Aloft

By: Chang-rae Lee

Narrated by: Don Leslie

Aloft offers a reexamination of the American dream from the inside out. Jerry Battle's favorite diversion is to fly his small plane solo, slipping away for quick flights over his Long Island home or to the coastal towns of New England. Then a family crisis occurs, and Jerry finds he must face his disengagement in his relationships: with his deceased wife, whose death he has never fully accepted; with his former girlfriend, whom he still longs for; with his daughter, who refuses to address the disease that threatens her life; with his son, who is in danger of losing the family business; and with his father, whom he has placed in a nursing home.

A haunting, lyrical, indelible portrait of an ordinary man and his family, Aloft illuminates in an utterly fresh way what it means to be a father, husband, son, and lover. Chang-rae Lee's most mature, fully developed work to date, it is nothing less than a piercing and profound study of the American character.

©2004 Chang-rae Lee (P)2004 Highbridge Company

Critic reviews

"A truly moving story about a modern family." (Publishers Weekly)
"A fine and very moving performance." (Kirkus Reviews)
"The prose Chang-rae Lee writes is elliptical, riddling, poetic...beautifully made." (The New Yorker)

fantastic writing

this is some of the best writing I've ever experienced in a book. Such Majestic command of the English language , painting a picture of what could be any of our lives

What was the point, anyway?

This is not a bad book, and I finished it, and was happy to learn the fate of the characters. I even thought with familiarity (not quite love, but not contempt either) of the characters by the end. But overall, I'd rather not have read it as it didn't bring anything to me. Although my family is not dysfunctional, I can empathize with those whose are. And if you like John Irving's stories, you'll find the same bizarre dysfunctions here, but it won't be half as funny. Funny isn't the point of this book. It's more bitter sweet. But at the end of the book, I was left to wonder what the point was?

Oh, and if you think you're going to get a story about flying, forget it. Flying is completely anecdotic (well not quite, read or listen till the end) but it's not what this story is about. A better title would have been "Aloof", or "Antagonisms" or "A dysfunctional family", because that's what the book is about.

Enjoyable

Honest look at a modern day family.

A Book both Deep and Light

It is rare that a book written with such humor and a light tone affects me so deeply. The character, although a little older and much different from me, asks questions about himself and his relationships that have made me spend time thinking about myself and how I want to spend the remainder of my life. I think the narrator has done a great job with this book, bringing me through the story in an effortless manner. Highly recommended

outstanding audiobook

reader is great, story is great. the writing is concise, humorous and poignant. The story of Battle is a classic american story. The vantage point he tells it from is unique. Retired, single, caring for his children and his father, doing both with ambivalence and uncertainty about how to do it right.

while i am still only in my 40s i felt a lot of connection to battle's plight. a really good read for fathers and daughters and sons.