Meh

So, I guess when I pick up a book, I have certain expectations about what will be in said book. For example, if the cover is mostly pink and has a cartoon woman on it, I expect something light, humorous, and probably romantic. If the cover has a helicopter or an explosion and a person running away with, say, cross hares on him/her, I expect to probably skip it.

When I borrowed Dear American Airlines: A Novel by Jonathan Miles from the library, I expected a scathing, funny account of a character annoyed with air travel. Since this is something we pretty much all have in common, I was eager to get started.

The first little bit was fantastic -- and if the entire novel had stayed with the airport and the guy's ire, the novel would have been perfect. However, the character goes off on tangents, talking about his past, translating another story about a Russian soldier, leaving only about 20% of the book about what I expected it to be about. I almost felt like the author had tricked me: luring me in with one story, and making me sit through two others.

Anyway, it was well written (although I'll admit I skimmed the last half). Go read the excerpt on Amazon.com -- it's very good.