes of humour. Absorbing and entertaining, Flight Behaviour engages the reader in the quotidian details of Dellarobia s life, while insisting that we never forget the crumbling world beneath her, and our, feet.' --Sunday Telegraph
'This is what Kingsolver does best, taking us deep into a character's heart while panning out for the political overview. She makes us think, believe and care - all at once ... And her prose is vivid and beautiful ... Kingsolver fans will love it.' --Sunday Times
'Kingsolver has an extraordinary understanding of family dynamics; her theme is climate change of every kind, and her prose is dense, lush and lovely.' --The Times
'Her descriptions of the everyday shearing day, immunising the sheep are surprisingly fascinating. There are many moments of lightness ... and of great beauty, too'. --Independent
'There are some beautifully written set pieces..... The last section has an almost epic quality as Dellarobia, ... alone on the mountain, moves outside herself and watches in a state of mind akin to ecstasy the apocalyptic fate of the family farm below. It reminds us that humanity seeks destruction as much as we seek stability and happiness.' --Irish Times
'All sorts of crazy wanting, both prosaic and earth-shattering, are shot through the intricate tapestry of Barbara Kingsolver's majestic and brave new novel, Flight Behavior. Her subject is both intimate and enormous ... How do we live, Kingsolver asks, and with what consequences, as we hurtle toward the abyss in these times of epic planetary transformation? And make no mistake about it, the stakes are that high.' --New York Times Book Review
'Flight Behaviour is an impressive work. It is complex, elliptical and well-observed.' --Observer
'Flight Behaviour [is] Barbara Kingsolver's 14th book [and] may be her most accessible novel yet.' --Express
'This is a poignant novel, funny and poetic, whose message about climate change is timely and true, and cannot be ignored.' --Scotsman
