Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
This was okay, not terrible to get through, except I didn't care about any of the people in it.
It's an interesting idea, the airport codes add a nice touch, only by the time it's over, it doesn't seem to have point; there's no feeling, no intensity, nothing.
It's like watching people's lives but not feeling anything about them. So what was the point anyway?
Reread #2: I liked it more this time around, but it still feels a bit lacking in feeling.
It's an interesting idea, the airport codes add a nice touch, only by the time it's over, it doesn't seem to have point; there's no feeling, no intensity, nothing.
It's like watching people's lives but not feeling anything about them. So what was the point anyway?
Reread #2: I liked it more this time around, but it still feels a bit lacking in feeling.
I really enjoyed this! One person leads to another...as they jet around the world.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
In a series of interconnected short stories, we follow twelve strangers as they cross paths on a succession of journeys from country to country. Though the book claims to show “the ripple effect that, knowingly or otherwise, a person’s actions have on those around them”, I would argue this is not entirely accurate. The interactions between the characters are mostly incidental, and have no bearing on each other’s circumstances or perspective. It’s a shame the book is slightly misrepresented in that sense, as what it actually does is equally as fascinating as that concept sounds.
As we travel across the globe, we are given snapshots of twelve different people’s lives. Each of them is dealing with some kind of, dare I say, turbulence. This includes illness, grief, domestic violence, struggles with their sexuality, and so on. Though each one suffers in silence, feeling disconnected from the world around them, Szalay shows us, quite literally, how universal these struggles are. By having these people unwittingly cross paths in a chain from one to the next, he explores the idea that it’s the human worries seemingly isolating us that unite us above all else.
The prose itself is very readable, but our time spent with each character is so fleeting that there’s no real opportunity for narrative or emotional development. The slice of life approach is certainly effective in reflecting the notion that everyone is fighting their own private battles despite outward appearances, but it does mean there’s a consistent lack of resolution.
Admittedly, the way the book comes full circle and connects the last story to the first is very clever and satisfying. That said, the final story also becomes needlessly heavy handed, when we are told the main character has the following quote framed on their wall: “For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this same planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” If the golden rule of fiction is ‘show, don’t tell’, Szalay misses the mark here by spelling out the theme he’s just spent the duration of the book trying to explore. When you’ve done so as successfully as he did, there’s no need to hit the reader over the head with it in this way.
A solid and thoughtful reading experience, I very much appreciated the book’s concept and effective use of structure as a means of storytelling. Though this underwhelmed slightly due to its want of emotional and thematic nuance, I would certainly read more of the author’s work.
As we travel across the globe, we are given snapshots of twelve different people’s lives. Each of them is dealing with some kind of, dare I say, turbulence. This includes illness, grief, domestic violence, struggles with their sexuality, and so on. Though each one suffers in silence, feeling disconnected from the world around them, Szalay shows us, quite literally, how universal these struggles are. By having these people unwittingly cross paths in a chain from one to the next, he explores the idea that it’s the human worries seemingly isolating us that unite us above all else.
The prose itself is very readable, but our time spent with each character is so fleeting that there’s no real opportunity for narrative or emotional development. The slice of life approach is certainly effective in reflecting the notion that everyone is fighting their own private battles despite outward appearances, but it does mean there’s a consistent lack of resolution.
Admittedly, the way the book comes full circle and connects the last story to the first is very clever and satisfying. That said, the final story also becomes needlessly heavy handed, when we are told the main character has the following quote framed on their wall: “For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this same planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” If the golden rule of fiction is ‘show, don’t tell’, Szalay misses the mark here by spelling out the theme he’s just spent the duration of the book trying to explore. When you’ve done so as successfully as he did, there’s no need to hit the reader over the head with it in this way.
A solid and thoughtful reading experience, I very much appreciated the book’s concept and effective use of structure as a means of storytelling. Though this underwhelmed slightly due to its want of emotional and thematic nuance, I would certainly read more of the author’s work.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book. It was a short look into a lot of lives and how they were slightly connected. I really liked the way the writer did that. I always get nervous about plane books, but no need to be. All of these people had a lot going on in their lives and you got a sneak peek into everyone’s mind.
Little international snapshots, with a quick focus into emotional details before zooming into the next person.
The stories were like a small bite of something delicious.
The stories were like a small bite of something delicious.
Turbulence can either be read as a novel, or a set of short stories. Each story has to do with a plane flight, and each new main character is someone who was in the previous story.
It was a great setup, but since this book was novella-length, I felt like I didn't have enough time to get to know any of the characters. A lot of them were going through big things, but you only spent a few pages with each of them. Every time I would start to get invested, the focus would switch to someone else.
It was a great setup, but since this book was novella-length, I felt like I didn't have enough time to get to know any of the characters. A lot of them were going through big things, but you only spent a few pages with each of them. Every time I would start to get invested, the focus would switch to someone else.
The writing of this book isn't revolutionary, but the way the stories are structured and told is what makes this a 4 star review for me.Each chapter is an airport ETA, with characters traveling from London to Bangkok and several cities in between. The book starts of with a woman traveling to meet a family member and becomes sick on a passenger sitting next to her. The subsequent chapter features that passenger she became sick on and thus begins 12 short vignettes that serves as glimpses into various moments, monumental and quiet, into various people's lives
There were some stories that I wish the author would have stayed with longer, but that's the point of the book - every day, we encounter people that we meet in passing or in a brief moment and never learn anything else about them from outside that moment.. And life goes on.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
There were some stories that I wish the author would have stayed with longer, but that's the point of the book - every day, we encounter people that we meet in passing or in a brief moment and never learn anything else about them from outside that moment.. And life goes on.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Basically a collection of loosely linked flash pieces that take place around the world. The writing was good, but I kept asking myself why I was reading this. There was no momentum and little time to get to know most of the characters. I ultimately wasn't sure what the author was trying to do.
I normally go out of my way to avoid reading short story collections, and on the surface that is exactly what David Szalay’s latest novel is. Turbulence is a collection of stories about different people who have nothing in common with each other. Except, the brilliance of Turbulence is how Mr. Szalay highlights the invisible strings that connect the characters to each other. Not only do these links enforce the connectivity of each and every one of us, but they also help to flesh out the characters and provide us insight with little exposition. These links also remind us that a person may appear one way on the surface but has an entire unknown lifetime of worries, doubts, fears, sorrows, and happiness happening internally and that there is a danger in making assumptions. Mr. Szalay’s writing is gorgeous and masterful, adding depth to characters and stories in a few simple words. He brings the characters to life in a way not typically seen in short stories, which is why I avoid them. However, give me something like Turbulence, with its connected vignettes because I love seeing those ties that bind. Done well, as is Turbulence, it can be a profound reading experience.