Customer Reviews

The Book of Flying

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Book of Flying hearkens to a more whimsical style of writing that borders on the stuff of fairy tales. The reader gets to follow the young librarian Pico as he takes his Everyman/hero's journey to find wings, and the characters he encounters, the experiences he absorbs are a sort of Pilgrim's Progress to his self-realization. Miller's novel is really a long fable, and as such is so rich with poetic scenery that it makes for an absorbing read. While Pico and his friends and foes aren't as filled out as the characters of more contemporary fiction, they stand as shades of human experience, thus allowing the reader to fill in the blanks, to find a parallel of features in his/her self, and to soar and dive along the chapters with wings of one's own.

I chose this book thinking it would be a how-to manual. I was only a little disappointed- what I found instead was beautiful.
Apparently this is a book you either will love or regret having read. I am not going to try and win anyone over- the writing speaks for itself.
I loved the lyricism and beauty of the writer's voice, and the plot, which wouldn't have been all that interesting on its own, was brought to life. This book is one to cry over or turn your back to.

There has never been a book, poem, story, or anything of the like which has touched me in the way "The Book Of Flying" has. It reaches out to all people of all types and discribes a story so beautiful, so painful, so out there that at the same time its the most down to earth thing you ever could here. The writing is beyond this world, it enraptures you, like the whole things the most beautiful of poems, me-being a writer myself, have been deeply inspired by Keith Miller's writing in this novel. I have read the book 7 times now, each time being better then the last, each time crying when its sad-laughing when its happy, and still I cant seem to get enough of it. I love this book so much that I cant even read another without putting this one down for awhile first-i even reflect back to it in everyday life, and the thousands of lessons and stories it gives off. I love this book, it definately gives you wings, and is the most ultimate of stories. The Book Of Flying is a must read for everyone, everywhere.

"twilight is the hour i love" he told her "the hour where nothing is quite itself, all things teetering at the edges of their names. Here I can be alone and a stranger to myself"
-Keith Miller "The Book Of Flying"

And thus the book of flying begins.

In this quaint and poignant tale, we learn of Pico, the sad librarian who lives in a city of people who do not read. He became one of my favorite characters of literature, hitting so close to my heart. Living myself in a world that looks down upon poetry, arts and literature, I felt for Pico almost instantly. If you are already rolling your eyes over this review, go elsewhere. If not, move on.

This is story about stories; every characer Pico meets has a story to tell, as does he, each one beautiful in their own way and all of them sad. Pico, a shy and quiet young poet is in love with a winged girl. He is alone because he is himself son of winged parents, though born without wings. But their love is forbidden and so he sets out to find his wings. Among what he packs are a few books and, most important, his book of poetry.

The prose in this book was beautiful--and I'm hard to please. But the moody and despondant air of the novel was such that I could always write well when I finished a chapter. I found it a wonderful source of inspiration. The characters were varied and interesting, and so were their stories. The story I loved the most, was the one of the world where you read rather than eat and poisonous books can kill you with a glance--but the one glance is worth it.

Ultimately, the crowning glory of the book is when Pico, lost and stranded in the desert, leaves his gear behind, one by one, until lastly, and reluctantly, he lets go of his poetry book.

And the part in the end, about the scrolls he had given to his love...

For those of you who complain about the title--which I love, and which I bought the book for--the novel is named for the book Pico searches for, which will give him wings if he finds it. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the cover.

Other than that, it truly is a 'fantastical debut novel'. For those who love beauty and cherish poetry, this book is for you.

"Dreams are the soul of the imagination, the slender and evasive revenants of the shells we erect as our dwellings. We build our shells from the sand of our ground bones, mortared with our very blood, and imagine we fence the dreams away but we only fence them in. A few, the rare, the beautiful, remain as near to the heat of their dreams as children, and we know them by their laughter, by the ease with which they are moved to tears, by our own desire to be around them."
--Chapter 5: The Dream Seller
-The Book of Flying,
a novel

While I enjoy the occasional fantasy novel, I have long been on the search for books that utilize fantastical elements but are more "literary" in nature. I thought I had found just such a book in Miller's "The Book of Flying," but I must confess that half-way through the book I found myself to be quite disappointed.

The first chapter of the book is stunningly beautiful - even poetic - and so the reader would naturally move forward from there with high hopes. But, unfortunately, it seems that Miller lost his muse shortly after completing that initial masterpiece, and the book more or less goes down hill from there.

This is not to say that there aren't highlights throughout - the author does revisit that lush and beautiful prose for a few precious moments following chapter one. However, this isn't enough in my opinion to carry the rest of the book, and the story becomes somewhat trite and loses it's "juice," devolving into a poorly conceived and overplayed pseudo-mystical allegory. I had a hard time finishing the last two or three chapters, which felt tiresome, and did so only beacuse I hate to leave any book only partially read.

I can't really recommend purchasing this book, but I do recommend seeking it out in your local bookstore (if you can find it) and reading just the first chapter. Miller should try his hand as a poet, in which case brief spurts of inspiration could be allowed to stand alone and to truly shine! Miller gets three stars for a noble effort.

Keith Miller's prose will make your heart not just fly but soar with amazement and the lucky few may even forget to eat. As advertised, it's a story about stories told through poetry -- both the character's and the author's. I sometimes found myself cheating by re-reading sentances, paragraphs, even entire pages just to savor a choice moment or marvel again at a magical verse.

Born of the same spirit as Coelho's "The Alchemist", "The Book of Flying" evokes similar emotions and relies on the same fable-like elements.

Though the poetic meter was impeccable, the strength of the writing alone wasn't enough to sustain the flight of the story. The plot begins strong but about halfway through, the main character loses his interest in his quest and from then on the rest of the story stuggles to say aloft.

Narya, a friend of the main character, Pico, becomes so disillusioned with his fall that she leaves and sets out on her own adventure. She had the right idea. I found myself more interested in following in her footsteps and less inclinced to endure three more chapters of mental hand wringing with our hero.

The remaining turn of events for Pico, though dramatic, lack the spark of his earlier encounters. I felt the character elements of the story would have been much stronger had Narya accompanied him on the last leg of the journey.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the writing, the story didn't live up to my expectations. In fact, it crash-landed.

I think that this is the most beautiful book I've ever read. It is so beautiful that I worry about the author. How can a person whose heart and mind is filled with that much passion and beauty possibly survive in the real world with his sanity intact? It's a far better book than the summary of the plot would indicate. The book isn't really about the plot - that is just a vehicle for portraying all the lessons that the main character learns during his quest. It's rather allegorical. Not a fast-paced, high adventure book. It's slow-paced and thoughtful, but very deep. The writing is lyrical and poetic, and the author's insight and compassion are incredible.

The Book of Flying tells the tale of Pico, a young librarian on a quest to gain wings--literally. Poetic and delightfully literary in style, like a delicious chocolate confection it's a book to savor and read slowly, bits a time. The chapter in which Pico meets an immortal cannibal would make a striking novella or short story, and the story of Balquo charms. I could have spent an entire novel just in the story of the mountain town, with its warm cafes and food and book vendors. There were weaker spots that had nothing to do with the writing: a bit of a stereotypical jaunt with a band of thieves led by a fierce female and a long chat with a talking rabbit that reminded me rather of Tolkien (the movies wisely left most such things out) or C.S. Lewis, and in some sections the author tends to use sentence fragments that proved distracting in a vast field of otherwise pristine writing, but the strong parts more than made up for these. All in all, a *very* promising debut by a new novelist, and highly recommended.

My librarything account recommended this book to me and it was a good call. Fairy-tale, dream, adventure, romance with a very foreign flavor, this book is unusual. I read the author's minibio to find out that he was the child of Americans raised in Africa and Asia. It wasn't as if I couldn't put the book down, but it lingered with me well after I finished it.

This hypnotic debut novel brings poetry to the traditional fantasy quest. Pico, a young librarian, has no wings; in love with a winged girl, he seeks the Morning Town, where a legend says the earthbound can learn to fly. His adventures range from the delightful to the horrible, becoming darker in tone as the book progresses, until Pico's story draws to a conclusion as necessary as it is shattering: "for the country of sorrows is the size of the heart."

The book defies categorization. I would certainly recommend it to readers of speculative fiction, especially those drawn to authors like Jeff VanderMeer and Catherynne M. Valente, but it should also appeal to those who prize words above the distinctions of genre. Rich, frightening and lovely, it lures you in with a fairy tale and then leaves you suspended over an abyss. Cities and wonders whirl below you. The sensation is disturbing as well as marvelous, but what did you expect? You're flying.