Flight of the Goose: a Story of the Far North by Lesley Thomas
Book Description:
Cultural and ecological upheaval, birds, science, war, sorcery and shamanism, corporate greed, family, trauma, healing, and survival… Flight of the Goose is an award-winning fiction set in a traditional village and the wilds of Arctic Alaska, where author Lesley Thomas grew up.
Book Review:
In the raw, unforgiving landscape of Arctic Alaska, where ancient spirits dance with modern demons, “Flight of the Goose” soars into territory as complex and layered as the permafrost itself.
What immediately strikes me about this book is how Thomas weaves together seemingly disparate threads – shamanic traditions and scientific inquiry, ecological preservation and corporate exploitation – into what promises to be a tapestry as intricate as the Arctic ecosystem itself. Having grown up in this environment, Thomas’s perspective isn’t that of an outsider looking in with romanticized eyes, but rather someone who understands the land’s pulse and its people’s heartbeat.
The premise fascinates me because it resists simple categorization. This isn’t just another environmental cautionary tale or a traditional versus modern narrative – it’s positioning itself as something far more nuanced. The mention of birds alongside war, science alongside sorcery, creates a literary ecosystem where different ways of knowing and being must coexist, much like the delicate balance of Arctic life itself. The inclusion of trauma and healing suggests a story that doesn’t shy away from the scars that both land and people bear, while still holding space for resilience and survival.
