A review by hmatt
The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I read this a couple of months after watching the TV series. There are a number of things that I felt each did better than the other, which really frustrates me. One through-line is how unbelievably dumb the main character acts. I found this to be a major obstacle - I couldn't "buy in" to the story fully because I couldn't believe that anyone would be dumb enough to make some of the choices she made.

Something I liked better in the TV series: the cast of characters were more diverse and three-dimensional. There is also a clearer focus on Cassie as the main character, which I think is more suitable. I didn't have any attachment to Elena's chapters or storyline. 

Something I liked better in the book: the plot was more straightforward and was discussed in more detail, so it was overall WAY easier to follow. Also, the book didn't get into the weird psychoanalysis weird rabbit fixation which I felt did the TV show no favours.

On the whole, kind of a "meh" book. It was just okay. 
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