I saw the author being interviewed about her latest book on ABC TV a month ago and thought the premise sounded promising:
The plane is jam-packed. Every seat is taken. So of course the flight is delayed! Flight attendant Allegra Patel likes her job—she’s generally happy with her life, even if she can’t figure out why she hooks up with a man she barely speaks to—but today is her twenty-eighth birthday. She can think of plenty of things she’d rather be doing than placating a bunch of grumpy passengers.
There’s the well-dressed man in seat 4C who is compulsively checking his watch, desperate not to miss his eleven-year-old daughter’s musical. Further back, a mother of two is frantically trying to keep her toddler entertained and her infant son quiet. How did she ever think being a stay-at-home mom would be easier than being a lawyer? Ethan is lost in thought; he’s flying back from his first funeral. A young couple has just gotten married; she’s still wearing her wedding dress. An emergency room nurse is looking forward to traveling the world once she retires in a few years, it’s going to be so much fun! If they ever get off the tarmac. . . .
Suddenly a woman none of them know stands up. She makes predictions about how and when everyone on board will die. Some dismiss her. Others will do everything they can to make sure her prophecies do not come to pass. All of them will be forever changed.
How would you live your life if you thought you knew how it would end? Would you love who you love or try to love someone else? Would you stay married? Would you stop drinking? Would you call up your ex-best friend you haven’t spoken to in years? Would you quit your job?
I bought the book from Big W for $18, good value for a brand new book that is just hitting the shelves.
Alas, I was disappointed.
- It took forever to get going and remained generally very slow moving and ponderous throughout the read.
- There were just too many characters to keep track of.
- The characters are not really likeable - none of them are the sorts of people I would want to meet at a party.
- Cherry (the narrator)'s stream of consciousness rambling is actually actually incredibly boring and she comes across as a self absorbed person with little going for her. As her ramblings take up half the book, that does not help.
Looking at the GoodBooks reviews, there were quite a few people who just could not force themselves to finish the book. WEll, I did finish it, but it was a disappointing and unsatisfactory read and it was an effort. I did actually put it aside for a week or so before grining through to the end. 2 stars only. Not recommended.
