I was initially interested in this book because of the epistolic nature of its form: it's written as an open letter to American Airlines as our protagonist Benjamin Ford is waylaid in O'Hare (and who hasn't been there/done that before) as he tries to make it from New York to California to attend his daughter's wedding. There is a lot more to the story than that (obviously)—consider that his daughter is marrying her girlfriend, that Bennie hasn't been a part of her life since she was a baby, that his own life is falling apart, etc. and you quickly understand that this is more than just an open letter to an airline, it's a summation of Bennie's life. And you pardon the author the obvious flaw that is: no matter how long the layover, there's no way a guy could write a 200 page letter while he waits for the next plane.

I was interested in this because the voice of the narrator-as-author intrigues me. First person stories can either work incredibly well (if the author has taken the time to create an interesting character and then put himself into that character's mind as he writes) or incredibly not. I think the voice in this novel worked quite well. Like I said, could have gone the other way, but it was believable. Sarcastic (understandably so given the circumstances), shameful and sympathetic all at the same time, Miles has created a well-rounded, believable character in Bennie Ford and let Bennie's own voice drive the story along.

Shame that the story itself didn't turn out better than the character deserved. (Potential spoiler alert ahead, I'll warn you now.) Yeah, I liked all of the back story about Bennie's life, how his own father was a immigrant, his mother a psychotic, his wife smart enough to leave him, he himself a drunk, but all of the story-within-a-story business (Bennie is a translator and is in the process of translating a story from Polish to English and we get a lot of that woven in here) felt like filler to me. And the 11th hour introduction of the (seriously, here's the spoiler) potential suicide that Bennie is contemplating felt, well, like an 11th hour introduction in a "where in the hell did that come from" sort of way.

I liked Miles' writing enough to at least be curious about his next book, but I don't think I'll bother to buy it right away (certainly not in hardback) like I ended up doing with this one. ( )

Not what I was expecting, and Ive read too many "I used to drink too much" books. ( )

This started out OK, with some good laughs... but I had trouble keeping focused as it got going. Too many things going on, and also I couldn't work up too much of a connection to the main character, didn't really care. I didn't finish the book. Counted my losses and moved steadfastly forward to greener pastures. ( )

This short book is a gem. While Bennie's flight to his daughter's commitment ceremony is delayed in Chicago, he writes a letter to American Airlines to demand the money he paid for this flight be returned. What begins as a rant soon digresses into observations about his life that is alternately very funny and very poignant. I love Jonathan Miles' writing style - his words are precisely placed for maximum effect on, and reflection by, the readers of this novel. I hope he has another book in progress. ( )

I loved this quick read about a man's battle with an airline while summing up his unusual life. It was hilarious and very well written. ( )