Clare Morrall

Great book. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I thought the ending wasn't quite right - a little too dramatic and "traditional" in a book which in many ways stands out as different. That said, this definitely rates as one of my best reads so far this year. As bizarre as this family is, I can imagine these events actually occurring, and I am interested in the way the main character gradually shifts from being somewhat strange to downright 'abnormal', raising the question of show more what really is 'normal'. I tend to subscribe to the view that 'madness' is largely a normal response to a mad situation, and in many ways that seems to be the thesis of this book. I also liked the way Morrall wove the 'splashes of colour' theme through the book. It's an interesting take on the world, to see things in terms of colours of not just objects but moods etc. I think I'll try to get hold of one of Morrall's subsequent works to see if she's a one-hit-wonder in terms of the sorts of books that I like. show less

An agreeable, often very funny novel about music and the difficulty of making sense of the rest of humanity when you are somewhere on the autism spectrum. I felt it was slightly spoilt by the way all the female characters (except the main viewpoint character, her mother and her mother-in-law) were competent, resourceful, tactful domestic angels and almost all the male characters were infantile monsters who seemed to exist only to sleep, have tantrums and be fed. Obviously not an unrealistic show more view of the world, but a somewhat monochrome one... show less

Natural Flights of the Human Mind introduces two damaged, mysterious characters in a seaside village on the English coast. The first is Peter Straker, a misfit who lives in an abandoned lighthouse that each day grows closer to falling into the turbulent sea. Despite having no job, Straker lives a regimented life governed by numbers and routine. Creeping in around the edges of his carefully managed, solitary life are the voices of the 78. The 78 are the victims of a mysterious accident show more Straker believes himself to have caused.

Imogen Doody is a school caretaker determined to live life on her own terms after a young marriage that ended in disaster. Fortified by a powerful anger that gives her the control over her surroundings that she desperately craves, she's willingly walled off from any human companionships, fending of all advances from her family and would-be friends with her prickly attitude. Fatefully, she comes into some abandoned property from her long lost godfather. As she struggles to restore the abandoned cottage, Doody crosses paths with the mysterious Straker, and the two make a connection that sets in motion a series of extraordinary events that neither could have anticipated that sets them both on the path to destruction...or redemption.

This books is definitely a slow burn, carefully drawing out the often unlikeable but all-too-sympathetic main characters, peeling off the layers of their stories little by little, revealing their damaging histories, unpacking the troubled pasts that led them to their solitary, broken lives. The seaside village where the two collide, despite its beauty, is rendered starkly, a place of exile for Straker who hopes the whipping coastal winds will one day be powerful enough to sweep him and his lighthouse away.

If you're the sort of person who's ever wondered what the life of somebody foolishly or even unwittingly responsible for tragedy would be like, Natural Flights of the Human mind is a compelling glimpse into that psyche. I never expected this one to be a page turner, but I found myself rushing toward the finish desperate to see if the troubled characters Morall had brought me to care for would find redemption. Flights is a haunting and beautiful story of perils of inadequacy and guilt and the power of love and forgiveness. show less

Astonishingly good evocation of adult children navigating childhood trauma - doing their best to adhere to a standard of "normal" for which they have no context. In particular, Morrall illuminates how completely insane behavior appears logical to the person engaging in it - beautifully done.