A PAIR OF WINGS

A woman from meager beginnings becomes the first Black female airplane pilot in this lightly fictionalized account.

Bessie Coleman was born into a Texas sharecropping family in 1892, the 10th of 13 children of a woman born in slavery. When she learned about the Wright brothers as a child, thoughts of flying began to invade her daydreams, and she became determined to fly herself one day. An opening section describes a disastrous 1923 crash that leads Bessie to set down the story of her life. Narrating in the first person, she takes readers with her to Chicago in 1915, where she lives with her brother while trying to find a way to become a pilot. But no American flight schools will take her, so she moves to France. Her training there is perhaps the novel's best part, as we watch Coleman grow from an enthusiastic young woman to a talented pilot. Hopson is a pilot herself, and her knowledge is evident in the flying scenes—perhaps a bit too evident for the layperson. It’s a pleasure to follow Bessie on her life's journey right up to the night before her final flight in 1926, even though it's delineated with imperfect craftsmanship. Hopson stuffs her story to the brim with historical details and anecdotes, which are interesting in and of themselves but aren't well integrated into the narrative flow. Characters frequently provide background information without any setup or any credible reason for volunteering it. If the material were less compelling, the novel would be a slog, but even strained prose and weak similes can’t detract from the gripping saga of a remarkable woman.

A fascinating tale competently though awkwardly told.