In Hovering Flight

Hinnefeld begins her elegant debut novel with a seemingly simple line: "According to John James Audubon, there was once a species of bird in southeastern Pennsylvania, the Cuvier's kinglet, Regulus cuvieri, or, as Audubon liked to call it, Cuvier's wren." This sentence hints at the story about to unfold, for Addie Sturmer Kavanaugh, the illustrator of a book on birds and the wife of a respected ornithologist, claims to have seen a Cuvier's kinglet, a bird that only one person, Audubon, has claimed to have seen. That her husband Tom, a respected ornithologist, never contradicts her speaks volumes about their relationship. However, that little bird - either extinct or imagined - serves as a metaphor for Addie, a passionate woman who exists, perhaps, where she should not: in a world that doesn't take her seriously. The novel opens on the day Addie has passed away from breast cancer, with daughter Scarlet, husband Tom, and dear friends Cora and Lou in attendance. Told through Addie's field journals and multiple points-of-view, In Hovering Flight portrays the evolution of an earnest college student into a protest artist and activist, through the stages of love, motherhood, and friendship that define her. Because Hinnefeld often uses indirect characterization, through the experiences and reactions of the other characters, Addie remains somewhat unknowable, even by the end, contributing to the central mystery of the novel: Who was Addie, and why did she choose the paths she did? The best novels offer wisdom, even if it is a quiet truth, and this novel does not disappoint. In Hovering Flight is a celebration of birds, love, and art. I highly recommend this book to readers of literary and women's fiction. Its hauntingly beautiful story will stay with you long after you have finished the last sentence. -- Debbie Lee Wesselmann

Hinnefeld's subtle weaving of personal and public in a first novel make her a wonderful discovery for this author, and for fans of Ann Tyler, Carrie Brown, and Ann Patchett. Grounded with journal entries from Addie Sturmer Kavanaugh's birding field notebooks from 1965 to 2002, Hinnefeld draws us into the emotional complexities of Scarlet Kavanaugh's world: her mother's early marriage to a college ornithology professor and Scarlet's own search for her identity in the face of her parents' obsessions and her mother's cancer. As Addie's environmental activism widens the distance with her husband and daughter, Hinnefeld's quiet examination of motivation and intent transforms a love story into much more. So believable is the sense of Scarlet's discovery of her mother's real character and feelings that by the final burial of Addie, you feel a personal sense of forgiveness and understanding of every mother's struggle for balance between parenthood and work. My complete review of this book is on www.ijustfinished.com.

This novel is an unmitigated pleasure that is sure to gratify readers who appreciate stunning but unpretentious prose, sophisticated storytelling and characters you can care about. Before entering its world I feared the novel might be an oversensitive family novel for women only, or a plea for saving rare avian species. Such fears were totally unfounded. What did I love most about In Hovering Flight? Tough to choose between the warm almost homespun prose; the fascinating structure with time and viewpoint constantly shifting and enriching; and the astute examination of relationships, between spouses, between parent and child, and between women friends. What was most surprising? That Addie's environmentalism was not posited as an ideal, that her activism overreached into extremism. What did the novel remind me of? The portrayal of self-absorbed artists and how they create; the evolving perceptions of a child as a critic of its parents; the offhand burlesque of Addie's burial; and the smooth, comforting transparency of the prose style recalled for me the novels of . . . John Irving! To me Scarlet--the 30something daughter of Tom and Addie Kavanaugh--is the stealth protagonist of the book, the one who hovers, then lands at the center. Her name and the course of her life embody the passions and values of her parents and her coming to terms with her heritage is the most beautiful drama that unfolds. In Hovering Flight holds countless pleasures for readers who value literary quality and a storyline that is both subtle and more emotionally rewarding. It deserves all the kudos it has received and will receive from critics and readers.

I turned to this novel because I've always loved birds. And the story of these people who, like me, appreciate birds and the natural world moved me for that reason. But, even more, this novel touched me deeply, even made me cry over and over, because of the way it depicts both the deep beauty of human relationships and the losses that are involved in loving deeply. I started to read the book early one Sunday, and couldn't put it down, read it right through the day until 1 a.m. And now I've loaned it to a good friend, but I can't wait until she gives it back, because I want to read it again, to immerse myself in it once more. It's not often that I wish to re-read a book I've just finished. I recommend the book highly."

Renowned aviary and overall environmental artist Addie Sturmer Kavanagh is dying from cancer. She makes a final death wish to "clear orders for a brazenly illegal burial". Meanwhile her thirtyish years old daughter Scarlet comes home not to just to bury her mom, but to finally understand her mom. Even her death request is so Addie, weird to anyone except perhaps the inner sanctum. Addie was just another bored art major when she fell in love with Professor Tom Kavanagh and his passion for birds. They became a formidable entry in the environmental activist movements and antiwar protests. Some time after Scarlet is born, Addie changed from gung ho bird lover to outraged political warrior. Her tormented switch left Scarlet and to a degree Tom behind; now Scarlet needs to know from Addie's beloved friends Cora and Lou why to include a special funeral at the Jersey shore instead of her Pennsylvania home. The key to this terrific character study is the seemingly dysfunctional relationship between mother and daughter. Scarlet has felt neglected by her mom all her life; in fact she believes the search for proof that the Cuvier's Knight is an extinct aviary species superseded her needs. Still IN HOVERING FLIGHT pattern, Scarlet wants to soar like her mom did, but before she can use her wings she needs to know why in her opinion the environment and birds meant more to Addie than her daughter ever did. This is a superb relationship drama. Harriet Klausner