Scan barcode
A review by nohadon
The Book of Flying by Keith Miller
3.0
I had high hopes for this book, especially given Ursula K Leguin’s espousement on the front cover.
But the book fell short. Miller seems more interested in lyrical sentences than actual storytelling. Almost every sentence alliterates, and yet Miller introduces and casts off characters as plot devices only, leaving the story as soon as their purpose in Pico’s development is served. No explanation is given for why every woman falls in love with Pico, who fastidiously holds out for Sisi despite pulling every woman with his “scrawny” features.Pico should have fallen for Narya, as that would have made for actual character development on Pico’s part. Instead he somehow never gets anything wrong, never makes a wrong move, and attracts every woman he meets. In fact, Miller writes with far too much focus on every woman loving Pico and way overdescribes women’s anatomy and sexual acts. Not to mention the casual cannibalism of his friend (and also lover) Sorya right after his best chapter, The City in the Mountains .
It turns out, that this book is a halfway act between Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and Lord Dunsany’s Carcassone, trying to tell the message of both and instead failing, telling the message of neither.
Three stars is generous; I give this rating only because the prose was lyrical, although without the characters and the plot to back it, Miller failed to evoke the kind of emotion stories like this should.
But the book fell short. Miller seems more interested in lyrical sentences than actual storytelling. Almost every sentence alliterates, and yet Miller introduces and casts off characters as plot devices only, leaving the story as soon as their purpose in Pico’s development is served. No explanation is given for why every woman falls in love with Pico, who fastidiously holds out for Sisi despite pulling every woman with his “scrawny” features.
It turns out, that this book is a halfway act between Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and Lord Dunsany’s Carcassone, trying to tell the message of both and instead failing, telling the message of neither.
Three stars is generous; I give this rating only because the prose was lyrical, although without the characters and the plot to back it, Miller failed to evoke the kind of emotion stories like this should.