About book Natural Flights Of The Human Mind (2006)
I’ve been having something of a Clare Morrall fest, that thing you get when you discover an author and wish they’d written more. The worst thing is when you get that feeling but the author is dead. Thankfully Clare Morrall is alive and writing, and I have two more novels to read – The Roundabout Man, and The Language of Others. Natural Flights of the Human Mind is an original story about two outsiders who are brought together by circumstance and who, unknowingly, help each other to come to terms with their past. They are both scratchy characters, secretive, who do not invite gestures of friendship. Despite this, I liked both of them. Like all Morrall’s books, this is a gentle build, gradually unveiling the hidden goodness of people who on the outside seem unattractive and possibly irredeemable. Pete Straker lives in a lighthouse which threatens to collapse, a symbol of his life since he caused the death of 78 people 24 years earlier. He talks to no-one, the only sign of his caring nature is his nurturing of his two cats. Imogen Doody, a school caretaker whose husband walked out one day and never returned, inherits a wild, uninhabited cottage, covered with dense undergrowth, a symbol of her life. These two outsiders meet and, despite Straker’s silence and Doody’s anger, come to understand each other’s turmoil.With numerous references to Biggles, the discovery of a Tiger Moth in a barn, and much DIY, this is a story about how lives can be rebuilt no matter what happened before.
After reading Clare Morrall's Astonishing Splashes of Colour I wanted to see if another book she had written could be as good if not better. When I first started this book I felt a bit lost, but it didn't take long for that to change. I became completely engrossed in the lives of Straker and Doody and the complicated feelings, thoughts and of their minds. We never really know a persons thoughts or thought process. I enjoyed taking the journey through the lives of Straker and Doody. Thank you Clare Morrall for another eye opening, wonderful story of tragedy, triumph and life.
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What a jam-packed book! Though plot-driven, it starts off slow (not a complaint), leisurely, taking its time to spin out the story, gradually revealing its secrets, and I enjoyed the ride. Once I got close to the end, I couldn't put the book down. There are quite a few coincidences within the plot, but nothing that took away from the satisfying story.Also full of well-drawn characters -- a main character did seem way too obtuse and unfeeling at a couple of crucial times, but that's a minor quibble. Full of emotions too, even some humor. My favorite line in the book made me chuckle; though out of context, it would mean nothing, so I won't quote it here.
—Teresa
I got this to read because I'd likes Morrall's first book Astonishing Splashes of Colour a lot. I didn't have a clue what it was about and didn't read the back cover or the flyleaf or the reviews or anything like that. I just started reading and let the story slowly unfold. And it was great that way. So I'm not going to say anything about the story, except that it's got a lighthouse in it which you can infer from the picture on the cover, and lighthouses are always a good thing, aren't they? The story comes together piece by piece and is fabulously told. You don't need a synopsis, just go and start reading it.
—Kirsty Darbyshire
