Flying Hero Class
by Thomas Keneally
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Description
From the author of Man Booker Prize-winning Schindler's Ark Palestinian terrorists hijack a flight from New York bound for Frankfurt that holds an unusual group of passengers: a troupe of dancers from the aboriginal Australian Barramatjara tribe. The hijackers single out Frank McCloud, the troupe's Caucasian manager, as an "Exploiter of Landless People" and attempt to persuade the dancers to join their cause. Whose side will they take? What do the other passengers-a conservative show more Japanese-American woman, a Fleet Street-journalist, and a Jewish software engineer-have to say about the hijackers message? As the airliner searches for a landing place in the Mediterranean, Keneally examines how the hijackers and hijacked alike respond under pressure in this explosive novel, which will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Flying Hero Class is a short 268 page novel regarding a Palestinian hijacking of an aircraft carrying a weak willed aspiring novelist who currently works as dance manager for an Australian Aboriginal dance troupe. Also onboard are some Jewish sympathisers, Japanese-American and a handful of others.
Stressful situation + disparate social groups + contested social issues = successful novel? Not so much.
Stressful situation + disparate social groups + contested social issues = successful novel? Not so much.
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Author Information
83+ Works 19,936 Members
Thomas Keneally was born in Sydney, Australia on October 7, 1935. Although he initially studied for the Catholic priesthood, he abandoned that idea in 1960, turning to teaching and clerical work before writing and publishing his first novel, The Place at Whitton, in 1964. Since that time he has been a full-time writer, aside from the occasional show more stint as a lecturer or writer-in-residence. He won the Booker Prize in 1982 for Schindler's Ark, which Stephen Spielberg adapted into the film Schindler's List. He won the Miles Franklin Award twice with Bring Larks and Heroes and Three Cheers for the Paraclete. His other fiction books include The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, Gossip from the Forest, Confederates, The People's Train, Bettany's Book, An Angel in Australia, The Widow and Her Hero, and The Daughters of Mars. His nonfiction works include Searching for Schindler, Three Famines, The Commonwealth of Thieves, The Great Shame, and American Scoundrel. In 1983, he was awarded the order of Australia for his services to Australian Literature. Thomas Keneally is the recipient of the 2015 Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. The award, formerly known as the Writers' Emeritus Award, recognises 'the achievements of eminent literary writers over the age of 60 who have made an outstanding and lifelong contribution to Australian literature. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1991
- People/Characters
- Frank McCloud
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 134
- Popularity
- 239,655
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.36)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 2
