wynwicket's review against another edition
5.0
This is the fictional biography of Peter Leroy, the "Birdboy of Babbington", a teenager who flew from Long Island to New Mexico in a homemade winged motorcycle in the 1950s. Well, almost flew. And really, it's the journey that makes the story, not the arrival.
Told from the point of view of Peter as an older man as he reads his "memoirs" to his wife on a road trip, this was a beautiful, chucklesome story of hope and adventure. Peter's wife Albertine is a wonderful character in her own right, and theirs is one of my favorite literary relationships ever. Took me awhile to get through this one, but it certainly wasn't one to rush.
Told from the point of view of Peter as an older man as he reads his "memoirs" to his wife on a road trip, this was a beautiful, chucklesome story of hope and adventure. Peter's wife Albertine is a wonderful character in her own right, and theirs is one of my favorite literary relationships ever. Took me awhile to get through this one, but it certainly wasn't one to rush.
lyricallit's review against another edition
3.0
A very slow - and frustrating - start. Honestly, if I weren't reading this for a book club, I'm not sure how diligently I would have pushed through the first part. Once I got through the longer rambling sections of philosophy and pertinence, a plot finally caught the ignition and took flight; I was a much happier reader then. The middle & last part of this book bumped it from a 2 to a 3. I greatly enjoyed "On the Wing" and "Flying Home," though the narrator's paranoia about the "flyguys" seems somehow ironic...and annoying irrational. Other than that, though, a pleasant read. I would recommend it, though with the caution that the first part is slow...that's okay. The rest of it is worth it.
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