Barbara Kingsolver is scientifically literate as well as a fine writer; the combination is rare enough to make her a true treasure. Flight Behaviour is her novel about climate change, which is such an important subject that I wanted the book to be memorably good. I doubt that she is capable of writing a bad book, but the opening of this one was slow and disappointing. The first chapter utterly failed to grab my attention in the way it was supposed to. The leading character - with her improbable first name of Dellarobia - wasn't particularly likeable, and in the next few chapters I found I wasn't much interested in the people around her either. This may have been an accurate depiction of life in small town America, and it was certainly well written, but I couldn't tell whether it was supposed to be funny. If it was, for me it missed the mark. Then after about a hundred pages the novel I had been hoping for began to blossom. This was the point at which the author's scientific literacy came into play, and also the point where some contrasting characters appeared and the story got moving. I learned quite a lot about the practicalities of scientific research into butterfly migrations. In time I found, to my surprise, that I was beginning to like Dellarobia, and her children. There was an appalling journalist to hate, and a wonderful rant about climate change that should be made compulsory reading for all. There was, unfortunately, still too much for my taste about shopping (and without the sex that I thought normally went with it in contemporary fiction). It all ended rather quickly. First there was a dramatic twist in the "family" strand that reminded me of a plot line from a soap opera, and didn't seem to contribute much to the novel. Then the climate change issues all came to a head, in ways that on first reading I found unsatisfying - though on reflection, I discovered that I was completely satisfied after all. I'm glad I read this, and enjoyed a lot of it, but I don't think I'm in the core audience for it. I loved "The Poisonwood Bible", but I think for "Flight Behaviour" it must definitely help to be female or American, or both. Of course, the people Kingsolver most wants to read it are the climate change deniers, who won't. The 4-star rating owes something to my keenness on both the message and the author. On a more general point, I do wish publishers would correct the spelling of American books before publishing a "British edition", and translate the passages that we might otherwise find comical and/or mysterious e.g. "Dellarobia had managed to corral her fleecy hair into two wild blond poofs, with a centre part so crooked it could get you a DUI".

This is the first book I have read written by Barbara Kingsolver and having read the reviews of her previous book I was hoping for a great read, however, I was quite dissappointed. I felt that the plot never really went anywhere. There are many instances in the book where you feel that the plot is going to develop but many of these opportunities are glossed over leaving me feeling confused about the lack of story development. It is an easy read with loads of detail about daily life on the farm and about the butterflies but the detail never really adds anything to the story. The writer has included some really important messages about climate change and its effect on the environment but I don't feel that they were explored with any consistency. The ending left me feeling quite confused. I'm not sure exactly how it ended and may re-read it to make sure I understood what happened but in the end I really didn't like reading this book and consequently, it took ages to finish. I am left with the feeling that I have 'missed the point of the story'.

Although a rather good read, I would not reccommend this book to a friend. As a young adult it was difficult to connect with a middle aged woman who feels tapped in her day to day life. Had I been a little older I could have appreciated it more. The plot, however, was very good and had several twists which could keep me reading on.

There is an inherent danger in creating a lead character who is trapped in boring, small-town life – the concern being the reader ends up feeling bored and downtrodden too. It’s a problem that Barbara Kingsolver creates and fails to deal with in Flight Behaviour. One of the main reason why this is a frustration is that – unlike a previous novel of Kingsolver’s, The Bean Trees – this book is long. Much too long. This is a weighty novel about significant issues such as climate change, science, religion and media agendas. Unfortunately, it falls into the trap of using clumsy dialogue to explain these “big” topics and it’s often very difficult to engage with characters whose dialogue feels like it’s being shouted at you: “YOU, YES, YOU. ARE YOU SO DUMB?” There is a science lesson in these pages but the reality is that you don’t need to hear it told in full to grasp the concerns or understand the characters. Flight Behaviour is also about a personal journey: that of its heroine, Dellarobia. She is likeable, frustrating, eager, confused – a complex mix that ultimately makes her engaging. But she dominates the book in such a way that storylines for other characters never get a chance to get off the ground. There is a decent cast of characters who you want Dellarobia to interact with more, too, including her best friend Dovey and Hester, her mother-in-law, whose presence seems to slip out of the novel during the middle section. It’s wouldn’t be fair to suggest Flight Behaviour isn’t well-written – there are great passages, subtlety, nuance and some descriptive pearls – but overall it’s not as well crafted as many readers might hope. It cries out for pace, dynamism, more conflict and a red pen to get rid of the boring bits.