FLIGHTS

Narrator Julia Whelan shifts so smoothly through the stylistic turns of this fragmentary novel that one may well forget she is the lone narrator. Polish author Olga Tokarczuk's 2018 National Book Award Finalist is a challenge. Each of the more than 100 chapters reads like a stand-alone reflection on the human desire to keep others close--or, conversely, to flee others' constraints. Some storylines do recur, such as that of Chopin's sister, who attempts to smuggle the late composer's heart from France back home to Poland to be buried, or another of a man as much overcome by the reappearance of his wife and child as by their disappearance. While FLIGHTS may be a turbulent ride, if listeners stick with Whelan's narration, she'll take them where they need to go. K.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2018]