Customer Reviews

Flight of the Goose

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That FLIGHT OF THE GOOSE is a first novel by Lesley Thomas is the first hurdle the reader must overcome, so rich in detail, research, and technical finesse are the over four hundred pages of this fascinating book. What does become obvious with even the first few pages is the fact that here is a writer who can address significant world environment issues while building love stories - between a remarkably real Inupiat girl and a Swedish scientist, between the world of the spirit and the realm of the universe, and between the mysteries of past traditions with those beings longing to preserve the enormous habitat that is transforming before our grieving eyes - stories that intermingle to create a total experience that simply refuses to end with the closing of the final cover.

Thomas opens her book with a Prologue and with words like the following the reader is assured the presence of an enriching encounter: 'Let me tell what happened, and don't ask at the end what the message is. Whatever is already in us at birth, we find again in stories. We see it in the face of the moon, in the face of our lover, in our own death, in the flight of the goose.' From this point she unravels the Norn's threadball of time relating the changes that are taking place in Alaska in 1971, mixing the daily arduous charges of living with distant echoes of world events that are reshaping the life of our main character (Gretchen/Kayuqtuq). Thomas builds a blindingly realistic love story between the native, orphaned, shamanistic Kayuqtuq with ornithologist, peace advocate Leif Trygvesen and in creating a fully rounded and metaphorically meaningful relationship Thomas resorts to sharing the story from the vantage of both of these unique souls. From this launching point we learn about Eskimo traits and foods and history and manner of survival in a culture that is being eroded by technologic 'civilization', a series of sidebar stories that Thomas always manages to remain centered and focused while expanding the scope of her immensely interesting and important story.

FLIGHT OF THE GOOSE is a novel so rich that deserves to be in the library of everyone who values fine storytelling while simultaneously respecting the threats and conditions of change that are only now being brought to our attention by the environmentalists. To manage to accomplish this service to mankind in as fine a book as this establishes Lesley Thomas as an important author. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 07

This is a very difficult book for me to review for several reasons. First and foremost is the fact that this is one of the best novels I have read over the past ten years or so. I truly want to do this one justice. Secondly, so much that I found in this book hit quite close to home. The nearer you are to a subject, I find, the more difficult it is to make an objective observation. Thirdly, you will find this is a very complicated and complex story, once you really take a close look at it. There is much more here than first meets the eye! That being said, I will also state at this time, that I have no intention of writing a blow by blow plot outline here. This has been done quite a number of times in this forum, by other reviewers and commentators, in a much grander fashion that I can produce. Please refer to those reviews if this is what you need. Most of them are quite good.

Briefly, the story takes place in Alaska in the early 1970s, during the Viet Nam War. It is a story of cultures running head-on against each other, economically, spiritually, ways of life, et al. It is a love story. It is a story of what we have done to, and are still doing to our environment. It is a story of conflict between war and peace, of duty and priorities. It is a story, for the most part, about people.

I have been a perpetual reader for well over 57 years now. In that time I have literally read thousands of books. Among those thousands, there are around eight or ten books that I have read repeatedly from time to time over the years. Some of these works include Tom Sawyer, The Grapes of Wrath, A Farewell to Arms and The Hobbit. The one thing that all these books have in common, is that they were written by master story tellers. Flight of the Goose is going to go into my pile of "read it again" books. Ms. Thomas is most certainly a master story teller. Like the author's of those books mentioned here, Ms. Thomas is a story teller you would want to set at the kitchen table with, drink coffee, and just listen to. Not only can she tell a good story, she does it in a style that is rather unique and truly her own. Her syntax is different from anything I have encountered and is a pure joy to the eye, ear and mind! Words create patterns. They can be woven together to create feelings, describe things and of course, tell a story. This author has it absolutely nailed. From the first line I was completely captivated. I love good writing. This work is indeed, more, it is great writing! You can actually visualize, without much trouble, the landscape, the villages, the wildlife and the characters in her story. You can feel what her characters feel! This is a gift and she uses it well!

I have always had several interests. At the top of the list is history. To be more exact, the history of civilizations and how they react when one meets another. There is always conflict. I suspect this started way before Cro-Magnon first met Neanderthal in a valley in France. This conflict between cultures goes on to this day, and I suspect it will always be so. The author has covered this perfectly. My wife of 46 years is of primarily Native American ancestry. My best friend over the past thirty years, who recently passed away, was a Native American and a Shaman. I have been living with the conflict between Native American Spirituality and Christianity for most of my life. This has always been of great interest to me, as well as being quite perplexing, and again, the author has presented this conflict perfectly. I have been a birder since I was eight years old. I may not know much, but I do know birds. Folks, this author knows her ornithology! Her research must have taken years. I found no flaw. During the Viet Nam War, I was one of those who chose to go. Many of my friends and family chose not to. This has always been, and still is, a source of great conflict within me. Here again, the author addresses this head on and in a very thoughtful manner, quite sensitively, really, when all is said and done. Along with my reading of history, I have always been fascinated with powerful women (having married one and been the son of one) and the influence they have on their people and upon history. One of the central themes of this book is just that. As I said at the beginning of this review, this work hits pretty close to home.

A well told story, wonderful use of the language, well researched, love, conflict, hate, greed, spirituality, and so much more. Not only did I read a great story, I learned much about writing, much about other peoples and indeed, much of myself in this one. What more could you ask for! Highly recommend this one!

In reflecting upon this novel it occurs to me that the author accomplished two nearly impossible feats. First, she managed to write very believably from both a female and male perspective. Secondly, she also managed to write believably and simultaneously from the perspective of a scientist and from that of a shaman (angutkoq.) Having a little experience myself in both worlds I can testify that none of it rang false. I was amazed at how believable and genuine it all felt.

While I know little of Inuit life (traditional or otherwise) it certainly felt like I was entering a real (and now passed) way of life. Considering how accurate and genuine the other elements are of which I do know something, I can only assume that this world is also. For instance, I had almost forgotten the rabid intensity of feelings surrounding the Vietnam War and the draft in the early 70's, but this book painfully reminded me. It rang true. So did the description of dysfunctional families and communities. I recognized these people myself from different but similar times and places.

While the more mundane elements of the characters' lives rang true, their inner lives rang truer still. The doubts of the young conscientious objector doctoral candidate took me back to my own youth. Yet, the trials of the young self-initiated angutkoq are what made the story for me. It is more than an interesting subtext out of some book. It felt like the real deal. This includes the initial doubts and fears. I especially appreciated the fact that nothing seemed to fall into place until she submitted to dismemberment by the spirits. And the description of love is also so messy and tenuous that it just has to be real.

As the book says, the universe arranges so many ways to kill us that it must be the spirits that protect us. When the outer scientific and materialist world tries to deny the existence of those spirits then it tries to murder our souls and our communities. Fortunately, the spirits and the Otherworld can't really be destroyed since when it comes down to it they are all that is really real. There will always be power waiting there to heal ourselves, our loved-ones, our society, our planet- but we must percevere in our quest to make contact and break through. The worst that can happen is death and of what importance is that to a shaman?

Lesley Thomas detailed this book so intricately that it seems real. I was most especially fascinated by the character of Kayuqtuq "Gretchen" Ugungoraseok, who is an orphan Native American adopted by the Inupiat, which means real people.

Kayuqtuq is a young woman living in a subsistence culture with roots that extend thousands of years into the past. Her observations of people, including naluagmiu (white man) Leif Trygvesen, are from the perspective of her culture. I was completely fascinated.

Though Kayuqtuq is already a young woman in this story, which is set in 1971, emotionally she is dealing with trauma from her childhood; perhaps she is also dealing with the continuous trauma of harsh life in the Arctic. The result is that Kayuqtuq's story is frequently more like a coming of age story than the story of a person who has already reached adulthood.

Part of Kayuqtuq's coping strategy is to become an angutkoq, or shaman. Regardless of whether Kayuqtuq has shaman powers or is incredibly intelligent, her insights and visions of events are remarkably accurate and frequently prescient. Unfortunately, her visions and insight fail to give her enough clarity to prevent tragedies.

This novel is primarily the story of Kayuqtuq "Gretchen" Ugungoraseok and Leif Trygvesen. The story is partially about the clash of cultures, but also about how Kayuqtuq and Leif react differently to the situations around them because of their cultures. Kayuqtuq and Leif's perspectives allow us to see how Inupiat culture views various situations in comparison to European culture.

Shading and complicating the cultural differences between Kayuqtuq and Leif is that each is multicultural in their own way. The Inupiat adopted Kayuqtuq, but she is Native American. European and Viking culture strongly influenced Leif's mother and father, but Leif is from the United States. Adding even more complexity is that each is an outsider in their culture. Kayuqtuq is trying to learn to become an angutkoq, which Inupiat elders forbid, and Leif is an environmentalist and against the war in Viet Nam, neither of which made him popular with "The Establishment" in 1971. It was probably inevitable that the two outsiders found kindred spirits in each other and came to love each other. Perhaps the tragedies that followed were just as inevitable.

Lesley Thomas's writing reminds me of the detail that Charles Dickens put into his novels. I like Dickens' writing very much and I am unable to recall any modern author to whom I have been exposed that writes with such intricacy and precision. However, Lesley's writing is so clear and organized that even with the complexity of the story I never got lost or had to re-read a section. This book is such a literary achievement that it has received awards from The National Federation of Press Women, The Alaska Press Women, and The Washington Press Association.

This book is neither a light read, nor is it a book that you will forget any time soon. I will admit that my eyes were moist as I finished Lesley Thomas's story of Kayuqtuq and Leif. Lesley's writing pulled me so deeply into the characters that they seemed real to me. Just as in real life, what happened to them can not be undone, no matter how we might wish otherwise. Even now, several days after finishing this novel, I wish I could undo what happened, but then Lesley's message would have been diluted, and I, and future readers, would have been less affected.

The awards this fictional novel has won are well-deserved. This book is one of the best modern novels I have read. It is truly a great novel. If you enjoy stories about the conflict in cultures, if you have ever liked Dickens, if you want to read about the effect modern culture has had on the Inupiat and the environment of the far north, or if you just want to read an incredibly well written book, get this one.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

This review is based on a copy of the book provided to me by the author.

Introduction: What possibly could a young male American biologist, environmentalist, hippie, conscientious objector and draft dodger named Leif Trygvesen have in common with a reclusive Eskimo girl, orphan, outcast, occasionally epileptic, shamaness named Gretchen (Kayuqtuq)? Why love of course!

"Flight of the Goose" is a story of young love breeching the spiritual, ethnic and cultural divide in an attempt to find common ground for their relationship to bloom within the confines of the frozen tundra of Alaska. Thomas has provided the perfect backdrop for her story, a land as harsh and fragile as the feelings and desires between these two unlikely lovers.

Critique: In this her first novel Author Lesley Thomas reacquaints the reader with the too often forgotten truth that the "deeper wisdom" in life is best conveyed through the art of storytelling. While the story and characters are fictional her 430 page tale exudes an almost tangible consciousness, or should I say spirit, that rings true and authentic to the reader.

While it's the romance between Leif and Gretchen that stands out foremost in my mind there is much more to be explored within. There are various storylines competing for the reader's attention and the author does a masterful job integrating them into a coherent, flowing narrative; the drudgery of wilderness survival, the ever-present cultural struggle between the "old ways" and intruding modernization, politics, economics, and environmental concerns. These seemingly diverse tangents in thought and content are seamlessly bound together by the presence of a native, shamanic spirituality that permeates every aspect of the story like a living, energy moving within and through the people, places, landscape and events. It is this intrinsic sacredness that lifts Thomas' tale to a higher level of storytelling, creating a harmony of unimaginable beauty that will not be forgotten soon.

This novel should find a large and loyal audience amongst anyone interested in the environment, nature, the peace movement, indigenous cultures and their tribal customs, comparative religion, shamanism, mysticism or those who just like to get wrapped up in a good romance. Come to think of it that just about covers everyone, doesn't it?

Flight of the Goose hits universal truths about the power of understanding, forgiveness,(not the "television talk show" kind of forgiveness), and redemption to heal. For me, this is very connected to the Land, Alaska; it is all a feedback loop.

I have lived and worked in Alaska with Native Alaskans as a psychiatric nurse practitioner. I have some undertanding of, and fell in love with the people of the Far North immediately. It was as if I had always known them. I deeply love the Land. Lesley Thomas is part of that Land and it shows in her book. She has intricate knowledge of and respect for the people and culture. Her book portrays the complicated interweavings of culture, "progress", and how fear, love, and trauma coexist to shape experience. She does not romanticize these experiences as some writers do.

While her book is fiction, it feels more real and true than I can describe. I met many people from the villages with "psychiatric" issues, but I think her book tells a truer tale. I strive to make my work about the cultural and spiritual essence of what people encounter. It was such a pleasure to read a book with such depth, love, and understanding throughout.

Since reading her book, I find my mind wandering to the Land, the fear, the sorrow,and the joy of this book on a daily basis. Flight of the Goose stays with me, moves me. I love LOVE this book. I am going to be telling everyone I know about it. It has a certain transcendence that I want to share.

For three-and-a-half years I lived in the land where Flight of the Goose takes place. I have missed the Seward Peninsula and the people there ever since leaving in 1996. Read other reviews to confirm Lesley Thomas's fine mastery of language, character, and plot. (I'm stunned that this is her first novel.) Read this review to know that she has captured the Seward Peninsula land, culture, and cultural transition issues better than anyone else I've read or spoken with, bar none.

I served as a pastor in Nome, Alaska, where the population splits 50/50 between native and non-native people. After I left Alaska I got on a unicycle and pedaled to all 50 states, visiting as many native lands as I could, exploring the unfathomable mixture of genocide, culture, despair, and hope that is part of our American and Native American history. Much of my time I spent wondering at the fate of traditional culture. I am still trying to find a single example where the meeting of hunter/gatherers and agricultural people las led to the mix become more traditional rather than more modern/literate/agricultural.

I worked with these questions when I authored, ONE WHEEL - MANY SPOKES: USA BY UNICYCLE. Having written my own story with its roots in the Seward Peninsula, I take my hat off to Lesley Thomas. As an author, she has driven deeper into the global and personal realities of cultural transition than anyone I know. And she's done it with genius, with a love story that will take your breath away. Thank you Lesley Thomas!

I can't pretend and say that I know a whole lot about shamanism and indigenous culture in general because I don't. When I read Lesley Thomas' FLIGHT OF THE GOOSE, I initially thought she was part of the indigenous culture that she writes about in her novel. Lesley really dives into every minute detail about the daily lives of the indigenous people in Alaska and their culture including their language. I was wrong. Judging by the text, the author really did her research on the language, spirituality, and the mundane every day life of the indigenous natives in Alaska. There is even a glossary of Inupiaq in the back of the book that defined certain words that she used in her story. The authenticity of Lesley's novel alone gets major kudos from me.

The story of FLIGHT OF THE GOOSE is told from two different perspectives...Gretchen, a young solitary Inuit who is teaching herself to become a shamaness, and Leif, a biologist who is trying to avoid the draft. Their romance certainly plays a big role in Lesley's novel but the author also addresses other issues like war, the environment, and the clashing cultures of the older and younger Inuits without coming off as preachy and sanctimonious.

I am normally not a big fan of romance novels. I find them rather unrealistic and phoney but Lesley Thomas's novel is anything but unrealistic. What I really liked about the book was the authencity of the book. The amount of research that Lesley invested into her book really shines through especially when she describes the uneventful daily lives of Gretchen and her people.

I loved reading FLIGHT OF THE GOOSE. Lesley Thomas has a wonderful gift for storytelling. She has made a new fan out of me who rarely reads fiction nowadays.

I just finished this book five minutes ago and scores of thoughts and images are floating through my mind right now. It is hard for me to figure out what to say in a review that hasn't been said already and how to convey the thoughts I'd like to share. It is an incredible book and one that I would not hesitate to recommend to any book club or anyone else to read.

First off, it's very lyrical. I can actually see the tundra and the sea breaking loose from the ice after a long hard winter. I can actually see the tent in the middle of the marsh. I can see the love shining in a young Indian's eyes, the fear and the impotent rage. I can see how love triumphs over bitterness and the very humanness of being human and scared. It is also a very lush novel ~~ lyrical and lush, my two favorite types of descriptions when it comes to reading. It is not a book to put down at a whim ~~ no, it's a book to savor and re-read over and over simply because of the beauty of language and description.

Secondly, I have always loved reading about different cultures. Perhaps it's because it's so different from my own life (which seems to be very much a white-bread and butter type in comparison to this novel's people). Whatever the reason is, I enjoy reading about it. Thomas does a great job of carrying me across the whole nation into a different world ~~ a world of ice and beauty, fraught with danger and redemption. It is not just a love story, it is about a disappearing way of life that makes your heart sad because once a way of life is gone, there is no way of reclaiming it.

Thirdly, it is one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read. It's not your typical bosom-heaving type novel ~~ no, it's about a real love story of two star-crossed lovers. It's beautiful and real. A young man lost in the anger of his failed relationship with his father, grieving over the death of his brother, avoiding the Vietnam war finds love with a young girl, who is an orphan and a shamaness, wild at heart and unable to give away her heart. This book shows that love conquers all, even death.

In all honesty, you cannot pick this book up and read it, then forget about it. There are too many rich details in this book that throughout the course of the day, you'll be doing something, then you'll be reminded of something else in the book. This is a book that you will want to read again in a few years. And again. It is one of the most beautiful story you'll ever want to read.

Pick up this book and soar into a world of beauty that you will never forget.

8-9-07

Kayuqtug Ugungoraseok (the red fox) is an orphan traumatized by her past and who is seeking respect in her traditional Inupiat village through the outlawed path of shamanism in the Alaska Arctic of 1971. Her plan leads to tragedy when she interferes with scientist Leif Trygvesen, who has come to research the effects of oil spills on salt marshes (and evade the draft). Flight Of The Goose is a compelling story is told from two perspectives as this tale of cultural conflict, spiritual awakening, redemption, love, and change. Author Lesley Thomas draws upon her own experiences growing up in the Alaskan Arctic in an Inupiat Eskimo village and in the city of Nome when weaving a sophisticated story enriched by an impressive personal background (she once researched the effects of oil spills on arctic salt marshes) to infuse realism and accurate detail into this work of memorable and highly recommended fiction.