carmenere's review
4.0
After discovering author, David Szalay a couple of years ago, I was very excited to read his latest book, Turbulence.
Twelve chapters are cleverly titled with departure and arrival airport codes. The first chapter lays the ground work of relating a story as to why the character has traveled to their destination. Each proceeding chapter builds on the story preceding it. Usually, a character has traveled by plane to get to a destination for a specific reason but once at their destination they are faced with tragedy, deception, infidelity and sadness making the stories a bit depressing.
We see through the well written stories that, on every continent, humans share the same struggle, We are not so different after all.
I was hoping the story would bring the characters full circle but instead we return to the airport where the book began which, in a sense, infers there will be more stories with each go round.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for allowing me to read this e-ARC.
Turbulence goes on sale July 16, 2019.
Twelve chapters are cleverly titled with departure and arrival airport codes. The first chapter lays the ground work of relating a story as to why the character has traveled to their destination. Each proceeding chapter builds on the story preceding it. Usually, a character has traveled by plane to get to a destination for a specific reason but once at their destination they are faced with tragedy, deception, infidelity and sadness making the stories a bit depressing.
We see through the well written stories that, on every continent, humans share the same struggle, We are not so different after all.
I was hoping the story would bring the characters full circle but instead we return to the airport where the book began which, in a sense, infers there will be more stories with each go round.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for allowing me to read this e-ARC.
Turbulence goes on sale July 16, 2019.
kbrown5455's review against another edition
4.0
Ingenious linked stories taking place in international settings as a minor character from one story travels to become an important story in the next.
backatthelibrary's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
martadilello's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
afshawn's review
4.0
Well this is just a fantastic little novel. The novel is composed of short vignettes following individuals around the world. The stories prove how connected all humans are, even if we live halfway across the world. The writing is superb - you connect with each character instantly and become fully engrossed in their story despite it being just a few pages. Each story is satisfying on their own and as you see how everyone connects it feels like you get closure on the prior stories too. Highly recommend!
bub_9's review against another edition
4.0
This isn't really as good as All That Man Is for me, principally because it's shorter and does compromise on some of the nuance and depth of that venerable collection. Nonetheless, I am willing to round it up to a 4 as it is still one of the more coherent short-story collections I have read (and not just because of the trickery with airports, I promise!) and explores connections between people, as well as the baggage we all carry with us (ha ha).
pmhennen's review
3.0
I liked seeing all the connections between characters but that kind of style made the book very choppy and hard to follow at times.
mmefish's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Interesting enough to distract me from my own life.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Infidelity
Minor: Child death, Dementia, and Cancer
quinndm's review
3.0
A book — almost a bunch of short character studies — bound together by a tumultuous event in each of their lives, all connected by air travel, and triggered by a turbulent flight. I enjoyed getting the brief insight into each characters’ lives and finding their perspective on the previous situation... culminating in a little better understanding of my own life.