Flight Behavior (book review)

“Flight Behavior”, the seventh novel from Pulitzer Prize-nominee Barbara Kingsolver, centers around 27-year old Dellarobia Turnbow, mother of two and a resident of the fictional town of Feathertown, TN. Married at 17 and saddled with motherhood not long after, Dellarobia has become restless and deeply dissatisfied with her life, the lure of men other than her meek husband Cub constant. When her latest infatuation leads her up the mountain beyond her house for a rendezvous, an ecological phenomenon gives her pause and has her reexamining her actions both past and present, irrevocably changing her.

Dellarobia is possessed of a wonderfully wry sense of humor, a bit of an inferiority complex, and is a driven individual despite lapses in self-confidence. She is a lone wolf of reason among her pious family members; “The Lord works in mysterious ways” is an oft repeated philosophy among them. They, along with the whole of Feathertown, view what’s happening as something divine. Scientists, far removed from the sway of mysticism that has such a hold on the town, know better. Dellarobia’s experiences and growing knowledge of both human and animal behavior through the course of the story help her to understand the power of faith (despite all her scoffing) and the dour consequences of climate change.

Kingsolver is mostly fair in her portrayal of both schools of thought. In the beginning, Feathertown’s residents are a somewhat stereotypical bunch of small town bible-belters; their belief that God creates and determine outcomes in both human and environmental dilemma is stalwart and fallacious. Cub is a non-believer in climate change but he gives no clear reason(s) why, and I wished Kingsolver had done a bit more to present a well-thought argument from this side.

From a technical point of view, however, she rarely falters, using her education and background in biology, environmental science and ecology to lend plausibility to her main event. She bends plausibility in small ways (e.g. scientists setting up a temporary lab in a former milking barn and working with hazardous and potentially explosive chemicals mere yards from Dellarobia’s residence), as fiction tends to do. Though there are some out there who will dispute her scenario, the line between truth and fantasy is thin enough for it to serve as a caveat.

I have read two of Kingsolver’s other works and I enjoyed them a great deal. She is a skillful and polished storyteller, particularly adept at description and character development. Though her writing was top-notch then, there is a fine-tuning evident in this one that excites me. If this is not her masterwork, then I sense that it is just around the corner. Dialogue is excellent; Dellarobia’s exchanges with Cub and Hester are the most intense, her struggle to understand them leading to revelations both about them and herself. Kingsolver has fairly strong viewpoints on climate change (see her 2007 memoir “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”) - the conversations Dellarobia has with Dr. Ovid Byron and other members of his team had the potential to hinder a reader’s enjoyment with facts and diatribes. Kingsolver exercises adequate restraint, but make no mistake – though enlightening, those passages are still demonstrably assertive.

Overall, an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. Like a fine wine, Kingsolver's work gets better with age, and “Flight Behavior” is that rare vintage that makes a reader eager to sample her other wares.