Helpful Score: 3
Pico is a librarian born to winged parents, but has no wings himself. So he is raised by a kindly librarian. Pico watches the winged people fly above the town each evening, longing to be one of them. Ultimately he falls in love with one and sets off to find the Book of Flying, so he too can get wings and join his love.
I agree with other reviewers that Miller's prose is beautifully written and his ideas creative, but those 2 elements alone do not make a good or even okay read. From the beginning, character development is lacking. What we learn about the characters are what they say about themselves, not from what happens in the story. Pico's adventure consists of traveling to places that are just bizarre and gratuitous sex scenes that just seemed out of place. The reader gets little background information about the places or characters in them. Miller creates a series of adventures that are creative, but not related enough to move the story along. The only thread running through the adventure is Pico's desire to return to his true love. Sometimes it appears that he has forgotten that!
I really expected Pico to learn something about himself or life. I was hoping the end of the story would wrap things up a bit. I was very disappointed.
I agree with other reviewers that Miller's prose is beautifully written and his ideas creative, but those 2 elements alone do not make a good or even okay read. From the beginning, character development is lacking. What we learn about the characters are what they say about themselves, not from what happens in the story. Pico's adventure consists of traveling to places that are just bizarre and gratuitous sex scenes that just seemed out of place. The reader gets little background information about the places or characters in them. Miller creates a series of adventures that are creative, but not related enough to move the story along. The only thread running through the adventure is Pico's desire to return to his true love. Sometimes it appears that he has forgotten that!
I really expected Pico to learn something about himself or life. I was hoping the end of the story would wrap things up a bit. I was very disappointed.
Helpful Score: 1
My husband and I enjoy reading books together during the long winter months and this was a nice story that we both enjoyed. Parts of the book were a bit boggy and the end was a bit of a disappointment but, in the end we were satisfied.
The book was an essay of sorts on the main characters life and although it may not have ended all neatly wrapped up in a plaid bow. The main character did his best to live life on his terms and overall isn't that what everyone is striving to achieve in the world today?
I suggest reading this book out loud. Taking turns reading with your family in front of a roaring fire with cups of hot coco and enjoy the time spent in the company of the ones you love.
The book was an essay of sorts on the main characters life and although it may not have ended all neatly wrapped up in a plaid bow. The main character did his best to live life on his terms and overall isn't that what everyone is striving to achieve in the world today?
I suggest reading this book out loud. Taking turns reading with your family in front of a roaring fire with cups of hot coco and enjoy the time spent in the company of the ones you love.
a lyrical, facsinating fantasy book
This is a beautiful book full of quotes that only a true bibliophile can appreciate. I loved this book right up until the last chapter. The ending was so lame it almost ruined the whole book for me. And I really don't understand why the author switched from such *prosy* language in the first part of the book to suddenly using *gutter* language in the second part - that kind of bothered me. And I truly was not expecting the book to NOT have a happy ending. Not to mention it was kind of a "stock" ending - call it a "Frodo Baggins/Lord of the Rings" ending - where after a long journey away from home that changes him greatly, the main character finally returns home only to find out that he no longer belongs there.
But even with the problems, there are parts of this book that will absolutely enrapture the true reader for the vivid descriptions of what books can come to mean to people.
But even with the problems, there are parts of this book that will absolutely enrapture the true reader for the vivid descriptions of what books can come to mean to people.
