The Book of Flying

The Book of Flying tells the tale of Pico, a young librarian on a quest to gain wings--literally. Poetic and delightfully literary in style, like a delicious chocolate confection it's a book to savor and read slowly, bits a time. The chapter in which Pico meets an immortal cannibal would make a striking novella or short story, and the story of Balquo charms. I could have spent an entire novel just in the story of the mountain town, with its warm cafes and food and book vendors. There were weaker spots that had nothing to do with the writing: a bit of a stereotypical jaunt with a band of thieves led by a fierce female and a long chat with a talking rabbit that reminded me rather of Tolkien (the movies wisely left most such things out) or C.S. Lewis, and in some sections the author tends to use sentence fragments that proved distracting in a vast field of otherwise pristine writing, but the strong parts more than made up for these. All in all, a *very* promising debut by a new novelist, and highly recommended.

The Book of Flying hearkens to a more whimsical style of writing that borders on the stuff of fairy tales. The reader gets to follow the young librarian Pico as he takes his Everyman/hero's journey to find wings, and the characters he encounters, the experiences he absorbs are a sort of Pilgrim's Progress to his self-realization. Miller's novel is really a long fable, and as such is so rich with poetic scenery that it makes for an absorbing read. While Pico and his friends and foes aren't as filled out as the characters of more contemporary fiction, they stand as shades of human experience, thus allowing the reader to fill in the blanks, to find a parallel of features in his/her self, and to soar and dive along the chapters with wings of one's own.

And thus the book of flying begins. In this quaint and poignant tale, we learn of Pico, the sad librarian who lives in a city of people who do not read. He became one of my favorite characters of literature, hitting so close to my heart. Living myself in a world that looks down upon poetry, arts and literature, I felt for Pico almost instantly. If you are already rolling your eyes over this review, go elsewhere. If not, move on. This is story about stories; every characer Pico meets has a story to tell, as does he, each one beautiful in their own way and all of them sad. Pico, a shy and quiet young poet is in love with a winged girl. He is alone because he is himself son of winged parents, though born without wings. But their love is forbidden and so he sets out to find his wings. Among what he packs are a few books and, most important, his book of poetry. The prose in this book was beautiful--and I'm hard to please. But the moody and despondant air of the novel was such that I could always write well when I finished a chapter. I found it a wonderful source of inspiration. The characters were varied and interesting, and so were their stories. The story I loved the most, was the one of the world where you read rather than eat and poisonous books can kill you with a glance--but the one glance is worth it. Ultimately, the crowning glory of the book is when Pico, lost and stranded in the desert, leaves his gear behind, one by one, until lastly, and reluctantly, he lets go of his poetry book. And the part in the end, about the scrolls he had given to his love... For those of you who complain about the title--which I love, and which I bought the book for--the novel is named for the book Pico searches for, which will give him wings if he finds it. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the cover. Other than that, it truly is a 'fantastical debut novel'. For those who love beauty and cherish poetry, this book is for you. "Dreams are the soul of the imagination, the slender and evasive revenants of the shells we erect as our dwellings. We build our shells from the sand of our ground bones, mortared with our very blood, and imagine we fence the dreams away but we only fence them in. A few, the rare, the beautiful, remain as near to the heat of their dreams as children, and we know them by their laughter, by the ease with which they are moved to tears, by our own desire to be around them." --Chapter 5: The Dream Seller -The Book of Flying, a novel

There has never been a book, poem, story, or anything of the like which has touched me in the way "The Book Of Flying" has. It reaches out to all people of all types and discribes a story so beautiful, so painful, so out there that at the same time its the most down to earth thing you ever could here. The writing is beyond this world, it enraptures you, like the whole things the most beautiful of poems, me-being a writer myself, have been deeply inspired by Keith Miller's writing in this novel. I have read the book 7 times now, each time being better then the last, each time crying when its sad-laughing when its happy, and still I cant seem to get enough of it. I love this book so much that I cant even read another without putting this one down for awhile first-i even reflect back to it in everyday life, and the thousands of lessons and stories it gives off. I love this book, it definately gives you wings, and is the most ultimate of stories. The Book Of Flying is a must read for everyone, everywhere. "twilight is the hour i love" he told her "the hour where nothing is quite itself, all things teetering at the edges of their names. Here I can be alone and a stranger to myself" -Keith Miller "The Book Of Flying"

This is, by far, one of the best books I have read in a while. The story is so creative and detailed and it's so easy to lose yourself in the life of Pico. I recommend it to anyone who is bored with the same old story lines.