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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I really liked the way the author wove together the characters though the ending seemed a bit abrupt, thus a four star. It was nice but did not have anything revolutionary to say
David Szalay's newest novel is a brief tribute to human connection. Rejecting the notion that a life can be lived in isolation, he strings together 12 stories of people who encounter one another in momentary ways, connected to one another through airplane flights. Their interactions are fleeting, and they are often strangers to one another. However, when viewed as a whole, their stories prove that people are tethered in ways that one perspective alone cannot fully comprehend, in ways deeper than they themselves often realize. Just by living among others, especially in this age of increasing globalism, people are tied to the lives of others around the world.
Turbulence is hard to summarize, because it is less one cohesive story than an object lesson in human interconnectivity. Each of its 12 chapters follows a different person, each connected to one another by an airplane flight. Literal flight connections illustrate how lives touch upon one another in seemingly insignificant ways, which can still have lasting impact or come at turning points. What is for one person a casual encounter can be for another a momentous exchange. Szalay leads his readers around the world through a dozen of these interchanges. No single story is very long. They grant windows into lives lived in a range of places and ways, by different people, with different values. Some are good people, some are bad, and most are, realistically, a bit of both. Szalay does not comment on his characters' moral statuses, other than to demonstrate that their motives are mixed, and that they are often more than they can be seen to be from one perspective alone. Current issues such as toxic masculinity, the refugee crisis, and modern sexuality intersect with traditional values and ingrained practice. But, the point does not seem to be to harp upon the triumph of the new over the old, or vice versa, but instead to show that everything and everyone is connected, despite differences.
This message of human interdependence is an important and timely one. In an age of division, meditating on connection is all the more necessary. When I think about the individual stories in Turbulence, it is less that any one stands out to me, and more that the overwhelming impact of them all woven together is what I remember. My favorite part about the book is the way that Szalay structures his narrative to be not an infinite chain of events, but rather a closed circle. The novel opens with a woman leaving London after visiting her son, Jamie, who is sick with cancer. Jamie has treated his mother coldly and she is flying home to Madrid because he does not want her to stay with him anymore. He is isolated and is shoving human connection away from him. But, through the chain of connections that his mother's journey initiates, Jamie drives connection back to his doorstep. The last story in the volume is that of another member of Jamie's family, who comes to London to visit with him. Despite his initial rejection of other people, it proves to be inescapable. By bookending his book with this sort of reclusive individual, Szalay argues more effectively for the inevitability of community.
One point that is perhaps a minor criticism, but which I am not sure could actually be changed: the book is very short. I read Turbulence in less than two hours, which is not especially remarkable given that it is less than 150 pages long. As a result, it did not give me enough time to fall truly in love with it. On the bright side, neither was it long enough to hate. I am left feeling briefly entertained, but not haunted by Szalay's work. Still, as I mentioned, I am not sure that the book should in fact have been longer. Each of the 12 chapters is a tiny glimpse into someone's life, and they need to be short because that is their point: that our lives are tangental to countless others, even when they only brush up against one another. So, making the chapters longer would have diluted that message, and I think that having more than 12 chapters would have belabored it, and maybe gotten tedious.
Turbulence would make a terrific book to take traveling, because of both its length and format and because of its theme. It is easy to finish quickly--over the length of a flight, for instance--and it is easy to start and stop, since the chapters are so short. It is an entertaining read, with a mesmerizing quality and an important message. Szalay's ruminating tone suits his topic. Although I would not list it among my favorite reads of the year, this is mainly because I did not feel like I had enough time to become deeply invested in it. Still, Turbulence is written with quiet elegance, and has a theme with lasting significance, so I still rate it positively.
{See more reviews at my blog, https://fictitiousthoughts.wordpress.com}
Turbulence is hard to summarize, because it is less one cohesive story than an object lesson in human interconnectivity. Each of its 12 chapters follows a different person, each connected to one another by an airplane flight. Literal flight connections illustrate how lives touch upon one another in seemingly insignificant ways, which can still have lasting impact or come at turning points. What is for one person a casual encounter can be for another a momentous exchange. Szalay leads his readers around the world through a dozen of these interchanges. No single story is very long. They grant windows into lives lived in a range of places and ways, by different people, with different values. Some are good people, some are bad, and most are, realistically, a bit of both. Szalay does not comment on his characters' moral statuses, other than to demonstrate that their motives are mixed, and that they are often more than they can be seen to be from one perspective alone. Current issues such as toxic masculinity, the refugee crisis, and modern sexuality intersect with traditional values and ingrained practice. But, the point does not seem to be to harp upon the triumph of the new over the old, or vice versa, but instead to show that everything and everyone is connected, despite differences.
This message of human interdependence is an important and timely one. In an age of division, meditating on connection is all the more necessary. When I think about the individual stories in Turbulence, it is less that any one stands out to me, and more that the overwhelming impact of them all woven together is what I remember. My favorite part about the book is the way that Szalay structures his narrative to be not an infinite chain of events, but rather a closed circle. The novel opens with a woman leaving London after visiting her son, Jamie, who is sick with cancer. Jamie has treated his mother coldly and she is flying home to Madrid because he does not want her to stay with him anymore. He is isolated and is shoving human connection away from him. But, through the chain of connections that his mother's journey initiates, Jamie drives connection back to his doorstep. The last story in the volume is that of another member of Jamie's family, who comes to London to visit with him. Despite his initial rejection of other people, it proves to be inescapable. By bookending his book with this sort of reclusive individual, Szalay argues more effectively for the inevitability of community.
One point that is perhaps a minor criticism, but which I am not sure could actually be changed: the book is very short. I read Turbulence in less than two hours, which is not especially remarkable given that it is less than 150 pages long. As a result, it did not give me enough time to fall truly in love with it. On the bright side, neither was it long enough to hate. I am left feeling briefly entertained, but not haunted by Szalay's work. Still, as I mentioned, I am not sure that the book should in fact have been longer. Each of the 12 chapters is a tiny glimpse into someone's life, and they need to be short because that is their point: that our lives are tangental to countless others, even when they only brush up against one another. So, making the chapters longer would have diluted that message, and I think that having more than 12 chapters would have belabored it, and maybe gotten tedious.
Turbulence would make a terrific book to take traveling, because of both its length and format and because of its theme. It is easy to finish quickly--over the length of a flight, for instance--and it is easy to start and stop, since the chapters are so short. It is an entertaining read, with a mesmerizing quality and an important message. Szalay's ruminating tone suits his topic. Although I would not list it among my favorite reads of the year, this is mainly because I did not feel like I had enough time to become deeply invested in it. Still, Turbulence is written with quiet elegance, and has a theme with lasting significance, so I still rate it positively.
{See more reviews at my blog, https://fictitiousthoughts.wordpress.com}
This was a really disappointing read. It was definitely compelling and I loved how all the characters weaved together, but it was really hard to connect with anyone or feel anything. It was all too fast, too brief. It needed more.
3.5/5 stars
3.5/5 stars
Cute little quick read loved how it came together at the end and how you see their lives come together
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Actual Rating: 2.5. I feel like Rupaul after the infamous season 11 lip sync to TLC’s “No Scrubs”. In a word, “meh.”
This wasn’t a bad book by any means but it just sort of ran right through me. There really isn’t much more I can say about it. The concept is cool but felt underdeveloped, with each vignette lasting only a couple of pages and following a very similar plot progression. None of the characters stand out, which is to be expected given the premise, but some strong writing could have still built a connection between them and the reader. Or, at the very least, could have made their struggles feel more impactful regardless of how much the reader cared for the characters themselves. Unfortunately, the writing is a little too simplistic for my taste and it all felt too brief. I sped right through this but honestly the simple characters, story, and writing made it feel like the author wanted me too. The ultimate theme of the book is nice, but there just isn’t enough there to make it hit particularly hard. Its simplicity does give it a grounded feel, which I believe is the author’s intention, but I think there is a way to do that with at least a little more flair. In short, this book felt like the second or third draft of a concept that needed to be worked through more thoroughly.
I went back and forth between 3 and a 2.5 so my actual rating may change, but as of now I’m leaning towards a 2.5. Again, this book isn’t bad and I could easily see some people liking/loving it, but I was so disappointed by the lack of well, much of anything, that I struggle to rate it higher than that. This is all personal preference, obviously, but for me this was a bit of a dud.
This wasn’t a bad book by any means but it just sort of ran right through me. There really isn’t much more I can say about it. The concept is cool but felt underdeveloped, with each vignette lasting only a couple of pages and following a very similar plot progression. None of the characters stand out, which is to be expected given the premise, but some strong writing could have still built a connection between them and the reader. Or, at the very least, could have made their struggles feel more impactful regardless of how much the reader cared for the characters themselves. Unfortunately, the writing is a little too simplistic for my taste and it all felt too brief. I sped right through this but honestly the simple characters, story, and writing made it feel like the author wanted me too. The ultimate theme of the book is nice, but there just isn’t enough there to make it hit particularly hard. Its simplicity does give it a grounded feel, which I believe is the author’s intention, but I think there is a way to do that with at least a little more flair. In short, this book felt like the second or third draft of a concept that needed to be worked through more thoroughly.
I went back and forth between 3 and a 2.5 so my actual rating may change, but as of now I’m leaning towards a 2.5. Again, this book isn’t bad and I could easily see some people liking/loving it, but I was so disappointed by the lack of well, much of anything, that I struggle to rate it higher than that. This is all personal preference, obviously, but for me this was a bit of a dud.
Each of the chapters in the book, named with the abbreviations of airports spanning the globe, focuses on a different character traveling between two airports. Every chapter is very, very short and the main character will not appear again, though a minor character will become the main character in the next story. Given these constraints. Szalay is very good at establishing characters with just a few words of description and/or dialogue. Most of the vignettes have no resolution and maybe that's the point. When traveling, we encounter people we will never see again and Szalay's characters aren't traveling for pleasure. They are forced to travel by serious, sometimes devastating circumstances, and Szalay gives the reader just a glimpse of how well the character will cope. The first character, afraid of flying, sums up the theme nicely. "What she hated about even mild turbulence was the way it ended the illusion of security..." Every character in Turbulence encounters a disruption in the security of everyday life and the stories serve as a reminder that we never really know with what challenges the people we meet on the plane, on the job, or in line at the store, are facing. If you need a resolved ending to enjoy a story, you will not enjoy Turbulence. If you like to be drawn in by an author's skillful writing, no matter what the outcome, this book holds many delights for you, even if many of the stories have a somber tone.
I sat down after dinner and quickly read every single story. I love a short story, and these are connected by flight segments.
A very quick read. The authors subtle, poetic way to weave the lives of the characters with one another highlights the connectedness that is present in everyday life.