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msjoanna's review against another edition
3.0
This book is the story of a soon-to-be sixty year old father, boyfriend, widower, and son. The story tells the intimate and inner thoughts of the main character. The characters are well developed, the thoughts are insightful, the writing is good. The book reminds me of the writing of Richard Russo -- the somewhat sad story of an ordinary man with an ordinary life where not everything had worked out the way he might have hoped. Reading the inner monologue of Jerry Battle as he struggles to reach out to his family and girlfriend and as he fights against his tendency to just float along distantly, I felt frustrated and sad for the main character. The author managed to bring me into the head of the protagonist. Somehow, though, rather than feeling inspired by the efforts of the protagonist, I just felt defeated and deflated.
jcansdale's review against another edition
4.0
The bittersweet story of the emotional evolution of a self-centered widower.
thatonecatmom's review against another edition
1.0
It took me way too long to get through this novel. Honestly, this book was not my cup of tea at all.
This is my least liked book of the year so far. I had the hardest time relating to the main character (who is a man in his fifties, so does that surprise you that a woman in her twenties has a hard time?), much less liking him, and hated how he babbled INCESSANTLY. I attempted to get through it for the first half of the book, but then I realized that it wasn't going to work and started skipping large chunks of the overly long chapters in order to get through the bull crap and find the story line; I feel like if half of every chapter was cut out it could have been a much easier read and a shorter, sweeter book. I didn't really like or fall in love with any of the characters, only connecting with two or three of the handful introduced - and even then only on the most basic level. I did not cry when tragedy struck, and only became a tad bit sad during the aftermath. I'm glad that I finally read it so that I can remove it from my shelf.
This is my least liked book of the year so far. I had the hardest time relating to the main character (who is a man in his fifties, so does that surprise you that a woman in her twenties has a hard time?), much less liking him, and hated how he babbled INCESSANTLY. I attempted to get through it for the first half of the book, but then I realized that it wasn't going to work and started skipping large chunks of the overly long chapters in order to get through the bull crap and find the story line; I feel like if half of every chapter was cut out it could have been a much easier read and a shorter, sweeter book. I didn't really like or fall in love with any of the characters, only connecting with two or three of the handful introduced - and even then only on the most basic level. I did not cry when tragedy struck, and only became a tad bit sad during the aftermath. I'm glad that I finally read it so that I can remove it from my shelf.
emilyexley's review against another edition
2.0
I remember reading a glowing review of this book in the New York Times several years ago, so when I saw it on the library shelf I thought I'd read it. I could not get through this book. The writing was good, but I could not get into the story. I skimmed the last half of the book, because I just wanted to be done with it.
mmz's review against another edition
2.0
I guess the point of this book is that it's kind of apathetic and just sort of drifts along with no particular direction. Which is all well and good, except that it doesn't make for a very good read. It's sort of boring and annoying. In this book, all the characters are flat, and rather unlikeable. Due to the first-person narrator, we don't even get much of a sense of the other characters; they're just sort of background-noise to the non-story being told. The effect is that we never really feel connected to the story, and don't really care about any of the characters. Also, our first-person narrator has an extreme tendency to ramble in run-on sentences. As a literary technique, I don't mind this too much, but when the character himself is boring, any little quirk in his voice becomes grating.
emilyanne_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
blackoxford's review against another edition
1.0
Unless you have an interest in flying over central Suffolk LI, somewhat tedious.
karmakat's review
3.0
There's a good story in this book, but it's sadly hidden behind a lot of filler. Beautifully written, but needed more action to be a great book.
katymm's review against another edition
3.0
I've read two other novels by Chang-rae Lee (Native Speaker and On Such a Full Sea), but they are so different from each other that I wasn't sure what to expect with Aloft. Aloft is a quiet domestic drama featuring a white American patriarch and his biracial Asian children who make terrible life choices. Family dramas are usually a hard sell for me, so I didn't really connect with this one and don't know whether it was me or the book.