The book Jonathan Livingston Seagull was so wildly successful in the 70’s that it became a talking point and a must read. It topped The New York Times Best Seller list and also became a Time magazine cover story.
Flashback
One of my prized books is Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach. It is a very short book – a fable in novella form – that took the publishing world by storm in the early 70’s.
A bishop has denounced it for the sin of pride. A group of alcoholics use it to inspire members to recovery.Time
On the literal level it is an illustrated parable of a seagull that learns aerobatics. Jonathan who is no more than ‘bone and feathers” cares more about the techniques of flying than joining in with the flock in search of the daily necessities of life. The book was so wildly successful that it became a talking point and a must read. It topped the New York Times Best Seller list and remained there for 38 weeks. It also became a Time magazine cover story.
It produced myriad reactions. Time magazine reported –
A bishop has denounced it for the sin of pride. The new director of the F.B.I is urging it on his top aides, explaining he wants their spirits to soar. A group of alcoholics in Ypsilanti Michigan use it to inspire members to recovery. The Christian Science Monitor has refused to carry ads for it.
The reactions were not surprising as we can only be certain of the narrative skeleton set down.
Today
In a world overrun with self help books this remains for me a classic.
One commentator notes that “it is easy now, 35 (plus) years on, to overlook the originality of the book’s concept, and though some find it rather naïve, it in fact expresses timeless ideas about human potential.” Indeed, Jonathan may be best seen as one of those literary pieces that transcends the self imposed limitations of ethnocentric thinking giving us a glimpse of the eternal self.
In a world overrun with self help books this remains for me a classic. Take a read: it is still widely available.
And look for the continuation of this odyssey in 2013. It is reported that Richard Bach – the author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull suffered a near-fatal plane crash in August, 2012. This resulted in a ‘near death experience’ which inspired further development of the novella.
As this book was fundamental in shaping my world view, it is with great interest I look forward to the continuation of this narrative.
