A small shift between cloud and sun
altered the daylight, and the whole landscape intensified, brightening
before her eyes. The forest blazed with its own internal flame. “Jesus,”
she said, not calling for help, she and Jesus weren’t that close, but
putting her voice in the world because nothing else present made sense. - from Flight Behavior -
Dellarobia’s life changed at seventeen when an unplanned pregnancy
forced her into marriage…the same year she was orphaned when her mother
succumbed to cancer. Despite a miscarriage, she stayed in her marriage
to Cub, a man whose life is defined by his parents – the rigid Bear and
his opinionated and religious wife, Hester. Now, ten years later,
Dellarobia is disillusioned with her life as mom to two young children,
barely scraping by on a small sheep farm in Feathertown, Tennessee on
the edge of the Appalachian mountains. She longs for a brighter future, a
more romantic relationship than the one she has with Cub, and an escape
from the poverty and sameness of each day. So one day she heads up the
mountain to consummate a tryst with the telephone guy. But instead of
discovering love, Dellarobia finds the trees on the mountain aflame
with Monarch butterflies. Believing this to be a message from God, she
turns back down the mountain and vows to stay in her marriage and make
it work. The butterflies soon become a sensation, bringing a team of
scientists to Dellarobia and Cub’s farm and upending the tenuous balance
in a family which is living on the edge.
Barbara Kingsolver’s newest novel explores the impact of global
warming and the divide between science and religion. Kingsolver lightens
these heavy themes with warm hearted, genuine characters and a finely
wrought sense of humor balanced by poignancy. Dellarobia is an
insightful, smart woman who has been denied an education. She loves her
kids. She grapples with her faith. She longs for a life of beauty and
meaning. She is one of those characters who a reader can get behind even
though she is far from perfect.
Kingsolver lays down a dilemma for Dellarobia: Should she stay in
her life and make it work, or should she take flight? Her journey is
symbolized by that of the butterflies – insects who migrate thousands of
miles even though they have never been shown the way. What choices do
we have when faced with potential catastrophe and the unknown? How do we
determine truth? What factors influence our decisions and beliefs?
I am a huge Kingsolver fan. I love her beautiful prose, her complex
characters, her sense of humor, and the relevancy of her themes. I
expected to love this book, and it did not disappoint me. Critics of the
global warming argument may be put off by the underlying message
regarding the dire nature of environmental change, but no one can fault
Kingsolver’s imagination and ability to bring to life a set of
characters facing one of the most controversial topics facing this
generation. It is her skill at character development against the
backdrop of nature where Kingsolver shines, and in Dellarobia, she has
given her readers a character who is truly memorable.
Highly Recommended.
FTC Disclosure: I was sent this book by the publisher for review on my blog. Thank you to TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to share this novel with my readers. Please visit the tour page for links to more reviews.
No comments:
Post a Comment