Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Flight Behavior contains many overarching themes: the challenges of poverty in the rural South, global warming and its many implications,  and the constraints and supports of social and faith-based networks in small communities.  The hope and despair that fight for predominance in all of these elements come together in the person of Dellarobia Turnbow.  Kingsolver has created a character who is genuine, one who struggles with the demands of being a young mother with two young children, who is trapped in a loveless marriage with a good man who has succumbed to the limited future his poverty and education have laid out for him and who spends his ample free time on the couch, channel surfing.  In the beginning of the novel Dellarobia is essentially a stereotype of women in the poor South--she married too young, is unskilled and undereducated, and is resigned to a life of dollar stores and dependency. Desperate for any sort of escape, Dellarobia is on her way to a tryst in the woods behind her home when she comes upon a miraculous site that stops her in her tracks. As Dellarobia and her community seek to understand the vision and its meaning, they must also deal with an influx of tourists, the media, opportunists, environmentalists, and a dedicated group of scientists.  Kingsolver has affection for and trust in Dellarobia and all of the characters.  The small-minded and bitter are balanced by those driven to find the truth and do the right thing, and all are capable of growth.  Flight Behavior is a wonderful book, containing a strong female lead, insights into the world of science and particular ecosystems, and a plea for the planet.