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Read the latest reviews of Flight of the Goose in Shaman's Drum Journal. and Alaska Dispatch

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You can find reviews of Flight of the Goose at New Connexion, Book Loons, Pele Publications, The Compulsive Reader, curled up with a good book, In The Library Reviews, Front Street Reviews, Insurgent 49 and Armchair Interviews

Read a review of Flight of the Goose at Bookslut.com.

Read the raves from top Amazon reviewers!

"Thomas masterfully braids two voices from vastly different cultures in a tale of loss and love. Her sensitivity to traditional knowledge and ways of knowing shines through her language and craft. Flight of the Goose is a wonderful tribute to the Alaskan Arctic."

--Leslie Hsu Oh, Creative Writing Instructor, University of Alaska Anchorage
http://www.lesliehsuoh.com/

"Lesley Thomas has done what would seem to be the impossible -- taken us deep inside the Inupiat world, in the voice and mind of an extraordinary young woman with still more extraordinary powers. I know of no book like this. Smilla's Sense of Snow is a distant second. But two movies come to mind: Fast Runner, and Dersu Uzala. If you love either of these movies, you'll be stunned by the depth and scope of this novel and the unique and unmistakably true voice of its heroine. And if you've never seen them, read Flight of the Goose" first!

--Lesley Hazleton, award-winning journalist and author of Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen, and Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother

-- Brenda Peterson,
author Build Me An Ark and Living By Water: True Stories of Nature and Spirit

"I was completely enchanted by this atmospheric novel about life in the Far North. Set in a small village on the Bering Strait coast in the 1970s, Thomas explores themes of myth, cultural conflict, environmentalism, and spirituality against the spectacular backdrop of the Arctic tundra."

-- Terri Windling,
Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts award winning author of The Wood Wife, and editor of the Snow White, Blood Red Folklore Series

"Through wonderful storytelling, Thomas immediately captures the connection of humans to animals to land. She conveys the distinct truth that our survival depends on one another. Using fresh phrases to create poignant visuals in the mind of the reader, she demonstrates intimate cultural knowledge, drawing readers into this unrecognized world. This book is a must for those who care about what we must do to preserve the world and everything in it."

--Eva Abram,
storyteller, Seattle

"What a powerful story!... I tore through it. I was so moved...so many amazing images and descriptions.This book deserves the marketing and promotion that are too often wasted on inferior titles."

--NationalFederation of Press Women Communications Contest Judge

"Lesley Thomas's novel Flight of the Goose puts a human face on the much debated issue of oil drilling in Alaska's wilderness. This complex, thought provoking and moving story of the people that live in the far north is a must read for anyone that wants to know more about Alaska than is in the headlines.It should be required reading for Congress."

--Heather Lende,
Anchorage Daily News columnist and author of If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-town Alaska

"A remarkable achievement. Flight of the Goose is a novel about loss and loneliness, alienation and fear, acceptance and forgiveness, the natural and supernatural. Its memorable characters, believable setting, and complex treatment of problems that face us all in a world of unavoidable change and contact, will haunt the reader long after the covers have been closed."

--Fred Bigjim,
Inupiaq Elder and author of Plants: A Novel, and Indian and Non- Indian Thinking, Listening and Speaking

"Lesley Thomas has created a dreamlike flow of images and language, impeccably crafted and deeply rooted in an authentic sense of place. I always read first for the music of words, and Flight of the Goose has that, and more. Thomas's first novel brims with promise."

--Nick Jans,
author of The Grizzly Maze and The Last Light Breaking

"Unique and beautiful...An absolutely splendid book. It is a great pleasure for me to "go" to places such as this book describes, and to "live" for a time in those environments. Thomas knows her subject well, and describes it well, and writes very well, and when all this is put together the results are superb."

---Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of Reindeer Moon and The Tribe of Tiger

"Memorable and highly recommended...A compelling story told from two perspectives...A tale of cultural conflict, spiritual awakening, redemption, love, and change. Thomas draws upon her own experiences growing up in the Alaskan Arctic in an Inupiat Eskimo village...when weaving a sophisticated story enriched by an impressive personal background (she once researched the effects of oil spills on arctic salt marshes) to infuse realism and accurate detail into this work..."

-- Midwest Book Review, Aug 05

"A beautiful and compelling story of Arctic Alaska on the edge of the cultural and environmental upheaval of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline. Thomas cuts through sentimental notions of Native culture and Arctic wilderness with a clear and powerful honesty. An extraordinary weave of the complexities of culture, environment, family, and - finally - love. Particularly remarkable is Kayuqtuq's transformation into angutkoq - these passages shimmer like sunlight on sea ice."

--Marybeth Holleman,
author of The Heart of the Sound: An Alaskan Paradise Found and Nearly Lost.

"This is an amazing story!! Lesley Thomas is a brilliant writer. She weaves together a love story, a story about life in an Alaskan village, shamanism, spiritual awakening, and deep ecology.

I am recommending this book to everyone I know and stocking up on copies for gifts for my friends."

--Sandra Ingerman,
author of Soul Retrieval and Medicine for the Earth

"Unforgettable...Rings as true as bell metal. Gretchen is one of the strongest, most authentic characters I have had the pleasure of encountering in a long time. Thomas tackles some very big stuff gender, science, institutionalized religion, the spirit world, ecology, colonialism, and more all into a fruitful relationship with each other. She has my admiration."

-- Eugene Garber,
Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus of English at UAlbany and author of Beasts in Their Wisdom

"An amazing talent! One of the best books I've read - in a league with Barbara Kingsolver, who is probably my favorite author. Beautifully written...a compelling story. It is a rendition of Alaska that I can completely relate to, because it is so full of complexity and ambiguity. I was just really swept away by this book, and will recommend it to a lot of people."

-- Dr. Patty A. Gray,
Dept. of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks

"A truly glorious manifesto...When the stories of the ancestors begin, we sit quiet, forego comfort for as long as we must, to learn something powerful, and yet, love every moment of it. This is one of those stories.To be an ambassador between these two worlds is a daunting, even hellish task. There are so many ways to screw up, offend, misinterpret, misrepresent, and confuse...even more significant when a non-Native tries to assume this role. However, Thomas seems to be the perfect ambassador. But then, in many ways, she is Native. She was adopted by a Native family,...and she must have been lucky enough to have a desire to pay attention and see below the surface of what she was taught...to have an amazing understanding of what it meant, what it means and what it may mean."

---Jack Dalton,
Alaska Native storyteller, writer and teacher, Yup'ik/German

"This is one of the best novels of Alaska that I have read. Situated in the western part of the state far from the glitz of Anchorage, the book is primarily a love story of a man and a woman from different cultures, but it is also a love story of the Earth and of a village that is struggling to accept the changes of the new economy, subsistence pursuits, spirituality, and the environment of the 1970s. This may be about a fictitious village, but with the author's unerring knowledge of anthropology and social and environmental issues, it could fit any rural Alaskan village. The author's skillful weaving of a complicated love affair with the nitty-gritty troubles of a village reminds us throughout of the role of the goose, which makes a most memorable story, one you will want to read again and again. Don't skip a word because many unusual turns of phrases creep up on you, and suddenly you realize this woman can write!"

---Dorothy Jean Ray,
author of A Legacy of Arctic Art and The Eskimos of Bering Strait 1650-1898

"The story took my breath away... I wept my way through it, identifying profoundly with both protagonists...All of the characters are thoroughly believable. The author has a fine grasp of the complexity of human relations and culture in such a village...She also writes beautifully. I was caught up from the first page...A remarkable book altogether."

--- Jean L. Briggs,
Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and author of Never in Anger.

"A compelling narrative that evokes the universal human desires that transcend cultural differences....A rare combination of western and Native viewpoints. The Arctic's scenic vistas are readily available to the casual tourist and through the media. Few westerners, however, are aware of the spiritual and mystical heritage of the region's Native peoples or how the far north can affect outsiders who spend extended periods in its natural habitats. Thomas is fortunate enough to know both..."

--- Dr. George Divoky,
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

"Beautifully written, original and fascinating. Flight of the Goose is remarkable and I pray there will be other novels bearing (Thomas') byline."

-- John de Yonge,
former editorial page editor and columnist, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

"A gem...well crafted novel...The reader is transported into a place and time...very much unlike ours...An impressive knowledge of circumpolar shamanism. As we witness the unfolding of the novice's inner world as a healer on a forbidden path, we realize how deep is the author's understanding of a slowly disappearing way of life."

--- Gizelle Rhyon-Berry, Research Associate, The Foundation for Shamanic Studies, CA

"Thomas creates a vivid arctic landscape and explores the equally real psychic terrain that is connected to it. This powerfully-written love story draws forth the spirt of the north like the sun pulls vapor straight from ice, arousing a new understanding of what it means to be human."

---Kelpie Wilson,
Environmental Editor of Truthout and author of Primal Tears

"Haunting...rich with nuance and ambiguity. The theme of star-crossed lovers is as old as any in the world's storytelling traditions. (Thomas) conjures up a startling new variation in her impressive debut. (She) weaves a strong and complex story (and)conveys authenticity and sympathy. Through it runs an electric current of eroticism. Beyond the strong characters, exotic plot and masterful prose, it challenges our worldview and touches the heart."

---Shana Loshbaugh,
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

"I am so impressed with (Thomas) having tackled such a difficult region to write about. I think that many people have had incredibly intense and emotional experiences there but can't even begin to tell a story about it."

-- Michele Peterson,
former resident of Nome, Alaska

"Thomas' intimate knowledge of the mystical traditions, lifeways and language of the Inupiat Eskimos helps her create a compelling portrait of a vanishing way of life. Thomas' main characters - a traumatized Inupiaq orphan traveling the outlawed path of the shaman and a western scientist who is researching the effects of oil spills on salt marshes as well as evading the Viet Nam draft - function as two distinct voices trying to communicate across the enormous abyss that separates their cultures....the different worldviews that co-exist side-by-side in the Alaskan outback."

--- Bellingham Weekly, Earth Day Issue

"I was entranced...Captures the fluidity of sacred time, the dis-ease of soul loss and the profound desire of Spirit...I, too, experienced a healing in reading this remarkable book."

--- Robert Doud Martin Jr.,
Shamanic Practitioner and Co-Founder of World Tree Foundation, Eagle River, Alaska

"An exquisite first novel...Thomas grew up in an Inuit-white family in Nome, Alaska and uses her intimate knowledge to paint a vivid portrait of the arctic tundra and icy seas around the fictional village Itiak. Instead of cold and bleak, her landscape teems with life, the people full of intelligence, humor and courage. Thomas uses an age-old theme - "star-crossed lovers" - to probe the most burning issues of our day: the rights of women, especially Third World women of color; war vs. peace; magic vs. science; oil company profit greed vs. the traditional - and sustainable - society of the Alaska Native peoples. Given George W. Bush's quest to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the looming threat of global warming, Thomas's book could not be more timely."

--- Tim Wheeler,
Washingon Correspondent, People's Weekly World

"A fascinating and magical new novel."

--- Queen Anne Books,
Seattle

"A singular first novel...a winner."

--- Mike Dillon,
Queen Anne News, Seattle

"A young woman's powerful coming-of-age story in the Arctic...be ready to take a grand journey with Flight of the Goose...My choice as an insightful reading group discussion book."

--- Sue Nevins,
bookseller since 1992

"Serious Alaskan fiction...powerful love story." Has everything we used to think a novel must contain. So real that anyone familiar with rural Alaska will feel he/she knows these young people. Thomas understands the cultural and ecological issues, but also knows the bigger terrain of the human heart."

--- Nancy Danielson,
Western Alaska

"Loved this book.Thomas amazingly renders Inupiaq communication as it used to be with all the nuances of the bantering, the unsaid, the meaningful look...Easy to forget how dangerous that time was in the Inupiaq world when the cultural walls came tumbling down. This book brings it all back."

--- Ken Waltz,
Nome, Alaska

"Romeo and Juliet in the Arctic! What a wonderful novel! A radical, subversive honesty...does not spare anyone from implied praise or blame. I can¹t remember when I¹ve read a book so rich, so complicated but controlled, so moving. No post-modern tricks, no playing for easy responses -- Thomas really has something to say, and says it in clear, strong sentences. Her detailing of the barbed-wire entanglements of culture, race, gender, family, politics in which Gretchen and Leif are caught is unfailingly convincing, and gut-wrenching at times. Thomas works her erudition into the novel seamlessly. If I'd had this novel when I taught classes on the ancient goddess religions, I would have used it as a textbook. There¹s so much in Flight of the Goose a second reading would yield a whole new set of insights."

--- Bill Keep,
professor of English lit, Sedona

"Vibrant and genuine... A breathtaking landscape, poignant love story and unforgettable characters delivered with a keen insight into human nature make Flight of the Goose a marvelously good read."

--- Molly Brown,
Editor of The Twig, Seattle

"Breathtakingly beautiful. Bold perspectives on nature, development, war, shamanism, sexuality and culture clash. If you enjoy an unusual love story, long to be transported to a wild place from the comfort of your chair or ever contemplate soul, myth and redemption, give this book a shot. I consumed it."

--- Nelda Danz,
Seattle

"An intimate adventure... I loved the main character...For the wonderful story and the insight into a culture most of us know little about, I highly recommend it."

--- Mary Kay Seales, university instructor,
Seattle

"Soul-strengthening. It's rip-your-heart-out sad...but in the best tradition of literary tragedy, its beauty transcends all. This story soars...Shimmering in every line is the writer's deep affection for the people and land, and the unforgettable relationship...is another source of life-affirming warmth."

--- Erika Hamerquist,
Sequim, WA

"Best movie I've seen in a long time. ..So visceral that reading it is a cinematic trip to the Arctic...Grabbed me by the throat... I cannot recommend it highly enough."

--- Lauralee Smith,
Seattle

"I was incredibly moved by this beautiful and tragic love story - one complicated by human frailty and the clash of cultures. The author's descriptions of the beauty and harshness of the Alaskan arctic are masterful, and her excursions into the realm of shamanism made the story even more powerful."

--- Holly Delaney,
Seattle

"I read with delight this delicious book...How could anyone so young be so wise? I was startled by the sadness...and the powerful images that remain long after I finished."

--- Helen Hastay,
English teacher (ret.), Forest Grove, Oregon

"An important story.... I was reminded of how I felt when I finished Pan by Knut Hamsun: holy. Both writers evoke an intimacy with the earth and those who live close to it. Though her story digs deep into the heart of its characters for truth, Thomas's touch is gentle. Deft...A keeper.";

--- D.L. Warren,
writer, lecturer, University of Washington

"Fabulous - it would make a powerful movie. A captivating story, lush and rich with the feeling of the land and the people of Alaska.I have sent messages to many friends telling them to read this book in their book clubs. I loved it. I haven't stayed up till 2 am reading in a really long time (especially when I need to get up at 6:00 the next day,) but this book was better than sleep."

--- Lisa Carscadden,
teacher, Seattle

"Wonderful novel...Exceptional choice of characters. I have never read anything like it! It deserves wide circulation."

--- Emily Levine,
Buena Park, California,

"Transcendent... While this book is fiction, it feels more real and true than I can describe. Flight of the Goose hits universal truths about the power of understanding, forgiveness, (not the "television talk show" kind of forgiveness), and redemption to heal. For me this is very connected to the land, Alaska. Thomas is part of that land herself and it truly comes across in her book. It was such a pleasure, and not "romanticized". She portrays the complicated interweaving of culture, "progress" and how fear and love and trauma coexist to shape experience. My work has always been about the cultural and spiritual essence of what people have encountered. It was so nice to read a book with such love and understanding throughout."

-- Saidee Whitehorn,
Ex-Alaskan

"As a vegetarian, I found Flight of the Goose doubly painful. But its reward was more than seeing through others' eyes. It allowed me some experience of unfamiliar perceptions, place, culture, and spirituality, and, surprisingly, a sense of new strands of universality."

--- Michael Marcus,
Multnomah County Judge, Portland

"Flight of the Goose is such a wonderful and haunting book. It is, maybe, the most unforgettable, powerful, sad stories I have ever read. I can't get it out of my mind. Nothing else on my reading list seems quite so interesting and I am honestly thinking of just reading it again; I may get some details I missed the first time around. I read a lot of books about the far North, but this one was most special. I treasure this book. It was both hard and beautiful to absorb."

--- Sharon Stroble,
Seattle

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