Seagulls are not my favorite animals - too much noise and too much defecation. But one exception to my no-seagull rule is Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull, one of my favorite books of all time. It's available from Amazon at $6.99 new and 38 cents used.

Plot
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a seagull who wants to do more than squawk and grub around on the beach. He wants to soar above the clouds in a quest for perfection and excellence. He spends his days learning about speed and flight, ignoring occasional hunger pangs and stiff opposition from the traditionalists in the flock. But eventually these powerful traditionalists make him Outcast and he is forced to leave the flock and live on the Far Cliffs. He continues to practice and at what appears to be the end of his life he is whisked off (into what may be heaven) by two radiant gulls.

In part two, Jonathan finds himself with others of like mind and discovers that there's still more to learn. His mentor Sullivan and the leader of the flock, Chiang, help him go further in his quest to find perfect speed and exceed his limits. He discovers that he can communicate telepathically and learns to appear and disappear at will.

Once he's mastered these tricks, Jonathan wants to go back to his old flock to teach what he has learned. He meets Fletcher Lynd Seagull who is Outcast, as Jonathan once was, and begins the process of teaching him. Eventually they return to shake up the ideas of the larger Flock (sort of like coming back from the dead, with all the attendant shock). Finally, Jonathan passes the baton to Fletcher and moves on to the next stage (we don't know where).

Reading experience
At 93 pages (the Pan edition) this is not a long read. In fact, only 40 of the pages contain the story; the rest are (what else?) pictures of seagulls in flight. In my 1973 edition, the pictures are quite grainy, but later editions - I had a glance at a 1990 one - reflect the improvements in image manipulation technology and the photos are much sharper.

This book can be read by anyone. The language is simple, though the concept behind it is anything but. On the one hand it's an adventure story about freedom and flight, but there's also a deeper undercurrent to do with the way people live their lives. It is a story about searching for excellence, finding it within yourself and helping others to do the same. The book definitely has spiritual overtones, as each stage of Jonathan's life could be seen as bringing him nearer to heaven, a process seen particularly in some Eastern religions.

What I thought
This short but inspirational tale is magical. Most of the time, you forget it's about seagulls and get caught up in their personalities. But its 'seagull-ness' is also part of its enchantment, because for a brief moment you can understand what it's like to fly.

Even if you don't like seagulls, you might as well give it a read. It won't take you long and you might discover some of the magic I still find every time I read it. (Ten times and counting!).

There aren't many other ways to feel this good without artificial help, so it's not surprising that it sold one million copies in its first edition. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!