Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Thirteen members were a part of the June, 2017 discussion of Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver.  Most loved the book, some said it started out slow, another wondered if it was about this woman and her affair.  Many had read the book before and one person said it was different the second time, one liking the definition of people, and a few had read other books she has written, and of those, said they loved Poisonwood Bible the best.  One member said:  "Reading a book is like looking in a mirror, you see your reflection.  Reading it a second time, the glass stays the same, but the perspective changes." Someone said they would love to have a sequel to find out what happened to Dellarobia.  Another said they would love to put Dellarobia in front of a classroom.


We agreed we liked the descriptions and the writing style of the author and someone mentioned the humor she used. We also noted that the theme used was science vs religion conflict and this had carried from other books some had said.

One member loved the writing when Dellarobia and Dovey took Preston and Cordie to the Thrift Store.  In chapter 11 titled, Community Dynamics,  Barbara Kingsolver writes "An elderly woman pawed through sheets while the little boy at her side yanked down slick bedspreads from a pile, inciting waterfalls of polyester.  The woman crooned in a steady voice without even looking up:  "You're a stinker, Mammaw is going to give you to the froggies.  Mammaw is going to throw you in the garbage can."  Dellarobia pushed Cordie out of earshot, not that she was above such thoughts, but still.  They should be the accent pieces of a parenting style, not wall to wall carpet." 

We felt the title fit both the monarchs and Dellarobia's life -- Flight Behavior. We even discussed, after learning about Hester's secret, that this title would also fit Hester's life.  Dellarobia, wanted a whole different set of circumstances for her life.  She knew she wanted change.  Monarchs have Super generations, the third generation, and Dellarobia was like this.  She changed and for her age, she had to carry on.   Before she was married Dovey and her had some life experiences that showed they wanted some other things.  We knew Dellarobia wanted to leave.

We talked about Hester and Dellarobbia's relationships and talks.  One time Hester even went to Dellarobbia to see if she could get Cubby to help change Bear's idea on the logging.  We also didn't expect that Hester had a secret and that the child she gave up for adoption was Bobby.  We felt all the clues led to that, but we didn't see it!  We wondered whether she enjoyed seeing him all the time or regretted it, but Bobby did come out to the house for dinner to meet with them on the logging issue.  We talked about Dellarobbia's infatuation with men and Ovid, we credited that to getting married in high school.  We liked how Orv comes out of his shell and was on the youtube video!  Dellarobbia had a good effect on him.

Several interesting components were written into the novel.  We read in the back of the novel that the names for the book were family names, starting with Ovid.  The Dellarobia name was interesting.  The artist, Luca Della Robbia made art more accessible to people; the art was enjoyed by more people this way, common people.  In this way, Dellarobia's name fit as she brought the butterflies to the people in her area.    We talked about the names of Burly's, Bear & Cub and how each was a good fit for the characters.  Cut was a good loyal husband.  Hester, greek word for star is "aster", Hester -- fitting as she had a family secret that could destroy her family.  Someone said, when we were discussing this, "that tragic side of the story, we just don't know what other people are dealing with."  Cordelia -- strong willed; defiant.  Preston - scholarly child.  Ovid -- Latin, famous Roman poet, metamorphis.  Ovid was a true scientist.

We loved that Dovey texted signs from churches to Dellarobia "Get Right or Get Left" and Honk if you love Jesus, text while driving if you want to meet up."  Here is a place where you can read some of the interesting quotes from the book form Goodreads, click here.

One person shared this thought, will other readers pick up on the connections in this book years from now?  Will this be understood?  Will there be monarchs around?  We really enjoyed discussing this book and many of us had a passion for monarchs.


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