

Bach uses a wonderful story about a seagull discovering his passion for flight to analyze social constructs that exist everywhere today. I think I may have to go back and read it a few more times before I fully understand it, though. This book is one of the most definite 5 star ratings I’ve ever given. The novel serves as a beautiful commentary on both society and religion, depending on how you want to view Jonathan and what he believes is heaven. There he learns how to master his body and mind and discovers what it means to be free.Īlthough the plot summary of this novel paints it to be very shallow, this book means so much more than an outcast seagull discovering how to fly really fast.

Jonathan is taken in by another flock of seagulls, a colony of outcasts who, like him, live to fly. Upon seeing how different Jonathan is, his flock declares him an Outcast and leave Jonathan alone and without a family. He loves learning how to do tricks and trying to beat his nosedive record of over 100 mph. Rather than focusing on catching fish for dinner and other things that seagulls normally do, Jonathan loves to fly. Jonathan Seagull is well, a seagull, who does not fit in with his flock.

I will definitely be taking more book recommendations from my dad. I am so happy I decided to read Jonathan Livingston Seagull this month instead of feeling guilty by having it stare down at me from my shelves. He literally would not let me leave the store without this book. My dad and I were at the bookstore and he insisted that he would buy it for me. “…You’ve got to understand that a seagull is an unlimited idea of freedom, an image of the Great Full, and your whole body, form wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than your thought itself.”Īs a disclaimer–this book wasn’t originally on my January book list. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
