Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull: A Story Review

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rappinhood's Review of Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull: A Story

19th Sep 2005

Overall Rating

Value for money

Good Points

Magical, inspirational and uplifting.

Bad Points

None.

General Comments

Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull is one of my favourite books. It's available from Amazon at £4.79 new, and £2.29 used.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a seagull who wants to do more than squawk and grub around on the beach. He wants to soar above the clouds in a quest for perfection and excellence. He spends his days learning about speed and flight, ignoring occasional hunger pangs and stiff opposition from the traditionalists in the flock. But eventually these powerful traditionalists make him an Outcast, and he is forced to leave the flock and live on the Far Cliffs. He continues to practice, and at what appears to be the end of his life he is whisked off (into what may be heaven) by two radiant gulls.

In part two, Jonathan finds himself with others of a like mind, and discovers that there's still more to learn. His mentor Sullivan and the leader of the flock, Chiang, help him go further in his quest to find perfect speed and exceed his limits. He discovers that he can communicate telepathically, and learns to appear and disappear at will.

Once he's mastered these tricks, Jonathan wants to go back to his old flock to teach what he has learned. He meets Fletcher Lynd Seagull who is Outcast, as Jonathan once was, and begins the process of teaching him. Eventually they return to shake up the ideas of the larger Flock (sort of like coming back from the dead, with all the attendant shock). Finally, Jonathan passes the baton to Fletcher, and moves on to the next stage (we don't know where).

This is not a long read. In fact, only 40 of the 93 pages contain the story; the rest are pictures of seagulls in flight. In my 1973 edition, the pictures are quite grainy, but later editions (I had a glance at a 1990 one) reflect the improvements in image manipulation technology, and the photos are much sharper.

While the language is simple (this book can be read by anybody), the concept behind it is anything but. On the one hand it's an adventure story about freedom and flight, but there's also a deeper undercurrent to do with the way people live their lives. It is a story about searching for excellence, finding it within yourself, and helping others to do the same. The book definitely has spiritual overtones, as each stage of Jonathan's life could be seen as bringing him nearer to heaven, a process seen particularly in some Eastern religions.

It's hard to convey the magic of this short but inspirational tale. Most of the time, you forget it's a book about seagulls, and you get caught up in the personalities and characters. At the same time, it's 'seagull-ness' is part of its enchantment, because for a brief moment you can understand what it's like to fly.

I recommend this book highly. Try it! You might discover some of the magic I still find every time I read it. There aren't many other ways to feel this good without artificial help, so it's not surprising that it sold one million copies in its first edition.