SummaryA bold, vivid, fantastical first novel about a young
librarian who sets off on a magical journey to gain his
wings in order to win the heart of the girl he loves. The
Book of Flying is a satisfying, old-fashioned story-driven
by the sheer power of imagination and the beauty of
language. Pico is an orphaned librarian who has been sustained all of
his young life by his love of stories alone. But when love
does come to him at last, it is forbidden. For the girl of
his dreams is of the winged people in the City by the Sea.
And Pico is wingless. So when he discovers an ancient
letter in his library telling of the mythical Morning Town
where the flightless may gain their wings, he sets off on a
quest, carrying his four favorite books in a knapsack. It's
a magical journey in which he meets a robber queen, a
lonely minotaur, a dream seller, a despairing cannibal, and
an immortal beauty. Each of them has a story, and a lesson
for Pico. And, in the end, he has learned to kill, to love,
to persevere, and, of course, to fly. Pico's journey is Everyman's journey. But it's also special
for being a reader's journey, because Pico's lessons are
revealed through stories as much as they are through life.
And after all, it's in books that our hearts open to other
people and places. In this impressionable first novel,
Keith Miller has created a tantalizingly foreign yet
familiar world where our own imaginations take flight,
carrying us, finally, to discover ourselves.
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