Plinky.com asked me to discuss a book that left me disappointed.
And I thought… with who? Isn't discussion a two-way process, whereas typing in this little box isn't exactly interactive is it?
So, I tell you what… I'll write about a book that left me disappointed and then, if you want to use the comments functionality here, we can… er… erm… 'discuss' that way.
'Up In The Air' left me disappointed. I read the book before seeing the movie – yeah, go figure, I'm surprising like that – and, though it was well enough written, I just didn't find myself attached to any of the characters.
I think this was a function of the plot and, possibly, the intent of Walter Kirn (that's a maybe, I haven't done any research to test my contention) – the story is, after all, about a transient character who exists in largely perpetual motion, forming and breaking relationships in the moment.
I've since seen the film and they strayed a LONG way from the novel's plot – yet even there, I found the same sense of 'so what?'
I had similar reaction to 'Sideways' a few years' back.
Bottom line on 'Up In The Air' – I wasn't annoyed to have wasted time reading it, I just didn't feel affected by it – so ultimately, it's that great, big 'so what?'
