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Flight Behavior
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
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Publisher's summary
New York Times best seller
Indie best seller
Barnes & Noble best seller
National best seller
Amazon Best Book of the Month
Indie Next Pick
Best book of the year: New York Times Notable, Washington Post Notable, Amazon Editor’s Choice, USA Today’s Top Ten (#1), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kansas City Star
Prize-winning author: Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award), Orange Prize for Fiction
Prize-winning author: National Humanities Medal, Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Orange Prize for Fiction, Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award)
"Kingsolver is a gifted magician of words." (Time)
The extraordinary New York Times best-selling author of The Lacuna (winner of the Orange Prize), The Poisonwood Bible (nominated for the Pulitzer Prize), and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver returns with a truly stunning and unforgettable work.
Flight Behavior is a brilliant and suspenseful novel set in present day Appalachia; a breathtaking parable of catastrophe and denial that explores how the complexities we inevitably encounter in life lead us to believe in our particular chosen truths. Kingsolver's riveting story concerns a young wife and mother on a failing farm in rural Tennessee who experiences something she cannot explain, and how her discovery energizes various competing factions - religious leaders, climate scientists, environmentalists, politicians - trapping her in the center of the conflict and ultimately opening up her world.
Flight Behavior is arguably Kingsolver's most thrilling and accessible novel to date, and like so many other of her acclaimed works, represents contemporary American fiction at its finest.
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Needs to be a film!
- By TreasureHunter on 06-25-16
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A Death in Kitchawank, and Other Stories
- By: T. C. Boyle
- Narrated by: T. C. Boyle
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Few authors write with such sheer love of story and language as T. C. Boyle, and that is nowhere more evident than in his inventive, wickedly funny, and always entertaining short stories. Here are 14 new tales previously unpublished in book form. By turns mythic and realistic, farcical and tragic, ironic and moving, Boyle's stories have mapped a wide range of human emotions. The stories here reflect his maturing themes.
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Mixed Bag
- By AuntGert on 09-22-20
By: T. C. Boyle
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The Walking People
- By: Mary Beth Keane
- Narrated by: Sile Bermingham
- Length: 16 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Greta Cahill never believed she would leave her village in the west of Ireland until she found herself on a ship bound for New York, along with her sister Johanna and a boy named Michael Ward. Labeled a "softheaded goose" by her family, Greta discovers that in America she can fall in love, raise her own family, and earn a living.
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Irish immigratn story
- By Chrissie on 09-10-13
By: Mary Beth Keane
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The Plague of Doves
- By: Louise Erdrich
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James, Kathleen McInerney
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The unsolved murder of a farm family haunts the small, white, off-reservation town of Pluto, North Dakota. The vengeance exacted for this crime and the subsequent distortions of truth transform the lives of Ojibwe living on the nearby reservation and shape the passions of both communities for the next generation.
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Avoid this Plague
- By Andre on 05-16-08
By: Louise Erdrich
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The One-in-a-Million Boy
- By: Monica Wood
- Narrated by: Chris Ciulla
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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For years, guitarist Quinn Porter has been on the road, chasing gig after gig, largely absent to his twice-ex-wife Belle and their odd, Guinness records-obsessed son. When the boy dies suddenly, Quinn seeks forgiveness for his paternal shortcomings by completing the requirements for one of his son's unfinished Boy Scout badges. For seven Saturdays Quinn does yard work for Ona Vitkus, the spry 104-year-old Lithuanian immigrant the boy had visited weekly.
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Loved it
- By Justin on 10-20-16
By: Monica Wood
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Shadow Show
- All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury
- By: Sam Weller - editor, Mort Castle - editor
- Narrated by: George Takei, Edward Herrmann, Kate Mulgrew, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Ray Bradbury - peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors - is a literary giant whose remarkable career spanned seven decades. Now 26 of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.
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THE MAN WHO FORGOT RAY BRADBURY
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-27-17
By: Sam Weller - editor, and others
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The Portable Veblen
- By: Elizabeth Mckenzie
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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An exuberant, one-of-a-kind novel about love and family, war and nature, new money and old values by a brilliant New Yorker contributor. The Portable Veblen is a dazzlingly original novel that's as big-hearted as it is laugh-out-loud funny. Set in and around Palo Alto amid the culture clash of new money and old (antiestablishment) values, and with the specter of our current wars looming across its words, The Portable Veblen is an unforgettable look at the way we live now.
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Not what it was cracked up to be
- By Linda on 02-03-16
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Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance
- A Novel
- By: Ruth Emmie Lang
- Narrated by: Piper Goodeve, Peter Berkrot, Cassandra Campbell, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Stopping a tornado was the first of many strange events that seem to follow Weylyn from town to town, although he doesn't like to take credit. As amazing as these powers may appear, they tend to manifest themselves at inopportune times and places. From freak storms to trees that appear to grow over night, Weylyn's unique abilities are a curiosity at best and at worst, a danger to himself and the woman he loves. But Mary doesn't care.
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An Accidental Wonder!
- By Brandy Pendergrass on 02-16-18
By: Ruth Emmie Lang
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A Girl Named Zippy
- Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana
- By: Haven Kimmel
- Narrated by: Haven Kimmel
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965, Mooreland, Indiana, was a sleepy little hamlet of 300 people. Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would bolt around the house, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears. In this witty and lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back to a time when small-town America was caught in the amber of the innocent postwar period - people helped their neighbors, went to church on Sunday, and kept barnyard animals in their backyards.
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Beautifully written, beautifully read.
- By shopgirl on 03-06-08
By: Haven Kimmel
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Listen to the sample first!
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Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity of putting down roots.
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Barbara, can we have a "re-do?"
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Amazing!
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Animal Dreams is a passionate and complex novel about love, forgiveness, and one woman's struggle to find her place in the world. At the end of her rope, Codi Noline returns to her Arizona home to face her ailing father, with whom she has a difficult, distant relationship. There she meets handsome Apache trainman Loyd Peregrina, who tells her, "If you want sweet dreams, you've got to live a sweet life."
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She reads my heart
- By Sue Spahr Hodges on 08-03-18
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The Bean Trees
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: C. J. Critt
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Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity of putting down roots.
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Barbara, can we have a "re-do?"
- By Nancy on 02-22-12
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Small Wonder
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In her new essay collection, the beloved author of High Tide in Tucson brings to us from one of history's darker moments an extended love song to the world we still have. From its opening parable gleaned from recent news about a lost child saved in an astonishing way, the book moves on to consider a world of surprising and hopeful prospects, ranging from an inventive conservation scheme in a remote jungle to the backyard flock of chickens tended by the author's small daughter.
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Not much of a Wonder
- By Max on 10-20-06
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Homeland and Other Stories
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Barbara Kingsolver has written these five short stories with the same wit and sensitivity that characterize her highly praised and beloved novels Animal Dreams and The Bean Trees. Spreading her characters over a variety of colorful landscapes, she tells stories of hope, momentary joy, and powerful endurance.
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Another great book by Kingsolver!
- By Rosemarie on 01-09-12
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How to Fly (in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons)
- Poetry
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
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In her second poetry collection, Barbara Kingsolver offers reflections on the practical, the spiritual, and the wild. She begins with "how to" poems addressing everyday matters such as being hopeful, married, divorced; shearing a sheep; praying to unreliable gods; doing nothing at all; and of course, flying. Next come rafts of poems about making peace (or not) with the complicated bonds of friendship and family, and making peace (or not) with death, in the many ways it finds us.
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A Joy to Read
- By Lee Moderow on 05-20-21
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Holding the Line
- Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike of 1983
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
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- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Holding the Line, Barbara Kingsolver's first nonfiction book, is the story of women's lives transformed by an a signal event. Set in the small mining towns of Arizona, it is part oral history and part social criticism, exploring the process of empowerment that occurs when people work together as a community. Like Kingsolver's award-winning novels, Holding the Line is a beautifully written book grounded on the strength of its characters.
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Amazing story that gives voice to the women
- By Jmrik on 12-28-23
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High Tide in Tucson
- Essays from Now or Never
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Abridged
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Exploring the themes of family, community, and the natural world with the vision of a poet and the eyes of a scientist, Barbara Kingsolver writes about ideas as diverse as modern motherhood, the history of private property, and the suspended citizenship of humans in the animal kingdom.
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Good book, but not unabridged...
- By Kathy Roberts Forde on 04-20-20
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Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
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Wow! It’s a Masterpiece
- By Billy on 10-25-22
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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
- A Year of Food Life
- By: Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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When Barbara Kingsolver and her family move from suburban Arizona to rural Appalachia, they take on a new challenge: to spend a year on a locally-produced diet, paying close attention to the provenance of all they consume. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle follows the family through the first year of their experiment.
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mixed feelings
- By pterion on 11-15-07
By: Barbara Kingsolver, and others
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Pigs in Heaven
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
- Abridged
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In Heaven, Oklahoma, pigs are both edible and inspirational! The story begins when a 6-year-old named Turtle is the sole witness to a freak accident. As a result she and her adoptive mother, Taylor, have a moment of celebrity that changes their lives forever. After seeing them on television, Annawake Fourkiller, a young attorney for Oklahoma's Cherokee Nation, claims that Turtle was improperly taken from the tribe.
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I didn't realize it was the abridged version
- By David Andrews on 02-27-15
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Odds Against Tomorrow
- By: Nathaniel Rich
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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New York City, the near future: Mitchell Zukor, a gifted young mathematician, is hired by a mysterious new financial consulting firm, FutureWorld. The business operates out of an empty office in the Empire State Building; Mitchell is employee number two. He is asked to calculate worst-case scenarios in the most intricate detail, and his schemes are sold to corporations to indemnify them against any future disasters. This is the cutting edge of corporate irresponsibility, and business is booming. As Mitchell immerses himself in the mathematics of catastrophe - ecological collapse, war games, natural disasters - he becomes obsessed by a culture's fears.
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And the forecast for tomorrow is....
- By Matthew on 05-31-13
By: Nathaniel Rich
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I'll Leave You with This
- By: Kylie Ladd
- Narrated by: Jo Van Es
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Three years after Daniel was killed by a senseless act of violence, all his sisters have left of him are their memories - and responsibility for Daniel's mischievous dachshund John Thomas. Daniel donated his organs, his death facilitating life-saving miracles for other families, while his own loved ones struggle to come to terms with their devastating loss, each at a crossroads of her own.
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Family
- By Becky on 11-07-23
By: Kylie Ladd
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Unsaid
- A Novel
- By: Neil Abramson
- Narrated by: Angela Brazil
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Unsaid is told from the perspective of Helena Colden, a veterinarian who has just died of breast cancer. Helena is forced to witness the rapid emotional deterioration of her husband David. With Helena's passing, David, a successful Manhattan attorney, loses the only connection that made his life full. He tries to carry on the life that Helena had created for them, but he is too grief-stricken, too angry, and too quickly reabsorbed into the demands of his career. Helena's animals likewise struggle with the loss of their understanding and compassionate human companion.
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Great book but...
- By Diane on 03-01-12
By: Neil Abramson
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The Patron Saint of Liars
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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St. Elizabeth's is a lovely old place in a small town in Kentucky that used to be the beautiful Hotel Louisa. In the 1960s, it is a home for unwed mothers run by nuns. Life at St. Elizabeth's is not unpleasant, but it is temporary. All the pregnant women who come there will go home within the year. Except for Rose, a beautiful, mysterious woman, who is neither unwed nor alone. She is simply pregnant and doesn't want her husband or her mother to know. She plans to give her baby up because she knows she cannot be the mother the baby needs.
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Incomplete
- By Deborah on 04-24-08
By: Ann Patchett
What listeners say about Flight Behavior
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- criswithcurls
- 02-08-13
A poignant literary work of art.
I'll admit, I was a bit worried when I started this book. I was afraid that this story would not measure up to Kingsolver's other book, one of my favorites, "The Poisonwood Bible" and I did not, from the get go, like the narration.But somehow, before I knew it, I was mesmerized by the narration AND the story. Kingsolver not only delivers a beautiful and poignant story, but her literary finesse always captivates me! This is NOT a fast-actioned book or even a romance novel, so if you do not like long books that are subtle and slower-paced, this is NOT the book for you. However, if, like me, you enjoy books that get "inside" of you and leave you empty when you 'turn' the last page, then this is the book for you.
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124 people found this helpful
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- mj
- 11-28-12
Tough Message Delivered in Silk
This book is a compelling story that ties in so beautifully with the human condition and natural world dilemma. Kingsolver bridges the gap of communication between social, political and academic cultures in this country through the eyes of a truly remarkable Kingsolverian character. She paints with words a world so precious and so precarious that I'm torn in two listening to it.
Kingsolver herself narrates this wonder like she's been on stage her entire life. Who but she would know these people so spectacularly well but how often does an author live up to the challenge? This was one of the best books I've ever read.
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82 people found this helpful
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- Mel
- 11-14-12
What if that Butterfly is Mothra?
The Butterfly Effect, aka The Chaos Theory; the flapping of a delicate butterfly wing changes the course of a hurricane--Kingsolver amps it up throwing Man into the equation creating a fictional scenario of climate change and global chaos (based on actual recent events) that asks again whether or not we grasp our world and our 'sensitive dependence'.
Kingsolver, her writing as lovely as ever, seems to have settled on her mission to be a bellwether for social justice and perserving our ecology (her books could be stacked and become a worthy pulpit for her to deliver her message). This story is heavy with metaphors as the butterflies go through their life cycle and antagonist Dellarobia experiences her own metamorphosis. Kingsolver's moralizing fits in conveniently as Dellarobia questions not only "the end of the world", but her "911 Christian" status, the class system in her small town, and her own stifling marriage.
I'll always read anything by Kingsolver and I admire her choice to use her art for a cause, but I would selfishly love another Poisonwood Bible--something lighter on the moralizing--along the lines of Requiem for a Species meets Cat's Cradle or The Year of the Flood--then back to tackling politics, biodiversity, social injustice. Flight Behavior wasn't my favorite, it would have been just as interesting with about half the butterfly facts, (and I think I could now midwife a lamb), but it has a message that can't be shouted loud enough, and it was time well spent.
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56 people found this helpful
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- Jeff
- 12-26-12
Why must the author also read?
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I love Kingsolver's books, but I wish she would let an actor read them. She is a fantastic writer, but aside from her memoir, why not let the stories be even more enhanced by a professional reader? Someone who can do male/female, young/old; someone who can transport and allow the listener to get completely transported into the story. I found myself often distracted by this; especially the attempts to do the Caribbean accent. I mean, she is fine, but why not have a great actor read a great book?
What did you like best about this story?
Issues of class, culture, the environment.
What didn’t you like about Barbara Kingsolver’s performance?
She isn't a professional reader; I wish she would let others read her books. It is fine to hear at a reading in a bookstore, but her voice just really bugged me. I only finished because I became wrapped up in the story, she is a great writer.
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54 people found this helpful
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- Loretta R. Cooper
- 12-08-12
Authors should write. Narrators should read.
Barbara Kingsolver is one of the great writers of her generation. Why does she insist on recording her own audiobooks?! Her voice is monotonous and causes the reader (or at least this one) to loose the thread of what is almost always an engaging storyline.
Each time I download a new Kingsolver book I hope I will have a more positive response to her narration. Instead I find these are great narrations for easing me into my Sunday afternoon nap.
We should all play to our strengths, and allow others play to theirs. Dear Ms. Kingsolver please spend your valuable time writing more books, and allow narrators and actors to record them.
Sincerely,
A fan of your writing.
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44 people found this helpful
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- Carol
- 11-15-12
Kingsolver's best yet
Would you listen to Flight Behavior again? Why?
I have already listened to sections repeatedly. Kingsolver's style is lyrical and transfixing (especially her description of butterflys/distant wild fire).
Her plot is involved and meaty, this one with a heavy dose of science. As always, Kingsolver shares a deep comitment to current environmental concerns, while detailing the limitations of the farm life and sharing insights into individuals, especially people with limited opportunities.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The heroine was truly that, a complex, tormented woman you cared about as she struggled to understand herself and her choices.
Have you listened to any of Barbara Kingsolver’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
This is her best yet. It combines her lyrical style and solid science.
If you could rename Flight Behavior, what would you call it?
It's the perfect title, because the heroine is struggling against temptations to flee and humans are denying scientific reality, so flight behaviors abound.
Any additional comments?
Kingsolver's lyricism and deft insights make her one of America's finest writers.
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42 people found this helpful
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- Karen
- 11-28-12
Another great Kingsolver story
Let me start by saying that I am a Kingsolver fan. I'm not bothered by her liberal leanings and tendency to tackle social issues - in fact, it is part of what I love about her writing. Kingsolver is able to articulate some of the most important issues of our day in ways that are multifaceted. Furthermore, she explores them through characters we come to care about, that give the issues relevancy to lives, not just abstract theoretical value.
So, does this book hammer home the need to pay attention to and try to do something to address and ameliorate the effects of climate change? Yes. But it is done in a way that calls up deep societal divides and differences regarding what that means - the cultural territories staked out by various sides - with empathy for the passion and urgencies of each faction.
More importantly, it is a good story with compelling characters that pushes the reader/listener to reflect on her/his own position in the cultural ecology.
I love listening to Kingsolver read her own work. I think her voice is perfect for the main character - although I think the few characters that required unusual accents stretched her skills a bit. It was not enough of a problem to distract me from the story.
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- 3xcharm
- 09-15-13
Another homerun for Barbara Kingsolver!
If you could sum up Flight Behavior in three words, what would they be?
Surprisingly fiction, captivating.
What did you like best about this story?
Barbara Kingsolver crafts yet another amazing and compelling story which is simultaneously complex and incredibly simple. The most shocking component is her ability to craft a work of fiction within the construct of an environmental and biological reality. The growth and arc of the main character is well worth the ride! As with all of her books, I was sad to have it end.
What three words best describe Barbara Kingsolver’s performance?
Word-by-word reading...
If you could rename Flight Behavior, what would you call it?
Funny, but I couldn't keep the title in my head...I kept calling it Flight Risk.
Any additional comments?
Barbara Kingsolver has a wonderful voice, but can be painful to listen to due to her clearly innunciating each word and very slow reading speed. Her reading style was too staccatoed and too intentional with each word painfully articulated and spoken. Each word was read one at a time rather than in a fluid and flowing natural style. In one respect, I loved her reading her own book because I knew I would hear how each word was intended to be heard. However, I think a voice actor would have been much more capitivating. I found her narration so disturbing to listen to from the get-go that I almost considered not listening to it. The story was AMAZING...it's narration was not. Her voices for the different characters were limited and often even slower than the rest of the story, but her voice of Dr. Ovid Byron was fantastic! It is a story I will think about often.
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- Dr.
- 04-14-13
More Beautiful Storytelling From Kingsolver
I've read everything in print from Kingsolver. The biggest knock I've had on BK is that her writing is as good as it gets, but her stories (with the exception of Poisonwood Bible) typically do not have a lot of content and are not all that interesting. Beautiful to read - just not always that interesting.
Flight is typical of BK in that it is beautiful to read - but different in the sense that her main character is very well developed (a young, married mother of two young children, who wants more out of life), she shares a lot of insights about life (especially about young, mismatched newlyweds and the aspirations of young mothers who put their dreams on hold to raise children), and she draws attention to the risk of ecological disaster (in this case using the conceit of stranded Monarch butterflies).
Although this book was never a page turner - I always looked forward to reading it and never felt bored or restless. She is simply too beautiful and insightful of a writer to leave you uninterested.
Surprisingly, BK disproved the usual rule that authors should not narrate their own books. Although she does not have the chops of a professional narrator, she did an above average job of narrating and she had the obvious advantage of knowing exactly how she wanted each character to sound.
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- Daniel
- 11-18-12
I was surprised
I expected unchained liberalism and had no hope for an author reading her own work. However, she gave a very balanced and perceptive point a view to a very difficult subject. Her reading was excellent. She has a very pleasant voice didn't over dramatize her favorite parts. It was very visual and could make a great movie.
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