“Flight Behavior” by Barbara Kingsolver – The Clash of Science and Religion

In Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingslover we follow the story of a young and bored woman by the name of Dellarobia Turnbow, living in rural Tennessee. One day, in an attempt to escape the boredom plaguing her life, she makes her way up the mountain behind her husband’s farm and stumbles into what is known as the “Valley of Fire”, where she sees millions of monarch butterflies.

The local parish is very quick to label this event as being truly miraculous and a sign of great things to come. When a scientist makes his way to the quaint little town to study the phenomenon, he makes an alarming discovery: the butterflies could be a sign of an impending natural disaster. 

As you can guess, this isn’t one of those fast-paced action novels, but rather an exploration of a larger theme through an uncommon scenario which could, nevertheless, occur in the real world. 

I have to admit that while the characters sometimes fail to make an impression, they do have multiple dimensions to them, not to mention that they aren’t simply used to convey the author’s opinions in regards to science, climate change and religion.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (Book cover)
As a matter of fact, it feels as if the characters have their own, unique and personal thoughts on the situation, and no side is given privilege or advantages over the other. Rather, both sides of the argument are explored, ultimately culminating in an exploration of what drives us and where the meaning in our lives comes from.

All in all, I found this book to have been a very interesting and relaxing read; despite the dangers lurking on the horizon, there isn’t too much of a sense of urgency, allowing ample room for character development rather than actions and reactions. 

It doesn’t go over the edge, it simply tries to show the situation as it is all while making the story as entertaining as possible. 

I definitely recommend this book to those who want to just kick back and feel nothing but relaxation.

Barbara Kingslover (April 8th, 1955)

Barbara Kingslover


Personal site

Barbara Kingslover is an American poet, essayist and novelist who came from the rural streets of Kentucky. She has degrees in biology from the DePauw University and the University of Arizona, and spent some time as a freelance writer before becoming a full-fledged author, giving us some rather interesting works such as The Poisonwood Bible and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

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