In Hovering Flight

Joyce Hinnefeld's novel was a first for me, a novel about birdwatchers. Now don't flit off, it also focuses on art, family, friendship, and eco-consciousness. So it will appeal to fellow greenies. The crux of the novel are the relationships between Addie Kavanagh and her husband and former professor, Tom, and their daughter, Scarlet, named after scarlet tanager, of course. (Read the book to find out what she would have been called if she had been a boy.) Addie paints birds. Tom is a professor and writes field guides. Scarlet sits in bird blinds with her mother for hours and learns about the natural world. But it's the late 20th century, so evil developers descend upon this rural haven along the Delaware River in Bucks County, Pa. They rip out trees and make slashes in the earth, build McMansions. Addie takes up political action. A subplot involves her two best friends from college, one whose son suffers from a disease that Addie blames on chemical pollution. Addie herself gets cancer and then makes a very strange last request. Scarlet and Tom must decide whether to follow her instructions or not. An interesting mix of nature, politics, relationships, and art.