Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Flight Behavior  By  cover art

Flight Behavior

By: Barbara Kingsolver
Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $35.09

Buy for $35.09

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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.

©2012 Barbara Kingsolver (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

Featured Article: The 20 Best Audiobooks Read by the Author


There’s an undeniable authenticity in a listen that’s told by the very person who penned it. From iconic memoirs to far-out fantasies, these immersive audio performances are uniquely genuine, all performed in the author’s own voice. If you want to experience how special it can be to listen to a narrative exactly the way it was intended, check out our list of the 20 best audiobooks read by their authors.

What listeners say about Flight Behavior

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,024
  • 4 Stars
    1,328
  • 3 Stars
    533
  • 2 Stars
    167
  • 1 Stars
    110
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,935
  • 4 Stars
    994
  • 3 Stars
    363
  • 2 Stars
    116
  • 1 Stars
    128
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,693
  • 4 Stars
    1,145
  • 3 Stars
    458
  • 2 Stars
    140
  • 1 Stars
    112

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Slow and annoying performance

Just can't go on with this droning saga of dead & dying butterflies with terrible narration...even with Kingsolver's impeccable and truly insightful metaphors! Please, Barbara, get someone else to read your books!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very engaging!

I love that it was read by the author, the books k its self was engaging and inspiring to make me want to learn more and get involved in activism!

We can’t afford to ignore the truths interwoven in this artfully told story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

A reminder to not ignore the signs of nature. Let's all do our part to not repeat our past mistakes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love being entertained while learning.

I am always very impressed with this author's research of the environments in which her novels are placed. Flight Behavior does not disappoint. The main character is likable and pitiable, in a way. She is a square peg in her current society. I was surprised, happy, and depressed at the mixed events in the ending.
I have a renewed drive for ecological support. I want to plant butterfly gardens! Down with Roundup and Monsanto!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Like turning on a light to our reality

What made the experience of listening to Flight Behavior the most enjoyable?

The story is very flowing. Sometimes the descriptive phrases seem to be a bit much, but overall they add to the story. It was a nice listening experience.

Have you listened to any of Barbara Kingsolver’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to her before, but she has a beautiful delivery.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The first day, I was working alone in my studio, and listened for about 6 hours. I would have continued if I didn't have to get back to my life!

Any additional comments?

This is such a very important message about environmental issues, and the down-to-earth effect they have, or will have on each of us. It really opened my eyes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enthralling and endearing

Once again, Barbara Kingsolver strikes gold with this timely novel about both our planet and ourselves. Threads of humor and wit run through this wonderful novel. She is an astute observer and subtle social commentator. I love her writing, stories, and reading. This book is a great read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, well researched, well read,

Kingsolver used both sides of her brain on this one. Both the science and her insights into human behavior were solid, and I was very surprised at her reading ability. Her accents were flawless to my ear. I loved the large element of wonder in the story. What readers will find uncomfortable is her accurate protrayal of humanity doing nothing as we ruin the planet for ourselves and god knows how many other species. But that is, in fact, exactly what we are doing. Like the composer of a requiem, the author discovers an irresistable beauty in death. Unfortunately, there will be countless opportunities for artists to mine this vein. Scientists and journalists haven't gotten through, maybe artists will.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Author as narrator!

I generally shy way from books written by the author with the exception of autobiographies which are best told by their subjects. Barbara Kingsolver would have never found a narrator half as good as she is narrating her own book! This story seemed a bit shallow at first, but evolved into a life story from which we can all relate to on one of its many lessons. I'm a forever fan!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book.

What a wonderful weaving of a good stort and a good ecological cause. Loved it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Barbara Kingsolver classic

Like Poisonwood Bible, I consider this a BK classic. I found a connection from a maturing author making an exceedingly relevant situation so relatable. A very visual book as well.
Many thanks, Barbara, for all you do.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!