I saw the film “Up in the Air” and enjoyed it (although I was not crazy about the ending), so when I saw this book in the library, I thought I’d give it a try. I gave up about 100 pages into the book, because I could not care about the characters and found the lack of plot frustrating.
Kirn is a master of details–most of this book consisted of observations about life in the air as a businessman. While the movie skewered the modern business world (as we follow Clooney’s character Ryan as he travels around giving people the axe), the book focused on the travel aspects and the idea of a life lived in airports and navigating between various American cities. It’s supposed to be a great satire, but I found the movie to be more interesting and certainly entertaining (after all, it’s got George Clooney!).So if you like to read extensive detail about air travel, airports, hotels, and transportation from one city to another, check it out. If you’re looking for a plot, pick something else…or try the movie.
