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ttodd86's review against another edition
4.0
Very well written. Some of the other reviews are critical of the way the narrative moves between the fairly distant past, the recent past and the present; the lack of chapter breaks; and the lack of quotation marks. I felt like the execution was flawless on all of these fronts and did not even notice the lack of quotation marks until I was deep into it. The stream of consciousness flow here, to me, seems fairly critical to a story centered on the idea of loss and the connections (or failed connections) we have with each other. Very well done.
gabmc's review against another edition
I couldn’t finish this book so I don’t even know if it’s fair to rate it. An American expat living in London receives a phone call from the American embassy in Berlin notifying him that his sister has been found dead in her Berlin apartment. He then calls his dad who flies to Germany. They have three weeks together while they wait for her body to be released. Another character is the embassy staffer, Trish, who the dad has an immediate connection with. I didn’t like the characters or the writing style or the fact that the story didn’t seem to be going anywhere.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up this novel on a whim, knowing nothing about it. Usually, this ends badly for me, but this is the exception that will keep me bringing books home based solely on the cover and descriptions written on the dust jacket.
The nameless narrator and protagonist is in Germany, helping his father bring home the body of his sister, who has died in her apartment in Berlin. The narrative takes place entirely within a long fog delay at the Munich airport, and the format of the novel is that of one man narrating the wait with his frail father and the official from the American consulate in Berlin who has been guiding them through the process. His memories range back through his childhood to the weeks spent waiting in Berlin for his sister's body to be released by the coroner. The format makes the absence of quotation marks and the way the novel jumps around feel entirely natural; we are accompanying this man as he spends his hours in the airport with his father or walking aimlessly about, privy to his random thoughts and rising agitation.
Munich Airport feels a lot like Herman Koch's The Dinner, with a growing sense of something being wrong, although this is a much more restrained falling apart. The sister was troubled and distanced herself from her family, especially after her mother died. There were long stretches between encounters with her brother, making the changes in her stand out all the more. But the narrator has also been unsuccessful in many ways. He's in his forties, and despite a modest success in freelance consulting, he is remarkably unmoored to anyone.
This is not a cheerful novel, but it is a good one. And the way it's written gives it a forward momentum that kept me reading.
The nameless narrator and protagonist is in Germany, helping his father bring home the body of his sister, who has died in her apartment in Berlin. The narrative takes place entirely within a long fog delay at the Munich airport, and the format of the novel is that of one man narrating the wait with his frail father and the official from the American consulate in Berlin who has been guiding them through the process. His memories range back through his childhood to the weeks spent waiting in Berlin for his sister's body to be released by the coroner. The format makes the absence of quotation marks and the way the novel jumps around feel entirely natural; we are accompanying this man as he spends his hours in the airport with his father or walking aimlessly about, privy to his random thoughts and rising agitation.
Munich Airport feels a lot like Herman Koch's The Dinner, with a growing sense of something being wrong, although this is a much more restrained falling apart. The sister was troubled and distanced herself from her family, especially after her mother died. There were long stretches between encounters with her brother, making the changes in her stand out all the more. But the narrator has also been unsuccessful in many ways. He's in his forties, and despite a modest success in freelance consulting, he is remarkably unmoored to anyone.
This is not a cheerful novel, but it is a good one. And the way it's written gives it a forward momentum that kept me reading.
gilly22's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jen_e_fer's review against another edition
3.0
This book was confusing. The story went back and forth between different timelines. The narrator would be at the airport with his father waiting for their flight to go to the US and bury his sister who died in Germany then abruptly the story would switch to when they were waiting for her body was released. The main character was also very impulsive and made either stupid or really odd decisions. The descriptions of various locations in Germany were excellent though.
jenpinbowling's review against another edition
4.5
i really enjoyed how the time frame is almost always the same three week period but jumps around. also reading about places i know and love is a bit surreal considering that they’re not well known places.
read_me_up_scotty's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
tessaf's review against another edition
2.0
I got this book as a giveaway as part of Goodreads first reads.
In Munich airport a man waits with his father for the fog to clear. They are taking his sister's body back to the US. In flash backs our narrator explains what he and his father did in the weeks that they waited for his sister's starved body to be released to them and he also flashes back to scenes in his personal life explaining how he's reached the point that he's reached in his life.
It was okay. And believe me it's well written so it's not a bad book it's just that I personally don't like it. For one it uses "vertical time" (at least that's the phrase my old english teacher used to use for it). I dislike vertical time when there is no spacing or new chapters to make the transitions more clear. Every so often when I wasn't paying quite enough attention I'd get a couple of sentences in before realising he was recounting a past memory. I have an issue with there being no chapters or quotation marks (hopefully this will be corrected at some point) because I get confused and the book also gets rather heavy that way. I also just didn't like the main character, I don't know why he rubs me the wrong way but he does. There's a point in the story when the character makes some joke about the germans, I read it out loud to my brother and asked him if it was offensive and he had to point out it was a joke because in all the heaviness the narrator doesn't seem capable of jokes to me, so when he makes them it throws me (I didn't even notice it was a joke!!! I always catch the slightly racist jokes!!). He doesn't ever clearly resolve the situation of why Miriam is dead, you're left to assume she had problems but a little more detail would make it feel more well rounded. And our narrator behaves in ways that I don't understand and can't quite come to grips with I just can't get round it, I find it weird and disturbing but it's illogical and I don't feel that he makes much sense.
In Munich airport a man waits with his father for the fog to clear. They are taking his sister's body back to the US. In flash backs our narrator explains what he and his father did in the weeks that they waited for his sister's starved body to be released to them and he also flashes back to scenes in his personal life explaining how he's reached the point that he's reached in his life.
It was okay. And believe me it's well written so it's not a bad book it's just that I personally don't like it. For one it uses "vertical time" (at least that's the phrase my old english teacher used to use for it). I dislike vertical time when there is no spacing or new chapters to make the transitions more clear. Every so often when I wasn't paying quite enough attention I'd get a couple of sentences in before realising he was recounting a past memory. I have an issue with there being no chapters or quotation marks (hopefully this will be corrected at some point) because I get confused and the book also gets rather heavy that way. I also just didn't like the main character, I don't know why he rubs me the wrong way but he does. There's a point in the story when the character makes some joke about the germans, I read it out loud to my brother and asked him if it was offensive and he had to point out it was a joke because in all the heaviness the narrator doesn't seem capable of jokes to me, so when he makes them it throws me (I didn't even notice it was a joke!!! I always catch the slightly racist jokes!!). He doesn't ever clearly resolve the situation of why Miriam is dead, you're left to assume she had problems but a little more detail would make it feel more well rounded. And our narrator behaves in ways that I don't understand and can't quite come to grips with
Spoiler
he cuts himself and then some of his wandering off in the airport to buy stuff he doesn't needaditurbo's review against another edition
2.0
This should have been a short story or a novella, rather than a novel. The writing is very good, but there's not enough story for a full novel, so instead of being poignant and to the point, it starts dragging on, with nothing much happening. How many times can you appreciate the hunger metaphor? After a while you feel like shouting at the author "Okay!! I got it!!!". So everyone is malnourished physically and emotionally, but there is not much else to deepen and bulk up the novel, which is a shame. This is a good writer shooting himself in the leg here.
lucysig's review
3.0
I remember struggling through this on a Tiree Scottish holiday. Strangely about the logistics of transporting a dead body on a plane but more about philosophy, personalities, family relationships.