Petar, gives whirligig 3 stars:

I found this book decent overall. Although the plot was predictable at most points in the book, I liked reading it because of the style of writing rather than the plot itself. I found the chapters about the people in Florida and Washington rather odd because they didn't discuss the whirligig at all, and I did not understand why they were necessary. They just seemed like little excerpts of peoples' lives, which had no connection to the whirligigs that Brent was setting up.
I think the turning point in Brent Bishop's character in this book is when he sees his first whirligig starting to move with the wind. He goes from "why am I doing this?" (p. 52) to "The arms gained speed. His smile widened. The phrase "the breath of life" traveled through his mind. He watched, mesmerized." (p.54) When he thinks of "breath of life" you realize that he has begun to value life, unlike at the start of the book when he tried to kill himself. He realized how important life was at that point, and it seemed that from then on he seemed to be more dedicated to his work. He also seemed to enjoy it more from then on. That was the major turning point in his character because he started to view life positively, as a good thing rather than a bad. When he "stands mesmerized", that is the real point at which me changes. He becomes less selfish and worried about himself and finds other things to take the place of that. He finds joy in the whirligig's sucess because he has all the guilt from killing Lea piled up, and now instead of being selfish and concerned more with himself than anything or anyone else he has accepted this request and is not only fulfilling his promise, but he is taking joy in it. Of course he can go to four places in the US and set up whirligigs, but if he enjoys himself and feels good about doing it then that is when he REALLY changes.
I give this book 3/5 stars. It was rather predictable at times and I couldn't quite grasp how several of the chapters fit in to the plot, but other than that I found the book decent. I would recommend this book to anyone who is fond of books about "rediscovering life", and also to anyone who is a fan of books which discuss deep ideas through a plot with little action and excitement.