On Wings of Song by Thomas M. Disch
"On Wings of Song" is a novel that explores themes of longing and escapism set in a dystopian world where flying is illegal. The protagonist, Daniel Weinreb, dreams of flight in a restrictive society that suppresses music and outside influences. His journey begins in Iowa, where, after his parents' divorce, he navigates a childhood marked by familial struggles and societal constraints. Following a series of events, including a harsh prison sentence for distributing forbidden newspapers, Daniel seeks solace in music and the hope of flying.
As he matures, he marries Boadicea Whiting, a woman from a wealthy, influential family. However, tragedy strikes when she mysteriously disappears during an attempt to fly. Daniel's life spirals downward as he becomes entrenched in New York's underclass, dedicating himself to perfecting his singing voice while grappling with his lost aspirations. The narrative ultimately highlights the conflict between personal ambition and societal limitations, culminating in a dramatic and tragic conclusion. This story presents a poignant reflection on the costs of dreams and the harsh realities of existence.
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On Wings of Song
First published: 1979
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—dystopia
Time of work: The twenty-first century
Locale: Amesville, Iowa, and New York City
The Plot
From childhood, Daniel Weinreb longs to fly, but in the police state of Iowa flying is illegal. Whirling fans trap the disembodied “fairies” who have left their material forms behind, hooked to life-supporting apparatuses. Fairies achieve escape velocity by singing, so in Iowa all music except simple hymns is suspect. Radio broadcasts and newspapers from outside are forbidden because they trumpet the joys of flying and advertise the means for doing so. Daniel eventually makes his way to New York City with his bride. They register at a flying emporium, and she takes off, leaving Daniel grounded and hiding out from his father-in-law. Try as he might, he cannot fly. For fifteen years, Daniel survives on the illicit fringes of New York, scraping together enough money to pay for his wife’s life support and hoping someday to fly.
At the novel’s opening, Daniel arrives in Iowa with his father, a dentist, following his parents’ divorce. Iowa is a good place to raise a boy because of its fairly reliable food supply. After his mother returns, having failed in her quest to fly, the family settles into a semblance of middle-class security. Daniel has a paper route, but when the Des Moines Register folds and Daniel begins carrying the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, a paper forbidden because it comes from outside the state, he puts himself in jeopardy.
At the age of fourteen, when he and his best friend Eugene Mueller sneak off to Minneapolis for a holiday, Eugene disappears from the theater where he and Daniel have seen a movie about flying. Eugene’s father is powerful enough so that, in retaliation for his son’s disappearance, he is able to get Daniel arrested and convicted for distributing the illegal newspaper. Daniel finds himself at the Spirit Lake prison camp for eight months. There, in a corrupt justice system, he is put to work macerating genetically altered termites to make protein extenders for human food, and he learns about flying at first hand from people who have experienced it. He also hears his first great singer and resolves that he too will sing well enough to fly.
Back at Amesville High, the handsome young Daniel becomes a mysterious legend. He catches the eye of the wealthy, cosmopolitan, and well-traveled Boadicea Whiting. Her father, Grandison Whiting, is the patriarch of Worry, a neo-feudal fortress near Amesville. Daniel’s sense of social inadequacy is allayed when Grandison unexpectedly commands a marriage between the two young lovers. Daniel books a honeymoon trip to Europe through New York in order to experiment secretly with flying during the layover. Boa, a young woman of intense enthusiasms, takes off with her first song and does not return. Their continuing flight to Rome leaves without them and explodes over the Atlantic, and the newlyweds are reported killed.
Daniel disappears into the crowds of New York’s seamy underclass using an assumed name. Even in his most desperate circumstances, he pays the rising cost of keeping Boa’s withered body alive. Eventually he finds himself in the bizarre world of bel canto opera, where castrated men are lionized for their soprano roles and white people who cosmetically alter themselves to look black curry favor from renowned singers. Daniel becomes increasingly degraded in pursuit of his goal of flying. He concentrates all of his efforts on perfecting his singing voice and achieves popular success in a music revue. By the time he learns to sing, however, he has lost the will to fly. Boa unexpectedly returns after having been caught in her father’s fairy trap for years. She decides to leave her body permanently with her next flight. Instead of following her, Daniel pursues fame and wealth with a stage show in which he fakes flying during a song. On a visit back to Amesville, his ultra-fundamentalist high school history teacher shoots him dead at the climax of his act, while he is pretending to fly.