Natural Flights of the Human Mind

by Clare Morrall

Book by CLARE MORRALL

Genres: Fiction, Drama, Literary Fiction, Novels, Audiobook, Contemporary

390 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Man Booker Prize shortlisted Clare Morrall shot to fame in a true to life rags-to-riches story when her novel ‘Astonishing Splashes of Colour’ and her tiny, unknown publisher became front page news after the shortlisting. Later novels have featured on TV Book Club, Front Row and Woman’s Hour on Radio Four and Radio Three, along with the sale of film and foreign rights. She has been awarded an honorary Doctorate for Literature by Birmingham University and is a regular judge for the Rubery Book Award.

Based in Birmingham where she continues to teach music, she originally grew up in Devon. Her adult daughters are also novelists. Alex Morrall’s ‘Helen and the Grandbees’ is due for publication in 2020. Heather Morrall writes teenage novels. Clare spends her spare time gardening and on cryptic crosswords and sudoku.

*Portrait painted by award-winning artist Robert Neil, PPRBSA

Reviews

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four and a half stars
To begin with I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced I would read this book, but then things start to click and the story drew me in. The two main characters are Peter Straker and Imogen Doody. Peter lives in an out of operation lighthouse that is getting close to falling down. His dreams are troubled by the 78 people he believes he killed 24 years earlier. He refuses to talk to people in the village and they regard him with the utmost suspicion. That starts to change when Imogen Doody inherits a rundown cottage in the village. Imogen, a caretaker for the local school, struggles with her own painful history and family issues. How these two come to meet and a relationship of sorts develops, makes for some interesting and, at times, amusing moments. The reader cannot help but come to care about this pair of misfits, who has difficulty connecting with others.
This novel is about consequences of actions, guilt and the problems it can cause and relationships. I enjoyed it a great deal till towards the end when for me some aspects of it didn’t quite work. Or maybe I was expecting a different ending? But don’t let that put you of reading this book. It is a great exploration of character and attitudes of people who have suffered violent and unexpected loss of family and an enjoyable read. I am interested to read another novel by this author.

[Kirsty Darbyshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if you were responsible for taking away the lives of 78 people? And what about the lives of the people they left behind?

These are just some questions tackled in the book. It's a story about redemption, forgiveness, and the unlikely people you meet that help you bring back together the pieces of your life.

This book was a pleasant surprise for me, considering I only bought this book because it was really really cheap, and I bought it so I wouldn't be embarrassed at not buying a book in a bookstore, and also I was desperate at the time to find a fresh book to just read.

And the book was like a breath of fresh air for me. The subject matter is not the kind I actually look out for. I mean, redemption? Forgiveness? Hardly a popular topic, at least to me. But Morrall wrote it so it was kind of a mystery as to how Peter Straker could feel responsible for the lives of 78 people, and how they all died, and even Imogen Doody's mysterious past and what happened to her husband.

I guess it tackles more on the not knowing. Not knowing how your irresponsible act affected the lives of the people. Not knowing that today is going to be your last day. Not knowing whether or not the person you loved is dead or just missing. Not knowing how your life is entangled with your unexpected friend's life.

It was handled very well. Imogen and Peter's friendship was an unlikely one, but sometimes it is the most unlikely people that change your life. It's the beauty of forming friendships.

I look forward to another Clare Morall novel.

[Bookmaniac70 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this writer a lot. Her writing is crisp and compassionate, her stories- unusual and engaging. "Natural Flights" didn`t disappoint either. Morrall brings together two strong and vivid characters and makes us observe with interest their strange way of communicating and interacting. Her narration flows with ease. She manages to sustain a hidden psychological dynamics which makes the novel a page-turner. The very ending seemed a bit weak, events somehow were rushed to a conclusion
but nevertheless it was a pleasure to read.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

During lockdown, I have not read as much as I usually do. This is because of the absence of a dedicated time of day (namely, my 2-3hr train commute) in which I would generally read 100+ pages a day. I've not found a part of my 'working from home' routine in which to read.

I hence picked this up hoping that - like 'Astonishing Splashes of Colour' and 'The Man Who Disappeared' - I would enjoy something by an author I'd previously liked, would get drawn in to it, and would rediscover momentum. Alas I wasn't too right with this assumption, and it's taken a week or more to get through.

The novel concerns a middle-aged man who lives in a remote lighthouse on the Devon coast, dealing with the ghosts of a tragedy two and a half decades previously. He finds friendship with an abrasive and angry woman who inherits a cottage nearby. There is more to the novel than that outline would suggest, certainly some interesting comments on class and regret, some observations about how much you know people and their thoughts and deeds, stuff which rang very true and were more than a little thought-provoking. Alas too there were a handful of important plot points which really struck me as jarring and which didn't rung true. This and the fact I didn't particularly like either of the two main protagonists (hence was also less invested in the other characters and how they related to the story) meant it was a bit of a slog at times. However, it was ultimately readable for all that it wasn't one of Morrall's best, imho.

[Alistair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Straker lives in self-imposed exile in a lighthouse on the Devon coast. Living with him are his two cats Suleiman and Magnificent and 78 voices. The 78 voices exist in Peter's head and clamour to tell their stories and news. They are the voices (aren't they?) of the people he believes himself responsible for killing in a poorly-remembered train versus plane crash of which he was the pilot. Peter spends his days with the voices and a series of obsessive compulsive strategies he emplys to reinforce or avoid the number 78. Imogen Moody is a physically unattractive, moddy school caretaker. A huge Biggles fan and closet writer, she reconstructs her world and strained relationships in stories of high bi-plane action over the seas. Inheriting a ramshackle house (including a barn containing a derelict bi-plane) from her missing godfather, she undertakes a routine of fixes, including getting local weirdo Peter to answer her nosy questions. Married many years ago her husband disappeared one day leaving her surrounded by things unsaid and questions unasked. Over bursts of renovation and conversation someting develops beyond each individual's loneliness and exile, an ease that borders on affection and is certainly based on support. Both damaged and both hearing voices, an almost uneasy alliance forms between Peter and Imogen that trancends questions of sex and romance to lead instead to the possibility of redemption for both. Really marvellous characterisation, subtle and nuanced, makes this novel wonderful reading

[Surreysmum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I may have found a new lady novelist to add to my shelves. This book is delightful to read, full of hope without sentimentality, and deft (not daft) in its wielding of symbolic landscape and symbolic objects. The protagonists are two lonely people; Peter Straker, who lives in a lighthouse, and Imogen Doody, a school caretaker who inherits a cottage nearby. Straker has a horrible incident in his past, which is revealed to us in just the right doses; Doody (as she calls herself) also has trauma and guilt, though not on the same scale. The cottage is eventually built to full usefulness by the pair of them together; the lighthouse, which is a place of shameful exile, eventually falls into the sea. An ancient biplane, which carries worlds of entirely different meanings for each of them, takes flight at the climax of the story. And more I will not say, because you have to get to know these characters - and the many, many others who surround them - in order for it to make the strong emotional sense that it does.

There are no monsters in this book, just painfully imperfect human beings, some of them rather funnier in their imperfection than others. I did find myself smiling quite often.

Morrall has been nominated for the Booker Prize (though not for this particular novel, I think). In this reader's opinion, it's perfectly clear why.

[Grace Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoyed reading this compelling story of a man who lives alone in a lighthouse, on the edges of society, unable to forgive himself for an accident he may or may not have caused. The story is so skilfully related, with each character's history being revealed in glimpses to the reader. The writing is so perceptive - a man who finds himself invisible in a world that doesn't listen surrounded by the too quick judgement of others that he somehow isn't important enough to matter. Of course, to the 78 killed in the accident (and their relatives) he has had a profound effect on their lives. This is a beautiful book about guilt and atonement and the huge diversity in human nature - I loved it. Read in pretty much one sitting, I couldn't put it down.

[Tanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usually I know since the beginning if I like or dislike the plot in a particular book. In this case, it was different. Very slow beginning, which even made me think to stop reading, but then I came to the page 100 and the plot turned to be amazing. Very well written story in which the concept of guilt not only makes you think, but also puts you into the position what would you do if...

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started of quite slow, but after 1/3 of the book I couldn't stop reading. Nice ending, gives room for own imagination. Loved the characters and the story.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. I found the characters somewhat confusing and the chop and change style of the story was sometimes hard to keep up with.

[Anneke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and will probably read it again soon. I can never read a book without many interruptions and lose track sometimes and the second time around is better. Truly an unusual story and I will check out her other books.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second time of reading this. Just as good. She has such variety of plots.

[Karschtl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Auf den ersten Blick (auf's Cover) wirkt es wie eine leichte Frauenlektüre. Nach dem Lesen der Zusammenfassung am Buchrücken merkt man dann doch, dass es eher ein Drama ist. Auch kein Problem. Allerdings war mir der Stoff nach den ersten 70 Seiten immer noch viel zu trocken, und schließlich habe ich es zur Seite gelegt. Die Autorin hat sich zu viel Zeit gelassen, das Buch wirklich spannend zu gestalten. Ich denke, wenn ich weiter durchgehalten hätte, wäre es vielleicht noch unterhaltsamer geworden. Aber ich las das Buch im Urlaub, und wo ich da schon einmal Zeit habe wirklich viel zu Lesen, wollte ich dies nicht mit uninteressanten Büchern vergeuden. Manchmal muss ich einfach sehr kritisch sein in der Auswahl meines Lesestoffs, sonst würde ich gar keine Zeit mehr haben all die wirklich guten Bücher auch zu lesen.

[Marilyn Saul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is about a self-imposed-guilt-ridden man who hides himself away in a lighthouse for 25 years and attempts to connect with the families of 78 people he killed in his reckless youth. A typical silver-spoon kid, wealthy parents (off whom he continues to live in his lighthouse), he is so racked with guilt that it became tedious (and as an ex-Catholic, I know about guilt). But just when you can't stand it anymore, the author starts unweaving the circumstances that led to his downfall, and one is swept up in the story again.

[Sue Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I found it on our book shelf and after much discussion as to who had bought it, from my daughter, my husband and myself, i read it. I was not disappointed did not know what to expect. It follows the ives of tow characters that become entwined in various ways and the history to how they have ended up in the environmant and situations they are in. There are some moving scenes especially near the end of the story. I found it made me think about how people are treated because of their actions, when they are suffering so much over what events happened themselves

[Anna Tatelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this author. Love her elegant and beautiful prose, love her memorable characters, love the way she can turn a book with not much actual plot into something rich and engaging.

I do feel that some of the 'reflective' internal monologues got a little repetitive, but I'm not going to mark her down for this. One, it certainly captured the character's inability to get out of his rut, and two, it's still a stellar read.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the second book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. This was the story of a man, haunted by an accident he was involved in 24 years earlier that he's not convinced is an accident. It's also the story of a woman whose husband disappeared shortly after they were married and the scars that have not healed.
A good book with a good story and very involving.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing character study of two deeply flawed and prickly people who are lucky enough to find someone equally extreme, but in a complementary way. Also a thoughtful meditation on the many reactions to tragedy, and the limits of "blame" in the face of great loss.

I picked this up blind from the library, based on the back cover blurb, and was delighted.

[Bobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in The Works sale and bought it for about 20 pence; it was very unjust that it found itself in this unfortunate predicament. The book was very unusual and the characters were compelling, despite their being misfits in society. The author explored their feelings and thoughts with great sensitivity and insight, making this a very memorable read.

[pippa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because I had nothing to read, but it ended up being a really good book.

I like the fact that it's a friendship between people who seem completely opposite from each other. Both people seem to be struggling with their own problems but when they meet a friendship blossoms.

this is a book which struggles with a persons problems and how one strives for forgiveness.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an engaging story about two broken people who are brought together and are healed by their interactions. Something to think about when considering the people in your life. If you have a tendency to skip to the back of the book, listen on audio instead. Definitely worth the suspense.

[Dorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this while driving, and was completely enthralled. She takes these unsympathetic characters who are loners and unhappy people, and makes them understandable and human. A unique story line, part mystery.

[Shelagh Symonds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book but I did find myself thinking it was not real.These two people so wrong for each other to somehow forge a bond despite their obvious own personal hang ups.
Good yarn though and I loved the that the story involved the old aircraft aspect.

[Bernadet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nl vertaling: Natuurlijke vlucht van de menselijke geest
Een boek dat ze in de bib niet meer wilden. Gekocht voor een prikje (1 euro) en genoten van alle 400 pagina's. Wat een verhaal! Ik ga het boek nu een tijdje laten rusten... en dan lees ik het gewoon nóg eens!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting tale of dealing with repercussions of life and seemingly random meetings.

[Susiebow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous, well written, slips in little surprises, explanations gradually, cleverly.