John Miedema

The Book of Flying by Keith Miller

15 September 2008 5 Comments

Keith Miller; Riverhead Books 2004

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Pico is a librarian in a city by the sea. He falls in love with a winged girl who rebuffs him because he does not have wings. Thus begins Pico’s journey through the forest, to the mountains, and into the desert seeking The Book of Flying that will give him wings. I revelled in Pico’s fearful and lusty journey. For a time he loses his way in the beauty of books and friends, but of course it doesn’t end there. “Who knows how long he might have stayed in that city, cozy, dousing his guilt with wine, cauterizing it with tobacco, had the city remained static. But keep characters in propinquity long enough and a story will always develop a plot.” I’ve heard it said that this story is about the transcendence of art, and it may be so. It is a fable written as tenderly and poetically as Pico’s heart, often reminding me of A Wizard of Earthsea by Le Guin. One of my favourites ever; it sings to the heathen in me and to the yearning for something more.

5 Comments »

Nancy said:

I adore this novel! It certainly reads like a poem and touches my heart in ways that very few books have. I read it numerous times, and every time, the chapter about the wandering woman in The Valleys of the Country of Death breaks my heart to the point of tears. This is definitely a novel that every poetic soul out there should get a hand on.

# 16 January 2009 at 9:15 pm

Keith Miller said:

Hi – This is Keith Miller, author of The Book of Flying. Thanks for the very kind review. I just wanted to let you know that my second novel, The Book on Fire, is out. It’s about a book thief who arrives in Alexandria to steal from the fabled library, but falls in love with one of the librarians. It’s available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, etc. You may read the first chapter at millerworlds.com.

# 6 September 2009 at 7:12 am

John (author) said:

Thanks Keith, I just ordered it. Sounds like another great novel.

# 6 September 2009 at 8:14 am

Nancy said:

I will definitely look that up. I’m sure I’ll like it just as much as The Book of Flying (or more). Thanks so much, Keith! And I hope you continue to write more!

# 6 September 2009 at 7:27 pm

Elizabeth said:

I was so happy to find this page! I have been trying to find out more about Keith Miller since I read The Book of Flying a few years ago. Sometimes I think it’s better to discover a beloved author several books into their career so you can just gobble them up instead of having to wait for the next one to be finished.