D.G. Flamand's "A Thousand Rainbows" A Visionary Work

Having previously read three D.G. Flamand books, I was expecting “A Thousand Rainbows” to be like the others, positive, educational and inspiring. I had no idea what I was holding in my hands when I opened up the pages of this powerhouse of a book. It was everything his other books were, but more. I thought I was reading a children’s book but I quickly realized I was reading what I have no trouble calling, the most grown-up, mature book I’ve ever read in my life (and I’ve read a lot of books).

Looking at the cover, an owl flying over a beautiful sunset, and reading the title “A Thousand Rainbows” I thought I was in for a pretty simple and straightforward story. As I started to read about the various animals that lived in the land of Cornucopia, “the most beautiful region of the world,” I wondered what was happening because it seemed as if nothing much was. In each new chapter I was shown a different group of animals, each happy, friendly and always positive. I kept waiting for some animal to say, “oh no! here come the bears, we have to run!” but none ever did. In fact just when I thought the bears must eat the fish if they didn’t eat the other animals, the story revealed that all of the land animals enjoyed talking to the fish in the river! What did the bears eat? Honey! Of course! Even though I’d read this author before (i should have known better), what I kept expecting was the usual dangerous, violent problem to arrive and strike fear into the story’s characters, but a lightbulb went on and I realized what D.G. Flamand was doing.

Sometimes life rushes by and we don’t take time to smell the flowers. “A Thousand Rainbows” removes all of the stress, negativity and pressures of life and shows you nothing but the flowers. Some might say it’s “unrealistic” or “impossible” to have a place where everything is beautiful and everyone looks out for one another and the world is happy, but isn’t the job of the artist to paint a picture of a more positive future? Flamand’s world is a breath of fresh air because as he takes you from one group of animals to the next, you start to see that the world is bigger than one person and that we’re all worthy of some attention and care. Like I said, this book is for grown-ups because it’s so insidiously mature. The author’s touch is so light that any reader will gradually find himself a different person at the end and wonder how it happened.

A casual glance at this book would never reveal the truth about it. In many ways it is a political and philosophical work on the level of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” only better because Flamand doesn’t have to resort to scaring you away from a dangerous path like Orwell and others have done. All he has to do is what a true artist would: create a bright, shining better path. This isn’t political rhetoric or wishful thinking or some doomed utopia presented in “A Thousand Rainbows,” it is an immensely powerful allegory with real solutions to real problems. It should be taught in every political science class.

“A Thousand Rainbows” is a major work from one of the world’s most significant living creators. D.G. Flamand’s mission is to give the world non-violent literature and I think he’s a true visionary for actually doing it. Today we have “a thousand rainbows” but as his work finds a larger audience those rainbows will become immeasurable.

To buy a copy of "A Thousand Rainbows" CLICK HERE.
For everything D.G. Flamand go to dgflamandbooks.com

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