The Flight Attendant is a very popular book that has recently been made into a dark comedy series of the same name on HBO. I figured I'd enjoy due to the large amount of positive feedback and interesting plot. Unfortunately, for me, it was a huge flop. Let me do my best to explain.
To start with the positive, this book has an interesting and somewhat engaging plot. A flight attendant wakes up in a hotel room with a dead (more or less) stranger next to her and does not know (or remember) what happened to him. A pretty good set up the reminded me a lot of The Girl on the Train (review here) or The Woman in the Window (review here). All have a similar formula - something crazy and unexpected happens and the unreliable narrator is an alcoholic type woman.
This actually might be my first problem with the book. Clearly this type of narrative plot has been used before (and, as I believe, much better) with past novels. Perhaps if this was the first time I had seen this device used, it would have been more engaging. However, the lack of plot originality was a problem.
Another problem I occasionally have with fictional books is how realistic they may or may not be. While I know this book is fictional and not real, the book could be told in a way that is based in reality or is more fantasy. While this book makes clear it attempts to base itself in a reality of the world we live in, I found numerous things occur that seemed unrealistic. Perhaps, most notably, the work of the main character's lawyer. While I am not a lawyer, I feel like I have enough experience with them to know that they tend to be professional and focused. Not drama maniacs who curse often and belittle their clients. The lawyer in this book is where I felt the novel "jumped the shark" from being based in reality to something else.
Finally, and perhaps most frustrating, the book is simply slow and not engaging. In the other novels mentioned, the action was packed from start to end and the exposition left the reader wanting more. Not here; rather, I was shocked at how dozens of pages could go by without anything noteworthy happening (other than the author talking about the significant anxiety the main character had over and over). I feel like some of the other challenges could have been overlooked had the story been more engaging. Again, it just seemed like it was following an overused script that I've seen too many times.
I'm sure this book is well liked by many others. Perhaps I just have a skewed and too negative a viewpoint. So, you should it read it and decide for yourself. However, if you do, please be wary of my concerns and don't be surprised if you are under engaged by this novel.
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