Reviews

Flights by Olga Tokarczuk

wildblackberrydays's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

masomaro's review against another edition

3.0

Livro estranho, com estrutura pouco definida. Parece um livro de crónicas ou um diário de bordo, com contos à mistura.
Muito focado no tema do corpo e da sua plastinação.
Não percebi ao certo o objecto do livro... são muitos pontos e muitas ideias.

lilias's review against another edition

challenging funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Flights balances the mapping of the human body, via polymer preservation, with the mapping of the world. Author Olga Tokarczuk ends up posing more questions than giving answers, as it seems to be of human nature to always ask questions, especially about ourselves. 

I knew this book would be about travel, and as someone who, for a decade, only had vivid dreams involving public transportation, including airports and airplanes as settings, I expected an expansion of my thinking about travel as a metaphor. But that’s what get tor starting this book with preconceived notions. 

I loved Tokarczuk’s Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, and I only loved sections of Flights, maybe half of the book. The other half I could have done without. The narrator’s musings, for example, for the most part, weren’t very interesting to me. But the short stories scattered about were wonderful. And I loved the final installment of the narrator as she boards a plane. 

lupuscoopus's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

veessa's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

nicolac's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

sweetearlgrey's review against another edition

3.5

This short story collection is somewhat experimental in its format and style, to the point where it’s often difficult to piece together. Some stories had fascinating observations about the nature of travel, and I found myself enthralled by the writing. Yet, they always ended too soon. Others were more like poems—a paragraph’s length and written in a cryptic style. I think this book is designed to be savoured—you read a story or two every day while on a trip or adventure. 

dizzyappealam's review against another edition

Could maybe pick up again. Abandonment themes weren’t a fun time but the writing was good. Pretty large and seemed like a slow pace. Ran out of time at the library.

isaisaisaisa's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars
I thought this book had a lot of very interesting ideas in it but some worked better than others. the plot structure is unique because there is essentially no over arching plot and the different sections blur the line between fiction and nonfiction. Certain sections I found more interesting than others like the one in croatia or the woman who leaves her life to live on a train and I wanted to read more about those stories than some of the other ones. Overall this book was definitely a unique read that I generally enjoyed.

lowercasepoet's review against another edition

challenging informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0