Book Review – Simple Art of Flying
**spoiler!**
When the semester ends, I tend to pull together all the books I’ve been wanting to read and then read like there’s no tomorrow. Since we were away throughout May, I had plenty of time in the car to read as much as I’d like. I ended up going through a good twelve to fifteen books.
One of those was the cutest story of a parrot named Alastair – The Simple Art of Flying by Cory Leonardo. I read through many different genres from Dystopian to Non-Fiction, but this one had to be my favorite. It wasn’t a fast-paced action-packed book, but it told the amusing story of a parrot who gets adopted from a pet shop and separated from his sister.
Alastair is a determined bird, trying to reunite with his sister, only to find out that the greatest struggle in life is to let go. The story is more of a comedy than anything else as you read from his perspective about the older lady who adopts him, and her pet cat that never stops plaguing him (although I do believe Alastair bothers the cat more than vice versa).
This book was all the funnier because I have a pet cockatiel that I feel could totally relate to every aspect of Alastair’s personality – from the refusal to eat anything for the sole sake of being picky and his sour outlook on everything to his ability in planning escape and skepticism at every new toy received.
The ending is rather bittersweet, not to spoil it, but it wraps the book up nicely and doesn’t leave questions unanswered. It seems to work out for everyone in the story, and yes, he eventually gets to be with his sister. Basically, the book is about being content where you are and all the characters find that in the end.