Up In The Air (Walter Kirn)

There is no better birthday present than a well chosen book, in my opinion. Obviously, friends of mine are well aware that a good book is a present I will relish and thus I tend to end of with a backlog of books to work through. Walter Kirn's 'Up In The Air' was given to me by a wonderful friend of mine with excellent taste in books as a belated birthday gift almost two years ago, so it is with pleasure that I write this blog post, having finally got around to reading it and having rather enjoyed it. Appropriately enough given the subject matter of this novel, I began reading it on a plane, and was thus instantly in synch with the mood of the narrative. Ryan Bingham is a "Careers Transitions Counselor", a catchy euphemism which essentially means he helps companies to cut costs by shedding staff and then counselling said staff so that they do not feel agrieved by their dismissal. Ryan hates this job, but enjoys one aspect of it: the constant air travel he undertakes to complete his assignments. Ryan feels at home in "air world" in a way that he doesn't on the ground. The rituals, the food, the small talk at twenty thousand feet, he loves it all. He even loves the bland runway hotels he sleeps in and the identikit airline club lounges he drinks in with acquaintances he meets in "air world". Our hero has no need of friends and no need of a house (he let the lease run out). All he cares about is one thing: racking up one million frequent flier air miles before he quits his job at ISM. At this milestone, he will sit back and reconsider the path that his life has taken. As it turns out though, reaching this milestone is more complicated than he could possibly have imagined at the outset of the narrative, and it's the path he walks to reach his target which is important, rather than the  moment itself.

The narrative voice of 'Up In The Air' instantly appealed to me, chiefly because it is the kind of voice I'm so used to from some of my very favourite works: a kind of disengaged, emotionless, matter of fact monotone. This type of narration is perfect for a book of this nature, not only because it fits the character addressing the reader, but also because it gives a realistic sense of what it is to live in the way that Ryan Bingham does. It's also interesting to note that, as is common in postmodern fiction, the plot is a series of loosely connected events that only matter in so far as they help us to better understand the protagonist. Some of the obstacles that get in Ryan's way as he attempts to it his million include potential sexual partners, his sisters (one of whom is getting married in Ryan's final destination city but insists on creating a crisis that takes Ryan off schedule), his employer, clients and a mysterious corporation who may or may not be headhunting him. It's all perfectly readable, although one does get frustrated by Ryan's empty existential outlook at times.

One of the few disappointing things about 'Up In The Air' was the ending, which to me, came rather too far from left field and somewhatinvalidated a lot of the good work that went beforehand. It's also true that the author doesn't necessarily fully explore the reasons behind Ryan's obsessive quest. All in all, this is a stylish little book, but one that lacks substance and, ultimately, a bit of heart. It is, however, certainly worth reading, just as people have told me that the film is well worth watching. Now that I've finally read the book, I may well track down the film...