In Search of Wings Lost [Paperback]

Donald J. Berk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2009

Other ducks are braver, but it is Marcel who finally takes action, often with unanticipated and tragic consequences, when civil unrest on the Bloedel reserve threatens his family and clan. He struggles on against his guilt over the death of loved ones, survives otters, hunters, cults, toxic waste, and more until finding his destiny in a near-death experience. As in Watership Down we come to care deeply about an alternate animal world at once familiar and foreign, and we call to mind the spiritual insights of Jonathon Livingston Seagull and The Alchemist. At its heart, the novel is about a journey to find a holy center, a place from which to navigate the world with confidence. Some will enjoy references to Proust’s In Search of Lost Time and Attar’s The Conference of the Birds. Others will fall in love with Marcel and the humor, beauty, and wisdom of the story. This is a poetic, creative fable, reminding us that we, too, can find meaning and hope in a difficult and dangerous world.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

After a career in industry, Donald J. Berk earned his Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Vermont’s Bennington College. He also received FAA certification as a flight instructor. The author now writes and teaches flying in Yakima, Washington. In Search of Wings Lost is his first novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 198 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (November 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439257213
• ISBN-13: 978-1439257210
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,556,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Donald Berk was born in Brooklyn and went to high school in upstate New York. He quit college to serve in the military. Upon discharge, he emigrated to rural England, married and spent twelve years there working and raising kids. Moving back to the US, the family settled in Illinois, where Donald worked in corporate information technology, ultimately starting his own software business. When his two sons had finished college, he sold the company and indulged two dreams: to be a writer and a pilot. He received an MFA in writing from Bennington College and earned an FAA flight instructor certificate. His short stories and poems have won prizes. In Search of Wings Lost is his first novel. He now lives in Yakima, Washington...in the long shadows of Mt. Rainier and Raymond Carver.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not to be missed, February 16, 2010

By 

Iowa Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Search of Wings Lost (Paperback)

A truly gorgeous novel, one of the most remarkable books I've read in years. It's all here--life and death, love lost and gained, ultimacy as well as the here and now, beauty, philosophy, poetry, humor. And can you believe every character is an animal? Two pages in, you realize it couldn't, shouldn't, happen any other way. Marcel is an unforgettable and highly effective protagonist, spearheading a book that begs to be read again and again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the heroic journey made fresh, March 1, 2011

By 

LEANNE ENGKRAF RIES (Pleasant Hill, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Search of Wings Lost (Paperback)

Here is the hero's journey told in a new and refreshing voice -- from the beak of Marcel. I was able to relate to Marcel, being a sensitive type myself. At one point, Marcel asks an elder: "Why can't we all just lead ordinary, peaceful lives...forever?" Sensitive Marcel must overcome his fears of adulthood, of the outside world, even death, as he sets out into the frightening world beyond his nature preserve. As I travel with Marcel, author Don Berk convinces me that flying is completely natural: wings, not legs, the norm. With Marcel I dodge the dangers of the world and find salvation in unexpected places. Read this book. You will enjoy it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I Have Ever Read, May 18, 2010

By 

Bonita (Minnetonka, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Search of Wings Lost (Paperback)

In Search of Wings Lost was everything I love in a book. It had profound significance without beating one over the head, it had humor that made me laugh out loud, it was easily read without being too simplistic and it continues to draw me back over and over. Marcel and the rest of his family felt like any family; funny and flawed, well meaning and periodically mistaken. The appeal of this book is universal: all ages, all demographics, all sexes, and all nations.