Flight by Lynn Steger Strong is about three siblings, Henry, Kate, and Martin, dealing with the aftermath of their elderly mother’s recent death. The three siblings and their young families decide to spend the Christmas break together at Henry’s house in upstate New York. This is the siblings' first Christmas without their beloved matriarch. They decide to use the time to bond with each other and to decide on what to do with their late mother’s house.
Over the three day gathering, the siblings find themselves squabbling with each other and past resentments bubble to the surface. Each of the siblings want a different outcome for their mother’s house. Kate wants to keep the house, Tess (Martin’s wife) wants to sell the house and split the profits, and Henry wants to donate the land for conservation purposes. They try to perform the same traditions they used to when their mother was alive but the dilemma of the house is hanging above them like a dark cloud.
As tensions rise and tempers flare between the siblings, a local mother, Quinn, reaches out to the group for help. Quinn is a single mother and she is struggling to provide for her young daughter, Maddie. When Maddie goes missing during a brutally cold night, Quinn is desperate to find someone to help her find her daughter. The siblings will need to put their differences aside and help the young woman find a missing child.
The story is told from multiple points of view and the points of view change often enough that it was hard to keep track of who was narrating. The book also had a lot of characters and it was hard trying to remember the family structure, as some of the siblings had multiple kids.
It was interesting seeing how each of the siblings was trying to adapt to the new family dynamics while trying to keep the memories of their mother and her traditions alive. I enjoyed reading how the characters were struggling to find their own identity especially since they were so close to their mother and so different from each other. During the novel, we saw the siblings’ struggle to connect with each other and move forward after their loss.
The book was mostly narrated by the women including Henry and Martin’s wives. I thought it was interesting how the wives had complicated feelings over their deceased mother in law. However, I felt like the book felt one sided or incomplete as we never got to see the point of views from the male characters. Also, I felt the book was sparse on character development.
I felt the subplot of Maddie being missing and her relationship with her mother detracted from the main story line. I feel like the book should have focused on the siblings healing and resolving some of their conflicts. The book ended with some conflicts being left to interpretation and I felt like I would have enjoyed the book more if the ending was spelled out and the characters were developed more. If you like character driven family stories that slowly unfold, then you might enjoy this book.
