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Literature & Fiction |
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Dear American Airlines: A Novel
written by Jonathan Miles
Studio : Houghton Mifflin Co
by Houghton Mifflin Co
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Co
Released : 2008-06-05
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780547054018
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 30 reviews)
List Price : $22.00
Our Price : $11.37
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Product Description |
Sometimes the planes don't fly on time.
Bennie Ford, a fifty-three-year-old failed poet turned translator, is traveling to his estranged daughter's wedding when his flight is canceled. Stuck with thousands of fuming passengers in the purgatory of O'Hare airport, he watches the clock tick and realizes that he will miss the ceremony. Frustrated, irate, and helpless, Bennie does the only thing he can: he starts to write a letter. But what begins as a hilariously excoriating demand for a refund soon becomes a lament for a life gone awry, for years misspent, talent wasted, and happiness lost. A man both sinned against and sinning, Bennie writes in a voice that is a marvel of lacerating wit, heart-on-sleeve emotion, and wide-ranging erudition, underlined by a consistent groundnote of regret for the actions of a lifetime -- and made all the more urgent by the fading hope that if he can just make it to the wedding, he might have a chance to do something right.
A margarita blend of outrage, wicked humor, vulnerability, intelligence, and regret, Dear American Airlines gives new meaning to the term "airport novel" and announces the emergence of major new talent in American fiction. |
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Americancivilwar.com Review |
Elizabeth Gilbert on Dear American Airlines
Elizabeth Gilbert's first three books, Pilgrims, Stern Men, and the National Book Award nominee The Last American Man, received awards and acclaim, but her fourth, Eat, Pray, Love, a chronicle of her spiritual search and redemption following a difficult divorce, has put her on the bedside tables of millions of readers across the world. Her next book, Weddings and Evictions, a memoir about her unexpected journey into second marriage, will be published in 2009.  I'm one of those readers who can't get enough of Martin Amis novels, since Amis--a savage misanthrope who sometimes writes, it seems, with a drill bit--is a guilty pleasure of mine from way back. So it's no wonder that I fell so hard for the bitter, hilarious, dark, twisted, and wonderfully written delights of Dear American Airlines--the most Amis-like novel I've ever read. Jonathan Miles is a first-time novelist (and--full disclosure--friend of mine) whose journalism I've long admired for its clear, humane prose. I never suspected that he had a book like this in him, and--frankly--now that I do know, I'm a little worried for his mental state (even as I'm totally impressed with his writing.) The novel relays the tale of Bennie Ford, a man who is marinating like a cocktail olive in the sour middle-aged juices of his own mistakes, but who has decided to redeem himself completely by attending the wedding of his estranged daughter. Now, as some of us have learned from painful personal experience, it's not always easy to redeem a lifetime of screw-ups in one weekend, but that doesn't deter Bennie from heading to the airport to fly off to what he has decided is the most important event in his life. (The fact that he doesn't seem to notice that the wedding should actually be the most important event in his DAUGHTER'S life, not his, is an early clue of his particular breed of hilarious narcissism.) But at the airport is where his troubles begin, as American Airlines cancels his flight and thus--as far as he is concerned--destroys his life. What follows is a complaint letter raised to the level of high narrative art. I have never before encountered a novel written in the form of a complaint letter, and we can safely assume there will never be another such after this one, just because Miles has created an inimitable story here--one which, despite all the dark wit of its narrator--leaves room in the sad margins for real heartbreak, real feeling, real life. (This is something Amis himself wasn't able to do until many years into his career.) This is the most entertaining first novel I've read in a long while, as well as a searing cautionary tale. Bring it to the airport with you next time you fly somewhere to change your life... |
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One part was better than another ... |
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I view this book as two separate stories. One is the more or less present tense story of the narrator being stranded at O'Hare Airport on the way from New York to LA. The other is kind of a memoir of his life, some of which ties in to his being stranded at O'Hare, but most of which doesn't. Indeed, even if his layover in O'Hare was not one minute longer than scheduled (which theoretically would have taken away the raison d'etre of the book), roughly 80% of the book could still stand on its own--his relationship with the two Stella's, his relationship with his mother, his work life, his childhood and relationship with his Dad, the translations of the Polish novel, etc. etc. Therefore, I asked myself: if the book were confined solely to that 80%, how much would I have enjoyed the book. The answer for me was: not that much. It would have been OK but nothing to rave about. One of the problems is that there was no need to present any sort of a coherent narrative with respect to that 80%--alot of it was just stream-of-conciousness rambling that meandered here and there. In fact, I would wonder if the book would have been written at all if it were confined to that 80%. One might argue that it is unfair to divorce that portion of the book from the remaining 20% but I don't think so, because, as noted, the 80% could easily stand on its own, flight delays or no. The reason I gave it (as many as) 4 stars is because I thought that the 20% was fabulous. Very funny in parts and brilliantly written--by far the best portions of the book. In fact, after awhile, I kept waiting for the past tense memoir portions to end so we could get back to the present-tense flight delay situation. |
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Fantastic |
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I listened to this wonderful book on audiobook format and it is fantastic. I rarely rate a book, but this one is so special and enjoyable. The narrator was absoultely fabulous and brought the story to life! Give it a try, you won't regret it! |
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Entertaining Read |
Dear American Airlines: A Novel
This is just way too much fun to get through too quickly. Author Jonathan Miles can now add me to his list of fans! |
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What else is new? |
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I read through this book and just couldn't keep attention. I am in the industry and did not think any of this was funny nor accurate. All it does is badger American Airlines. (and no i dont work for AA). It just seems like a long written out letter that goes nowhere. There was nothing in this book entertaining nor interesting. Nothing about this book flows, and the author goes nowhere with some of his chapters (most) while whining about ALL OF HIS HORRIBLE EXPERIENCES (hint sarcasm).... i have no clue why people are giving it good ratings, read all the bad reviews before buying this book. They are all soo true. Please do me and yourself a favor and dont waste your time or money..... |
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Great Read |
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Finally, a novel which lived up to its hype. This one of the few books that I have read in the past several years that I could not put down. The characters, pacing and interwoven stories were well rendered. |
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