The Book of Flying

the long version

"Meet Pico. He's a poet and a librarian whose soul is nourished by stories and by books. He's brave and honest and humble, like heroes used to be. And he's passionate and idealistic, like lovers used to be. The Book of Flying is the story of Pico's quest to gain his wings in order to win the heart of the girl he loves - a journey in which he meets a robber queen, a lonely minotaur, a cannibal, an immortal beauty, and a dream seller. He will tell them his story and learn theirs. He will fall in love. He will duel with a mad painter. He will stand face to face with himself, in a dark castle on a remote mountain peak, and survive the valleys of the country of death before he reaches the morning town, before he learns that sometimes you must lose yourself completely in order to discover who you really are."--BOOK JACKET.