The Boy Who Could Fly
Mar. 11th, 2011 07:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
booksofafeatherShort review: A boy, trapped in a desperate situation, is given a chance to exchange his life with the life of the "loblolly boy", a mysterious winged spirit... but he finds out that the life of the loblolly boy is not all he had hoped. I have very mixed feelings about this book... despite that it suggests that being human is the best way to live, it's full of the joy of flying and very fun to read. It's worth reading for just how beautiful some of the descriptions are.
Writing: Very good! It's so fun that even though I felt it was very human-centric, I enjoyed reading it anyway and didn't ever feel bored for a page. The story takes lots of good twists and has fun ideas.
From a winged person's perspective...: The descriptions of wings and flight are enchanting and ethereal feeling and all through the book. You can really feel like you're flying, and appreciate the wonder of the world up high through the descriptions. At the same time, this story has its roots in the horror of being not what you really are identity-wise... and that "being who you really are" is presented only from the perspective of humans. Just once I'd like a book about being who you really are as a winged person! The only character who seems to enjoy being the loblolly boy is shown as using the power for cruelty. There is still some joy here for the winged I feel though.
Trigger warnings: A person's wings being touched against their will, and the person showing they are uncomfortable with this. Also, when people changed bodies they are called by the pronouns of their body, not their self inside; no one seems to mind this or feel uncomfortable with it, though that also might bother some people.
More thoughts...: The back cover of this book (which is quite beautiful actually...) reads in large letters, "The gripping story of a boy who gains the power of flight but loses touch with all that makes him human". From this, I was almost ready to give up on this book from the beginning... but decided that I would read it anyway, just for the review. After all, maybe someone will buy this book with a different cover. And, it's important to me to collect the information of the negative books as well as the positive... even if it's only to show that a trend is there. So, with a heart that was a little heavy, I opened this book.
And even though I found myself disagreeing with almost every page, I somehow liked it. Maybe it was the beauty of flight described, or maybe it was the mirror world I could almost see in the book... the main character was too attached to his human identity to feel that he could enjoy being anything else, but I could imagine a world where someone who had really wanted wings, or just had a strong sense of wonder, got the chance to be the loblolly boy and enjoyed everything to do with it, escaping into a world that was not really physical yet still had its own beauty.
The twist of this story is that the loblolly boy cannot be "real"... as it is described... doesn't eat or feel too cold or hot, and can't be seen by any except a few "sensitive" people. But to some people maybe that would be an amazing world. (And maybe if you are an incorporeal or spirit person, you already live in such a state, and might find that this is quite offensive, to call that "not real"!) The boy hardly takes the opportunity to enjoy being invisible even a little bit... even if it's true it would be hard to live with only a few people who can see you, there is so much you can learn and explore... and maybe some people would like a life with only sensitive people anyway (^-^;;) It seemed like life with the Captain, or seeking out the sensitive people around the world without tiring or needing to eat, or exploring great wonders of the world, or all three... might be quite interesting. It's never mentioned though which I think is a shame.
Maybe for winged people, the joy to be got out of this book is imagining that alternative world. There's certainly plenty here to excite the imagination and some interesting questions are raised if you are prepared to examine them, not feel so certain of the answers as the main character does. It is lovable for the possibility even if such a possibility is not something the main character can get the most out of. And the last line of the book is one to renew the thrill you might have felt, as a winged person, in picking this up and wanting to immerse in that feeling. It doesn't undo the human-centric nature of the book... but it does end on a nice note.
I don't know what this book should be rated exactly... I can't say it's a positive description of living as a winged person. But I can't say it's entirely negative either. I guess my rating is "I thought it was worth reading though disappointing at the same time". I don't think that fits in a number... this book is more and less than average at the same time.
Writing: Very good! It's so fun that even though I felt it was very human-centric, I enjoyed reading it anyway and didn't ever feel bored for a page. The story takes lots of good twists and has fun ideas.
From a winged person's perspective...: The descriptions of wings and flight are enchanting and ethereal feeling and all through the book. You can really feel like you're flying, and appreciate the wonder of the world up high through the descriptions. At the same time, this story has its roots in the horror of being not what you really are identity-wise... and that "being who you really are" is presented only from the perspective of humans. Just once I'd like a book about being who you really are as a winged person! The only character who seems to enjoy being the loblolly boy is shown as using the power for cruelty. There is still some joy here for the winged I feel though.
Trigger warnings: A person's wings being touched against their will, and the person showing they are uncomfortable with this. Also, when people changed bodies they are called by the pronouns of their body, not their self inside; no one seems to mind this or feel uncomfortable with it, though that also might bother some people.
More thoughts...: The back cover of this book (which is quite beautiful actually...) reads in large letters, "The gripping story of a boy who gains the power of flight but loses touch with all that makes him human". From this, I was almost ready to give up on this book from the beginning... but decided that I would read it anyway, just for the review. After all, maybe someone will buy this book with a different cover. And, it's important to me to collect the information of the negative books as well as the positive... even if it's only to show that a trend is there. So, with a heart that was a little heavy, I opened this book.
And even though I found myself disagreeing with almost every page, I somehow liked it. Maybe it was the beauty of flight described, or maybe it was the mirror world I could almost see in the book... the main character was too attached to his human identity to feel that he could enjoy being anything else, but I could imagine a world where someone who had really wanted wings, or just had a strong sense of wonder, got the chance to be the loblolly boy and enjoyed everything to do with it, escaping into a world that was not really physical yet still had its own beauty.
The twist of this story is that the loblolly boy cannot be "real"... as it is described... doesn't eat or feel too cold or hot, and can't be seen by any except a few "sensitive" people. But to some people maybe that would be an amazing world. (And maybe if you are an incorporeal or spirit person, you already live in such a state, and might find that this is quite offensive, to call that "not real"!) The boy hardly takes the opportunity to enjoy being invisible even a little bit... even if it's true it would be hard to live with only a few people who can see you, there is so much you can learn and explore... and maybe some people would like a life with only sensitive people anyway (^-^;;) It seemed like life with the Captain, or seeking out the sensitive people around the world without tiring or needing to eat, or exploring great wonders of the world, or all three... might be quite interesting. It's never mentioned though which I think is a shame.
Maybe for winged people, the joy to be got out of this book is imagining that alternative world. There's certainly plenty here to excite the imagination and some interesting questions are raised if you are prepared to examine them, not feel so certain of the answers as the main character does. It is lovable for the possibility even if such a possibility is not something the main character can get the most out of. And the last line of the book is one to renew the thrill you might have felt, as a winged person, in picking this up and wanting to immerse in that feeling. It doesn't undo the human-centric nature of the book... but it does end on a nice note.
I don't know what this book should be rated exactly... I can't say it's a positive description of living as a winged person. But I can't say it's entirely negative either. I guess my rating is "I thought it was worth reading though disappointing at the same time". I don't think that fits in a number... this book is more and less than average at the same time.
