false<![CDATA[Dear American Airlines]]>251543611From the cocktails columnist of the New York Times, the scathingly funny, deeply moving story of a stranded passenger whose enraged letter of complaint transforms into a lament for a life gone awry. Bennie Ford, a fifty-three-year-old failed poet turned translator, is traveling to his estranged daughters wedding when his flight is canceled. Stuck with thousands of fuming passengers in the purgatory of O'Hare Airport, he watches the clock tick and realizes that he will miss the ceremony. Frustrated, irate, and helpless, Bennie does the only thing he can: he starts to write a letter. But what begins as a hilariously excoriating demand for a refund soon becomes a cri de coeur of a life misspent, talent wasted, opportunities botched, and happiness lost. A man both sinned against and sinning, Bennie pens his letter in a voice that is a marvel of lacerating wit directed at himself and at others, heart-on-sleeve emotion, and wide-ranging erudition, underlined by a consistent groundnote of regret for the actions of a lifetimeand all of it is propelled by the fading hope that if he could just make it to the wedding, he might have a chance to do something right. A margarita blend of outrage, wicked humor, vulnerability, intelligence, and regret, "Dear American Airlines" gives new meaning to the term airport novel and announces the emergence of major new talent in American fiction.2522826562008Dear American Airlines: A Noveltotal:1097|5:92|4:343|3:360|2:201|1:101|109734152212378112falsefalseSun Dec 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008Thu Dec 11 13:24:08 -0800 2008Sun Dec 14 04:02:20 -0800 2008 i. It was mercifully short.
ii. It wasn't quite dreadful enough to go on the 'utter dreck' shelf, though its brevity may have been a key mitigating factor.
Although ...more...]]>
45falsefalseFri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008Fri Aug 15 13:01:35 -0700 2008Mon Aug 18 06:52:50 -0700 2008
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25falsefalseThu Jul 17 09:45:13 -0700 2008Thu Jul 17 09:48:51 -0700 2008 Everyone was ballyhooing this book upon its publication.
So I plunked down for a nice hardcover addition.
Everyone knows the concept: one-time drunk, has-been poet, current translator rehashes his life story in a long, long, l...more...]]>
14falsefalseWed Aug 20 10:25:18 -0700 2008Wed Aug 20 10:28:25 -0700 2008
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53falsefalseSun Jun 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008Mon Jun 23 07:19:16 -0700 2008Mon Jun 23 07:36:19 -0700 2008
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31falsefalseThu Jul 17 14:56:45 -0700 2008Fri Feb 06 06:31:24 -0800 2009 Whether one loves or hates this protogonist, or loves or hates this book, (the nature of the b...more...]]>
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It's the kind of book that you can't bear to take back to the library 'cause you love it sooooo much...and when you decide you're going to copy down all the great ...more...]]>
21falsefalseMon Oct 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008Sun Oct 12 18:18:04 -0700 2008Sat Nov 08 09:09:52 -0800 2008
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32falsefalseTue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008Tue Jul 29 16:31:52 -0700 2008Tue Jul 29 16:35:40 -0700 2008 The novel's conceit--life story within a complaint letter to American Airlines. All the complaints were spot on and really depict the indignity of modern air travel perfectly.
The ending. No spoilers for me, but if this novel had ended any differently, I would have ...more...]]>
30falsefalseSun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009Sat Feb 28 11:46:23 -0800 2009Sat Feb 28 11:46:41 -0800 2009
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Every critic was at first skeptical of this epistolary "gimmick novel" about a self-pitying, if lovable, loser, but by the end, all agreed that "the concept works beautifully" (Los Angeles Times). Miles's effort produced an intelligent, playful, and, above all, moving story full ...more...]]>
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Benny, the main character, is stranded at O'Hare airport and as a result will miss is daughter's committment ceremony. While it is a story ...more...]]>
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The Art of Racing in the Rain
By Stein, Garth
BookPage Notable Title
Meet Enzo, the unforgettable canine narrator of this bittersweet and transformative story of family, love, loyalty, and hope. Enzo is a philosopher wit...more...]]>
30falsefalseSat Jun 27 16:42:50 -0700 2009Sat Jun 27 16:50:16 -0700 2009
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30falsefalseWed Feb 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009Fri Jun 19 07:11:39 -0700 2009Fri Jun 19 07:12:45 -0700 2009 Dear American Airlines is a long (very long) complaint letter to AA from middle aged Bennie Fo...more...]]>
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30falsefalseSat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008Sat Apr 18 09:19:28 -0700 2009Sat Apr 18 09:20:01 -0700 2009
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