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Landing Gear (2014)

by Kate Pullinger(Favorite Author)

3.53 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1476751374 (ISBN13: 9781476751375)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Touchstone

review 1: This story was well thought out and well written, but I felt the author could have done more with it. It's a story about a family who goes through some changes. They become involved with a young man who escapes from Pakistan by hiding in the landing gear of a plane (very dangerous most likely fatal thing to do). Before the plane lands at Heathrow, he is jettisoned and lands in a parking lot on the mom's car (miraculously, he survives). If the author had used this situation as the basis of the story and really explored the culture shock of the refugee and the true reactions of the family to his otherness, it would have been a more challenging and engaging read. But the story focuses on the family, their teenaged son and his coming of age issues, the couple and their marital... more troubles, and an interesting but slightly unbelievable side-story about a young woman who we're led to believe is the mom's long-lost daughter. I liked the sparseness of the language and the simple way the story is told. I did not like the chapters in which we see the thoughts of the characters within their interactions. And I was not impressed at how underdeveloped the "main" storyline was. Liked it OK, didn't love it.
review 2: A gem of a book, and just what I needed after The Goldfinch. A quiet story of relationships and family, hinging on the sudden appearance of a young stowaway who falls out of the landing gear of a plane. The characters are beautifully drawn, particularly Jack, the teenage boy. While the book does not tie everything up nearly in a bow, it is so much the better for it - allowing the reader a glimpse into the lives of the characters just as they intersect. Would love to rate this four and a half stars as it was nearly perfect. I just felt there could have been a couple more short sections from Yacub's (the stowaway) viewpoint. Otherwise, a wonderful book. less

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