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3.0 out of 5 stars
Sadly Disappointing, Jan 28 2004
I thought Bernhard Schlink's novel, THE READER, was one of the best books I'd read in years, so I was really happy when I learned of this volume of short stories.Perhaps the title, FLIGHTS OF LOVE, caused me to expect stories that would be somewhat fanciful; that would be infused with lyricism and poetry (which was exactly what I was looking for at the time). Instead, I found stories that attempted a gritty reality but were, more often than not, quite awkward, both in construction and in language. I certainly can't blame the translation for this because I read these stories in the original German edition, published as LIEBESFLUCHTEN. THE READER was definitely a gritty novel, but it also possessed a grace and dignity I found almost completely lacking in these stories. The two exceptions were the first story, "Girl With Lizard," which, though quite gritty, was also poignant and thoroughly believable and "The Son," which was powerful and subdued. For the most part, Schlink's characters indulge in the most improbable, rash and downright inane actions...all in the name of love. Perhaps these are the "flights" mentioned in the title, although I saw them more as flights of sheer stupidity than of love. Love really doesn't play a very big part in these stories; infatuation and hormonal inbalance does. The book's centerpiece, "Sugar Peas," was woven around a premise so preposterous as to be downright silly. Same with "The Circumcision." That story's main character does something very few grown men in their right mind would do and what's worse, he does it for all the wrong reasons. The closing story, "The Woman at the Gas Station" could have been good if only Schlink had allowed his character to make a different decision. As it is, the main character comes across as a totally selfish, self-indulged and stupid bore, which really isn't a very good way to end a book. I also found the writing in these stories to be a bit awkward and clumsy at times. In "The Circumcision," a young man and woman visit a Hudson river mansion during the wintertime only to find a profusion of roses blooming in the garden. There are also several instances in which one character tells another character something he or she already knows simply for the benefit of the reader. My main thought while reading these stories was: What happened? What happened to the lovely prose and the poignancy of THE READER? I don't know, but I'm not going to let my disappointment with FLIGHTS OF LOVE stop me from reading the next book Schlink publishes. With THE READER, he proved that he can write with the best.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my absolute favorites, Aug 2 2003
Let's face it: Most books are pretty good, but few are great. Well, this is one of the great ones. Normally, I prefer a novel to short story collection, but I have to say that this collection is better than most novels. Schlink seems to ask himself, "To what strange places might love drive a person?" His writing is distinctly un-American: poetic, deeply intimate, concise, and above all unashamed. The overall effect is provacative and thought provoking. Each story is unique and unattached to the next, but still focuses on the premise of people driven throughout their lives by love. Each story shows a different way that love can effect a person: in one story, love brings them together, in another drives them apart, in another it causes infidelity, in another it sends a man looking after the man that the dead wife had an affair with. With his Kundera-esque writing style, I was riveted to Schlink's book. Subjects covered: war, religion, art, travel, infidelity, circumcision, lies, sex, falling out of love, family relationships, Jewish prejudice against a German. In each story, the person seems inexplicably driven to these strange places, driven to make strange choices. The "flights" seem unconcious and inevitable, each resulting conflict the believable outcome of the characters personality. Each story flows naturally, and yet, the conflict and resolution is unexpected. If you like this, you may really like "Searching For Intruders" by Byler or "Kissing in Manhatten" by Schlinker.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
WHAT GOES UP, MUST COME DOWN, Dec 12 2002
Bernhard Schlink's FLIGHTS OF LOVE is a curious, uneven, confounding and sometimes brave assemblage of stories, none of which has anything whatsoever to do with actual "flights" of our most treasured and elusive emotion. DIVES OF LOVE would have been considerably more accurate. But that's not a criticism. Schlink delivers some fine swans and at least one Triple-Lindy. My favorite has to be the opener, GIRL WITH LIZARD. There is a strange redemptive quality here, and, as with all of Schlink's fiction, a definite chill in the air. He is playing to his strength when he maintains a good distance from his characters, revealing slowly all the hidden gross machinery that drives them to do what he has them do. When Schlink fails, he does so just as grandly, God bless his Nordic soul. Best example of that, I think, has to be THE CIRCUMCISION, a miserable, too-long, improbable, atmospheric polemic about cold-blooded posturing, hair-trigger sensibilities, and not much else. When Schlink attempts a much warmer author/character relationship, the results are strained, frozen, and never very good. Stories like GIRL WITH LIZARD, SUGAR PEAS, and THE OTHER MAN really go a long way toward saving FLIGHTS OF LOVE from becoming one of the sloppiest diving teams anyone ever saw.
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