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266th out of 1,263 books
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2,766 voters
I Was Amelia Earhart
by
Jane Mendelsohn (Goodreads Author)
In this brilliantly imagined novel, Amelia Earhart tells us what happened after she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared off the coast of New Guinea one glorious, windy day in 1937. And she tells us about herself.
There is her love affair with flying ("The sky is flesh") . . . .
There are her memories of the past: her childhood desire to become a heroine ("Heroines di...more
There is her love affair with flying ("The sky is flesh") . . . .
There are her memories of the past: her childhood desire to become a heroine ("Heroines di...more
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
March 4th 1997
by Vintage
(first published 1996)
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Jane Mendelsohn uses shifts in POV to create alternative realities for the title character in I Was Amelia Earhart . Ostensibly, I Was Amelia Earhart is about what happens to Amelia after her fateful plane crash, but implicit in the story is the question of whether the internal or the external world is more real.
Through her choice of words and syntax, description, rhythm and beat, Mendelsohn creates shifts in perspective. The more subtle shift in perspective is juxtaposed on top of a more obvio...more
Through her choice of words and syntax, description, rhythm and beat, Mendelsohn creates shifts in perspective. The more subtle shift in perspective is juxtaposed on top of a more obvio...more
Meh.....
This book has been sitting on my side table, cast off for a better read at the time. It's been staring at me for months so I thought that I would pick it back up.
This is a fictional account of Amelia Earhart, a figment of the writers imagination. Boy, would I love to know the actual story of what happened to Amelia after her doomed flight.
I didn't particularly like the writing style of the book. The prose did not seem to flow very well, making the voice sound choppy and fragmented at ti...more
This book has been sitting on my side table, cast off for a better read at the time. It's been staring at me for months so I thought that I would pick it back up.
This is a fictional account of Amelia Earhart, a figment of the writers imagination. Boy, would I love to know the actual story of what happened to Amelia after her doomed flight.
I didn't particularly like the writing style of the book. The prose did not seem to flow very well, making the voice sound choppy and fragmented at ti...more
I got this book as a Christmas present for my Aunt Dolores in about 1994. She was my godmother and we both loved to read. As is tradition in my family, when she died, I received as an inheritance all the gifts I'd given her, including this book and a few pictures of myself that I had framed for her. How vain of me! But I think she liked them, so whatever. This book is beautiful. I never read it at the time, but I thought of my aunt when I saw it and thought she would like it. I don't think we ev...more
The Book Report: The speculation about what really happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan in 1937 has always been pretty durned feverish. This récit, can't really call it a novel because nothing happens and it's all a narrative inside the character's head, purports to be the internal monologue and reported dialogue with Noonan of Earhart herself as she takes off on her fateful round-the-world trip, gets lost, and then...well, it's the "and then" that's this story. It's a lovely thing, like m...more
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Past and present, fact and fiction, first-person and third blend into a life of the celebrated aviatrix-both before and after her famed disappearance in 1937, at age 39-that unfolds with the surreal precision of a dream and that marks first novelist Mendelsohn as a writer to watch. "The sky is flesh," begins the first of the scores of discrete vignettes and reflections that make up the narrative, an apt start to a story drenched in sensuality and the pursuit of it. The Earhart limned here is mat...more
There is something a little bit 'college lit mag' about Jane Mendelsohn's "I Was Amelia Earhart", but minus the few little quirks that reveal her inexperience as a novelist, the book actually holds up rather well.
Mendelsohn definitely has a poet's sensibility and the fluid and ethereal manner in which she guides the reader through Earhart's life is engaging and beautiful. As short as the novel is, the author uses only half of her page count to paint a portrait of Earhart's actual biography, deft...more
Mendelsohn definitely has a poet's sensibility and the fluid and ethereal manner in which she guides the reader through Earhart's life is engaging and beautiful. As short as the novel is, the author uses only half of her page count to paint a portrait of Earhart's actual biography, deft...more
I read this to the kids in tandem with "Amelia Bedelia Means Business." This reading exercise was about
(1) comparing Amelia Earhart to Amelia Bedelia,
(2) comparing a fictitious character to a legendary true person,
(3) comparing people/characters who share the same name, and
(4) analyzing character values and seeing if any of the values match those that lurk inside my children.
The kids and I love how literal Amelia Bedelia is, and we think it's cool that she is such a good baker, but three of...more
(1) comparing Amelia Earhart to Amelia Bedelia,
(2) comparing a fictitious character to a legendary true person,
(3) comparing people/characters who share the same name, and
(4) analyzing character values and seeing if any of the values match those that lurk inside my children.
The kids and I love how literal Amelia Bedelia is, and we think it's cool that she is such a good baker, but three of...more
The first third of this novel had me rolling my eyes. The main story picks up during the preparations for Amelia Earhart's final trip and it is mostly told from her point of view. And it is a depressed point of view. From what I've read about Amelia Earhart, she was tough, not moody. I was kind of miffed that the author would attempt to make her into some kind of angsty, suicidal Virginia Woolf-like character.
Once the plane took off though, I could barely put the book down since from that point...more
Once the plane took off though, I could barely put the book down since from that point...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Compelling, poetic book. There's an intentionally ethereal, vague quality to narrative as it starts, but as the story unfolds, the early pieces come into focus. I didn't know what to make of it at first, but was very much drawn in as the character deepened and emerged. Lovely.
I'm a sucker for stories about astronauts and aviators, and after reading an article about Earhart, I was compelled to pick up this novella. Mendelsohn's style reminded me of Michael Ondaatje--short, poetic sections added up to an internally-driven narrative--but Mendelsohn is, unfortunately, not quite as good a writer as Ondaatje. Still, I enjoyed the book for its "alternate history" of Earhart's last flight, and the speculative aspects of her life as a refugee were engaging and believable. I d...more
Jan 11, 2008
Amber
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those who want a quick read and want to read nicely written words
I love the language of this book. It is hard to follow the plot and story but the language is amazing and sucks you in. Very well written.
Banking into a cover of clouds off the New Guinea coastline on July 2nd, 1937, Amelia Earhart vanished from an intensely public and infamous life within the silver body of her Lockheed Electra aircraft. In Jane Mendelsohn's novel, the imagined life that came after that red letter day vibrates and sounds itself into an existence just as enticing as that which has been so renowned and retold. The words of this story flash forward and backward through Amelia's true and fictional history from the gr...more
I first read this novella a good many years ago, and I remember being very taken by it. A fictional, fantastical, surreal tale of what happened to Amelia and her drunken navigator, Fred Noonan, after they disappeared on their around the world flight in 1937. They crash land on a desert island they call "heaven". (Yeah, right, the reader gets it, no need to repeat it so often). The prose is lyrical for the most part, jarringly clumsy in others. Generally, I enjoyed it, even though this Amelia is...more
I Was Amelia Earhart is a slim little novella, but the writing style is so dreamlike and interesting that it really made me slow down and savor each word. Mendelsohn's writing is beautiful and spare, with no words wasted.
Written from Amelia's perspective, this book tells the story of Earhart's final flight and what transpires after her crash landing on a remote island. It's pretty fascinating to see what this author imagines was inside Earhart's head and what she experienced after her disappeara...more
Written from Amelia's perspective, this book tells the story of Earhart's final flight and what transpires after her crash landing on a remote island. It's pretty fascinating to see what this author imagines was inside Earhart's head and what she experienced after her disappeara...more
I was reading the advanced readers' copy. The fictional story of Amelia Earhart was not too bad. I had seen the movie AMELIA and I wanted to read a story (any story) about Earhart. Plus, I had this book among my collection. After seeing the movie, I thought that Amelia might have run off with her navigator, Noonan. She didn't want to break her husband's heart so she and Noonan disappeared to parts unknown. In this story, Earhart has an affair with Noonan on the island that had to land on. This b...more
Oct 31, 2009
Graceann
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
alternative fiction fans
Recommended to Graceann by:
my husband
Shelves:
alternative-fiction
I WAS AMELIA EARHART has as its intriguing premise the idea that Earhart and Noonan being lost over Howland Island is not the end of the story. In this slight but earnest volume, that makes for a great start. It's only 145 pages, but it has the potential for packing a wallop.
Unfortunately, the author is unable or unwilling to choose a narrator for her story, and it suffers as a result. At times it is in first person with Amelia speaking; at times it is a third person overview. The juxtaposition...more
Unfortunately, the author is unable or unwilling to choose a narrator for her story, and it suffers as a result. At times it is in first person with Amelia speaking; at times it is a third person overview. The juxtaposition...more
Since I read the Candace Fleming bio only a few months ago, I have a horrible fear that I will thinking of giant turtles the entire time I am reading this.
Okay, finished this book this morning. I tried to like it, I really did. But every time I could forget the reality of what happened to Amelia Earhart, there would be the giant snapping crabs. I didn't particularly appreciate the portrayal of her husband. And not able to take the Morse Code key because of it's weight, but apparently the navigat...more
Okay, finished this book this morning. I tried to like it, I really did. But every time I could forget the reality of what happened to Amelia Earhart, there would be the giant snapping crabs. I didn't particularly appreciate the portrayal of her husband. And not able to take the Morse Code key because of it's weight, but apparently the navigat...more
I have always been intrigued with Amelia Earhart. Her bravery astounded me. Deciding to fly around the world? It's not that common an occurrence, and certainly not in her day and time. This book piqued my interest as it picks up where Amelia disappears and tells the story of her life should she had landed on a deserted island with her navigator, Noonan. The story read like that of the movie "Castaway." She discovers coconuts; how to catch fish; and how to turn salt water into drinking water. The...more
When I was in the fifth grade, we did a unit on heroes and heroines in American history and we had to select someone to do a presentation on. The teacher gave us a list of names and I looked up several of them in the encyclopaedia. (Yes, encyclopaedia. Remember those? My parents had two sets that filled the bookshelves lining the hallway. They were such an important part of my childhood.)
One of the names I looked up was Amelia Earhart, the pioneering aviatrix who mysteriously vanished while att...more
One of the names I looked up was Amelia Earhart, the pioneering aviatrix who mysteriously vanished while att...more
In an almost uncanny intuitive way this writer grabs the whole Amelia Earhart lalapalooza --mystery, glamor, publicity whirlwind -- and turns it upside down, rendering a surprisingly convincing intimate voice, fictional surely, but quite an accomplishment nevertheless, of a lonely misunderstood woman who made her living by creating then being a legend. I am over familiar with the facts of Earhart's life, have been close friends with members of her family descendants for 30 yrs.,know the inside s...more
I can be almost manically picky about historical fiction. I mean, most of the facts about who did what to who when left my head ages ago, when my feet left the classroom. So yeah...no coulda shoulda woulda, if you don't mind; I'll take my history straight up. Neat. Not shaken, not stirred. If, on the other hand, putting your spin on history honors an icon whose final chapter never got written; whose empty final pages compel us more and more with time; now that's pure speculation with the purest...more
Il nome di Amelia Earhart non mi era per niente nuovo, anzi. Fu proprio cercando quel nome che usai per la prima volta internet ormai una quindicina di anni fa. Avevo letto un libro dove la vicenda della Earhart veniva considerata uno dei grandi enigmi della storia americana, insieme all’area 51 e a poche altre cose. Questo libro perciò mi incuriosiva molto perché, conoscendo la vera storia di Amelia Earhart con tutti i dubbi rimasti insoluti, volevo vedere come un libro con un tal titolo poteva...more
This book was not at all what I expected, though I can't even really define what it was I expected it to be. It's a slim volume that picks up on the story on Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan essentially after their plane disappeared. It's told through rather dreamlike poetic sequences, two voices, both focused on Amelia. It took me a while to get into the ethereal rhythm (which is not such a great thing when the book is only 145 pages), but eventually I did. Interesting theory, but...more
Although this is an inventive, and almost musical book in tone and quality, I find myself slightly disappointed. To me, Earhart has always seemed a hero. In Mendelsohn's version, she becomes more human, but she also loses the sense of bravery and iron steel that I imagine Earhart to have. The island scenes are well written, but I'm just not in love with the depiction of Earhart as a woman who lived. Rather, she seems a character who is disconnected with life.
I think I read this hoping for a factual biography and was disappointed because it was more like a dream stream-of-consciousness which may suit you. I will have to get around to reading again to make sure, so this review is more a reminder to myself than gospel for others. I love flying and inspiration from history, so a narrator who seems to emphasize the color of her own hair over the blowing wind directing take-off is a let-down.
I was really disappointed with this one. I read it because a friend of mine was reading it and I usually share her same tastes. This book is the author's interpretation of what happened to Ms. Earhart. Since it was a few years ago that I read this, I can only remember that it had something to do with an affair, but other than that I can only remember that I was really disappointed. The best part of the book was that it was short!
What I learned from this book is that floral adjectives, poignant use of white space, and a voice that maintains the same sentimental register throughout do not make for a compelling read. While the beginning was promising (I crave stories about daredevils, aviatrices, and the Depression era), it quickly devolved into a tedious, romanticized account of Earhart's fictional life on a desert island. At first I was wary about the voice, which seemed drunk on its own elegiac and pseudo-profound metap...more
This book wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. I didn't expect Amelia to sound so miserable - though I suppose even the most admired person on earth feels miserable sometimes. But this Amelia Earhart did very little besides feel miserable. Maybe I had never thought about the great Amelia Earhart being unhappy and miserable, but I was hoping to see her more vivacious side and was disappointed in this book.
Eh.
I didn't love this book. I was annoyed by the shifting points of view. I think I might have appreciated it more if the second POV was Noonan's, but it just felt bizarre in the third person.
I generally like historical fiction and don't mind too much when some liberties are taken, but I guess I don't too often read historical fiction with actual people as the main characters. I didn't really care for it. I guess it's interesting to imagine what might have happened, but it feels inauthentic to w...more
I didn't love this book. I was annoyed by the shifting points of view. I think I might have appreciated it more if the second POV was Noonan's, but it just felt bizarre in the third person.
I generally like historical fiction and don't mind too much when some liberties are taken, but I guess I don't too often read historical fiction with actual people as the main characters. I didn't really care for it. I guess it's interesting to imagine what might have happened, but it feels inauthentic to w...more
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Jane Mendelsohn was born and raised in New York City. She is a graduate of Yale.
She is the author of three novels: the best-selling I Was Amelia Earhart, shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and Innocence, and American Music. Published to wide acclaim by Knopf in 2010, American Music is now out in paperback from Vintage.
More about Jane Mendelsohn...
She is the author of three novels: the best-selling I Was Amelia Earhart, shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and Innocence, and American Music. Published to wide acclaim by Knopf in 2010, American Music is now out in paperback from Vintage.
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