For all but a select group of people, climate change doesn’t make particularly sexy reading. It’s too big, too broad and, frankly, too depressing, to comprehend, let alone take any pleasure in.
Barbara Kingsolver has never been afraid of taking on “big” subjects and weaving them into literary-but-accessible novels, which have included award winners The Poisonwood Bible and The Lacuna.
Now with her new book, Flight Behaviour, she addresses one of the most controversial issues of our time: global warming.
Dellarobia is an unhappily married mum of two, living in rural Tennessee. While walking in the hills above her home on her way to meet her younger lover, she comes across a frightening marvel of nature; millions of monarch butterflies hovering in the trees and in the air, glowing like a “lake of fire”.
As the small town she lives in is flooded with experts – both self-proclaimed and actual – who have an interest in solving the butterfly mystery, Dellarobia embarks on a journey in search of her own answers.
Although many of us prefer books that provide an escape from life, it’s rewarding to give your brain a work-out too, and Flight Behaviour might be just the wake-up call you’ve been waiting for.
By Claire Rorke
Flight Behaviour
Barbara Kingsolver
Allen & Unwin,
$39.99
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