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Aloft
 
 

Aloft (Paperback)

by Chang Lee (Author) "From up here, a half mile above the Earth, everything looks perfect to me ..." (more)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
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From Publishers Weekly

Lee's third novel (after Native Speaker and A Gesture Life) approaches the problems of race and belonging in America from a new angle—the perspective of Jerry Battle, the semiretired patriarch of a well-off (and mostly white) Long Island family. Sensitive but emotionally detached, Jerry escapes by flying solo in his small plane even as he ponders his responsibilities to his loved ones: his irascible father, Hank, stewing in a retirement home; his son, Jack, rashly expanding the family landscaping business; Jerry's graduate student daughter, Theresa, engaged to Asian-American writer Paul and pregnant but ominously secretive; and Jerry's long-time Puerto Rican girlfriend, Rita, who has grown tired of two decades of aloofness and left him for a wealthy lawyer. Jack and Theresa's mother was Jerry's Korean-American wife, Daisy, who drowned in the swimming pool after a struggle with mental illness when Jack and Theresa were children, and Theresa's angry postcolonial take on ethnicity and exploitation is met by Jerry's slightly bewildered efforts to understand his place in a new America. Jerry's efforts to win back Rita, Theresa's failing health and Hank's rebellion against his confinement push the meandering narrative along, but the novel's real substance comes from the rich, circuitous paths of Jerry's thoughts—about family history and contemporary culture—as his family draws closer in a period of escalating crisis. Lee's poetic prose sits well in the mouth of this aging Italian-American whose sentences turn unexpected corners. Though it sometimes seems that Lee may be trying to embody too many aspects of 21st-century American life in these individuals, Jerry's humble and skeptical voice and Lee's genuine compassion for his compromised characters makes for a truly moving story about a modern family.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

Chang-Rae Lee is in Updike territory here, the Rabbit Angstrom beat. His Jerry Battle is a suburban guy who has skimmed over full comprehension of just about everything important in life: the death of his wife, his distance from his children, his longtime girlfriend's defection to a cruder, richer man, his father's raging against the night in his nursing place. Don Leslie has trouble with the long rhythm of Lee's sentences and can't find a likable voice for Jerry, choosing heaviness and anger when puzzlement or self-deprecation would have helped. Also, throughout, Leslie calls Jerry's daughter-in-law "Your-niece," which is seriously confusing until you understand it's "Eunice," and seriously distracting thereafter. A wonderful book, it deserves a less earth-bound interpretation. B.G. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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From up here, a half mile above the Earth, everything looks perfect to me. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
5 star:
 (13)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Long time, Oct 25 2004
This review is from: Aloft (Hardcover)
Not since McCrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood" have I so been affected by a subtle yet powerful novel. But this is exactly what happened with Chang-Rae Lee's "Aloft." His third novel, Lee has hit the proverbial nail on the head when it comes to drawing characters. Jerry is the perfect middle-aged man, complete with all the baggage that comes with that territory, and this, accompanied by the other elements that Lee gives us about the family, make for a riveting book.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Author handles material well, July 27 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Aloft (Hardcover)
Chang-Rae Lee has got to be my favorite author now. When I first read the description of this book in the above section, I was put off. Don't be! It sounds convoluted and complicated but it's not! This is a fantastic book!

Also read "A Gesture Life" and "The Bark of the Dogwood."

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5.0 out of 5 stars ALOFT, July 11 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Aloft (Hardcover)
Chang-Rae Lee has written an inspired novel that is eloquent in its lonely disengagement, which is what most of us experience, if we're honest, with our own heartbreaking families. I recommend this one for anyone who loved Jennifer Paddock's lyrical and similarly cathartic debut, A SECRET WORD.
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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Excellent book as all of Chang-Rae Lee's novels are. This novel is about an elderly man dealing with regrets from his past and embracing his future.
Published on July 3 2004 by John I. Provan

4.0 out of 5 stars An American Milestone
What's most amazing about this story is the simple fact that Korean-born Lee has nailed it. So what's "it," you ask? Read more
Published on July 2 2004 by Gregan Johnson

5.0 out of 5 stars A great american writer
You don't have to be an English major to enjoy this book or know that you are reading a story crafted by a great writer.
Published on Jun 29 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Discovering what's most important
I highly recommend this book if you are approaching middle age or have reached it or just want to hear the voice of someone who is experiencing it. Read more
Published on Jun 25 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Novel About Multicultural America
This is an interesting novel narrated by a former WWII Japanese Imperial Army medic living in New York. Read more
Published on Jun 25 2004 by Charles J. Rector

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't fly
I bought this book for a long plane ride from Seattle to Berlin. The bookstore cashier raved about it, but when I asked him if he'd read it, he admitted that he hadn't, which... Read more
Published on Jun 17 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars Writing to an Idea: What not to do?
The whole book reads like the author had an idea one night after talking about post-modern thought with his fellow professors. Read more
Published on Jun 10 2004 by Melvin H.

5.0 out of 5 stars Bird's-eye view
The writing in this Chang-Rae Lee novel is some of the most beautiful prose you'll ever come across. Read more
Published on Jun 2 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Colossal talent! A must read. A must buy.
Not since I read John le Carre's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy have I been so bowled over by a piece of writing. And Mr. Lee is so young. Read more
Published on May 25 2004 by cloud walker

5.0 out of 5 stars A Novel Told with Wit and Extraordinary Insight
Chang-Rae Lee's third novel brilliantly evokes the angst of a man stunted by his own passivity. Jerry Battle, by his own account, is not a fighter. Read more
Published on May 21 2004 by Debbie Lee Wesselmann

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