A review by msjoanna
Aloft by Chang-rae Lee

3.0

This book is the story of a soon-to-be sixty year old father, boyfriend, widower, and son. The story tells the intimate and inner thoughts of the main character. The characters are well developed, the thoughts are insightful, the writing is good. The book reminds me of the writing of Richard Russo -- the somewhat sad story of an ordinary man with an ordinary life where not everything had worked out the way he might have hoped. Reading the inner monologue of Jerry Battle as he struggles to reach out to his family and girlfriend and as he fights against his tendency to just float along distantly, I felt frustrated and sad for the main character. The author managed to bring me into the head of the protagonist. Somehow, though, rather than feeling inspired by the efforts of the protagonist, I just felt defeated and deflated.