What do you think?
Rate this book
Flight Instinct
A debut flash fiction collection of journeys and exquisitely-crafted miniature worlds. FLIGHT INSTINCT is a collection of short stories that explores characters who are feeling trapped in the circumstances of life. They struggle to express their true identities and desires, and ultimately find small ways to reckon with big choices. They yearn for what could be instead of what is, and by claiming tiny victories of independence, come to terms with who they want to become. "In Flight Instinct Sara Dobbie has created a collection of exquisitely-crafted, miniature worlds. As the title suggests, the characters are in perpetual motion--whether they're escaping, finding a way home, travelling through space and time, or standing on a precipice, about to fall over the edge. With wit, empathy and warmth, Dobbie finds the quiet parts of the human soul and holds them up to the light. The infinite possibilities of youth, the terrible phantoms of death, and everything in between."--Rick White, author of Talking to Ghosts at Parties " Flight Instinct is an assortment of sixteen stories that capture the careless curiosity of childhood, the alluring enigma of youth, and the mellow understanding that comes with adulthood. The stories set in touristy locations of Niagara Falls and Notre Dame, and in marriage receptions or anniversary bashes, highlight the universal condition of being alone when surrounded by people, the realization that occurs when the mind seeks solitude in a crowd. Caught in the nuances of relationships, Dobbie's characters are strong and relatable, their transformations subtle yet inevitable. Her voice doesn't scream and startle but hums a discernment of the present, nudges towards a freer future."--Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar, author of Morsels of Purple and Skin over Milk "Though grounded in detail and relatability--as if to say, you, too, must know how it feels to lose a son, a childhood flame, a brother, one's inner glow--Sara's collection Flight Instinct captures both celestial and worldly mysteries. The beauty behind the stars, the majestic moon, and lull of the tide are seamlessly laced into each unique and beautifully rendered tale. Woven into the wonder of the natural world, many of the pieces center around anniversaries, weddings, and memorials, and those events serve as the perfect backdrop to each intimate tale. As if each piece is an invitation to a momentous event, and then, with Sara's expert hand at writing glorious prose, we are given a glimpse behind the scene. And these exquisite glimpses will settle in and stay with you for a long, long while."--Susan Triemert, author of Guess What's Different Fiction.
- GenresShort Stories
120 pages, Paperback
Published November 30, 2022
5 people want to read
About the author
Sara Dobbie
6 books26 followersSara Dobbie is a Canadian writer from Southern Ontario. Her stories have appeared in Fictive Dream, JMWW, Sage Cigarettes, New World Writing, Bending Genres, Ghost Parachute, Ruminate Online, Trampset, Ellipsis Zine, and elsewhere. Her work has been nominated for Best Small Fictions, The Pushcart Prize, and she is on the Wigleaf Top 50 longlist for 2021 and 2022. Her chapbook "Static Disruption" is available from Alien Buddha Press. Her collection "Flight Instinct" is available from ELJ Editions. Follow her on Twitter @sbdobbie, and on Instagram at @sbdobwrites.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 21, 2023
What I love about Sara Dobbie’s Flight Instinct is that each one of the sixteen stories is either a startling moment in time or conveys a world distinct and individual. Each character is grappling with something and many, of course, want to escape. But they are also quite different from each other and the achievement of this in relatively short stories is amazing. And because they are all quite different, I found that I had favourites that transcended the artistry of each story.
In The Hunters the two main characters are unnamed but the language and the images it creates stays with you:
“Someday far in the future she’ll conjure him as a constellation. Orion, the hunter, chasing a reprieve from a spiritual hunger. She’ll imagine that the star map she drew on his skin rose up to reside in the night sky, where she can observe it on clear evenings. She’ll hunt there too, like Artemis, for a mythical cup to drink from that will sate her unquenchable thirst.” The last line of this story is one I wish that I had written.
I really love the Joy Ride the unnamed narrator and her friend Cassidy embark on in the story of the same name. I felt I was in the car with them. And then another wonderful line: “Where does that inherent joy we’re born with disappear to, and how on earth do we ever get it back?”
The story Naming Phoenix I had read before but this time it really sunk in and it is my favourite of the collection - very powerful and moving. “The faded morning moon draws her like the tide, but she resists. Blurred faces in the scattered windows of beach houses peer out at her, one here, one there. She knows they wonder about her, but she pays them no heed.”
In As She Moves Across the Water Dobbie deftly explores how a simple object can throw a whole relationship into disarray. Ritz and Sadie are the envy of their friends. They seem to have everything but when Sadie discovers an old mix tape of songs before she met Ritz “she thinks she may be losing it.” I really enjoyed the setting of the lake and how the setting impacts on what happens in the story.
Ditto the beach house and holiday rentals in Seagulls and Other Strange Birds where Evie discovers that her life has changed: “The days she spent here with her mother and aunt every summer were usually filled with trips into town, afternoons lounging in the sun and evening barbecues with whoever was renting the neighboring houses. This August had passed in the same manner, but something was unaccountably different.”
And last but not least of my favourites, the last story in Flight Instinct, The Hedge of a Hundred Sparrows. The imagery in this story is particularly strong and pulls us into Paisley’s world and her life with her dreadful uncle Allan. “As she approaches, the songlike twittering elevates to shrill chirping, and Paisley imagines the hundred tiny beaks opening and closing as fast as the hundred tiny hearts must be thumping. As she reaches the midpoint the cacophony rises en masse, wings beating as they spread out in the sky like a living firework.” A wonderful collection and highly recommended.
In The Hunters the two main characters are unnamed but the language and the images it creates stays with you:
“Someday far in the future she’ll conjure him as a constellation. Orion, the hunter, chasing a reprieve from a spiritual hunger. She’ll imagine that the star map she drew on his skin rose up to reside in the night sky, where she can observe it on clear evenings. She’ll hunt there too, like Artemis, for a mythical cup to drink from that will sate her unquenchable thirst.” The last line of this story is one I wish that I had written.
I really love the Joy Ride the unnamed narrator and her friend Cassidy embark on in the story of the same name. I felt I was in the car with them. And then another wonderful line: “Where does that inherent joy we’re born with disappear to, and how on earth do we ever get it back?”
The story Naming Phoenix I had read before but this time it really sunk in and it is my favourite of the collection - very powerful and moving. “The faded morning moon draws her like the tide, but she resists. Blurred faces in the scattered windows of beach houses peer out at her, one here, one there. She knows they wonder about her, but she pays them no heed.”
In As She Moves Across the Water Dobbie deftly explores how a simple object can throw a whole relationship into disarray. Ritz and Sadie are the envy of their friends. They seem to have everything but when Sadie discovers an old mix tape of songs before she met Ritz “she thinks she may be losing it.” I really enjoyed the setting of the lake and how the setting impacts on what happens in the story.
Ditto the beach house and holiday rentals in Seagulls and Other Strange Birds where Evie discovers that her life has changed: “The days she spent here with her mother and aunt every summer were usually filled with trips into town, afternoons lounging in the sun and evening barbecues with whoever was renting the neighboring houses. This August had passed in the same manner, but something was unaccountably different.”
And last but not least of my favourites, the last story in Flight Instinct, The Hedge of a Hundred Sparrows. The imagery in this story is particularly strong and pulls us into Paisley’s world and her life with her dreadful uncle Allan. “As she approaches, the songlike twittering elevates to shrill chirping, and Paisley imagines the hundred tiny beaks opening and closing as fast as the hundred tiny hearts must be thumping. As she reaches the midpoint the cacophony rises en masse, wings beating as they spread out in the sky like a living firework.” A wonderful collection and highly recommended.
December 6, 2022
Sara Dobbie does it again in this exquisite collection of short stories. Aptly titled Flight Instinct this a collection about finding oneself. Of discovering how to sing in the cage and dream of freedom ala Maya Angelou, or (more often) how to flee and create their own versions of happily-ever-after.
The stories are poignant, nostalgic, and beautiful.
"The Things that Eat Away at Her" - I mean, come on. With lines like, "She knew he stopped believing in her when his words started slipping out like shadows from some hollow place inside him" how could I not love this one?
"The Weight of a Locomotive" "“I saw a whole person behind the watching man’s eyes, the person he should’ve been, and I understood then that the cost of trying to heal someone else’s sorrow is far too high. That we all have our own burdens to carry, and the weight of someone else’s will crush us.”
"Private Remains" You feel the angst of the main character, her loss, and her stronghold on a private piece of herself.
"Let if Fall" I've read this one (and a few of the others) before, and loved it just as much as the first time.
"As She Moves Across the Water" Just beautiful
"Seagulls and Other Strange Birds" The ache and longing for a life that could be is so visceral here.
Overall, there isn't a dud in the group, these were just a few of my favorites. Sara has a gift for creating these rich worlds and depth-filled characters in such a short form that just blows my mind.
The stories are poignant, nostalgic, and beautiful.
"The Things that Eat Away at Her" - I mean, come on. With lines like, "She knew he stopped believing in her when his words started slipping out like shadows from some hollow place inside him" how could I not love this one?
"The Weight of a Locomotive" "“I saw a whole person behind the watching man’s eyes, the person he should’ve been, and I understood then that the cost of trying to heal someone else’s sorrow is far too high. That we all have our own burdens to carry, and the weight of someone else’s will crush us.”
"Private Remains" You feel the angst of the main character, her loss, and her stronghold on a private piece of herself.
"Let if Fall" I've read this one (and a few of the others) before, and loved it just as much as the first time.
"As She Moves Across the Water" Just beautiful
"Seagulls and Other Strange Birds" The ache and longing for a life that could be is so visceral here.
Overall, there isn't a dud in the group, these were just a few of my favorites. Sara has a gift for creating these rich worlds and depth-filled characters in such a short form that just blows my mind.
December 2, 2022
I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of this collection of short fiction before release.
I want to put emphasis on the word "lucky" because it truly was a privilege to read this book.
This is Canadian Literature at it's finest. Through each story, I was able to feel what the characters emotions and thoughts were all about as if Sara Dobbie wrote me into the work itself.
"Lush" is a word I would use to describe this work if I had to use only one word. From one story to the next, the prose was rich in each story, like a full stick of butter.
The strongest aspect of this collection was the description. Dobbie was able to paint a vivid picture with great sentences and word selection.
A high point, personally, was the story "Reasons for Building a Nest" which opens the collection with such a strong introduction, as if a strong opener for an album.
I am a fan of Sara Dobbie's work, and she doesn't fail to set a bar with each published work.
She is a reason why Canadian Literature is on par with the rest of the world.
I want to put emphasis on the word "lucky" because it truly was a privilege to read this book.
This is Canadian Literature at it's finest. Through each story, I was able to feel what the characters emotions and thoughts were all about as if Sara Dobbie wrote me into the work itself.
"Lush" is a word I would use to describe this work if I had to use only one word. From one story to the next, the prose was rich in each story, like a full stick of butter.
The strongest aspect of this collection was the description. Dobbie was able to paint a vivid picture with great sentences and word selection.
A high point, personally, was the story "Reasons for Building a Nest" which opens the collection with such a strong introduction, as if a strong opener for an album.
I am a fan of Sara Dobbie's work, and she doesn't fail to set a bar with each published work.
She is a reason why Canadian Literature is on par with the rest of the world.
December 8, 2022
Reading Sara Dobbie’s Flight Instinct feels like watching a knitter thread a magical piece of cloth, full of layers and colors—dazzling. Each story, perhaps a patch of a quilt, and as we go from one world to the next—at the end, we have this universe before us all threaded together, woven in and out, meaningfully and wonderfully. Sara’s previous short story collection, Static Disruption, along with Flight Instinct—two very powerful books—certainly puts her up there as one of my favorite storytellers.
February 4, 2023
In Flight Instinct, Sara Dobbie gifts us sixteen stories that show worlds filled with emotion, longing, and escape. Her protagonists find themselves as we look in at their most tender moments, either of joy or sorrow (sometimes simultaneously). Sara Dobbie deftly writes her prose that makes us feel everything happening and get swept away into each story. Each story is a bird we hold in our hand for a moment, just before it takes flight. We feel its heart beat rapidly, its fear as much as its excitement before it takes off. In reading this book, we are both the bird as much as we are holding it. These stories will stay with you long after you put the book down. Some of my favorites were: "As She Moves Across the Water", "Naming Phoenix", and the very relatable "Joy Ride".
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews