A beautiful book (Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach)

Member Name: poet831

Product:	Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach
Date:	05/05/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A book which inspires you and provokes you to look at yourself, yet is (in itself) an endearing stor

Disadvantages: None

Once in a while, someone passes on a book for you to read - and it ends up as one of your all-time favourites. So it is with Jonathon Livingston Seagull. From the very first page, I was hooked on the story of Jonathon, the seagull who wants to be more than just one of the flock, who has dreams of other things.
This is one of those books which is full of metaphors; you can put the experiences that Jonathon has into context with all the obstacles and progressions in your own life. It is uplifting in its simplicity, just a small book of approximately 90 pages and yet has proved to be so inspirational to many.

Where the other birds were content just to eat, breed and fly, Jonathon is diferent from the other gulls, he wants to get more out of life. He constantly takes risks, pushing himself to limits, just to prove that he could. He enjoys doing this, and does them for fun, a concept unhearsd of by the other birds. His first attempts to improve his flying skills only earns him the scorn of the flock, and he becomes an outcast. That doesn't bother him enough to make him change - he sets himself new goals, and aspires to reach them. His pleasure is in the constant achievement of these goals, doing what no gull has ever done before so-to-speak. He is never satisfied, constantly finding something else to push himself into doing. This sets him apart from the other gulls and he lives quite a solitary existence.
As he reaches old age, one day he is interrupted whilst gliding half asleep through the sky, by two brilliant white gulls flying alongside him. He decides to test their ability to keep up with him (even in his dotage) and is surprised when they do. They tell him that it is time for him to progress to the next part of his journey, to go from this world to the next, but that there his skills will be appreciated and he will be able to pass them on to others who wish to learn.

Jonathon later returns to visit his old flock, still as staid as when he left it, still ruled by the council under the same rules. In showing some of his skills, he becomes the hero of some of the younger gulls, who realise they want to be like Jonathon. Jonathon begins to teach them all he knows, and finally moves on, leaving one of them (who he feels has the same calling as he has) in charge, knowing that they will continue to expand their skills and knowledge.
People will read into this tale all manner of things. I find it encouraging and at other times calming and soothing. this is a book for sharing, for passing on to family and friends, children and teens. It crosses the boundaries of race, colour, creed and age, encouraging us to follow our hearts, be individual, make a difference - in ourselves, in the world we live in. It gives us permission to follow our dreams, and attempt those things which we may not think we can achieve, yet to try them nonetheless.

This is a beautiful story that transcends all, a wonderful little book that somehow manages to pack more into its small size than some others of epic proportions.

Summary: A beautiful book