Up in the Air

By: Walter Kirn

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Ryan Bingham's job as a Career Transition Counselor - he fires people - has kept him airborne for years. Although he has come to despise his line of work, he has come to love the culture of what he calls "Airworld" - finding contentment within pressurized cabins, anonymous hotel rooms, and a wardrobe of wrinkle-free slacks.

With a letter of resignation sitting on the desk of his boss and the hope of a job with a mysterious consulting firm, Ryan Bingham is agonizingly close to his ultimate goal, his Holy Grail: one million frequent flier miles. But before he achieves this long-desired freedom, conditions begin to deteriorate.

With perception, wit, and wisdom, Up in the Air combines brilliant social observation with an acute sense of the psychic costs of our rootless existence, and confirms Walter Kirn as one of the most savvy chroniclers of American life.

©2002 Walter Kirn (P)2009 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A dead-on, wry portrait of the life of the road warrior." ( The Washington Post)
"[A] hilarious, often ingenious ode to America.. . . . Whip smart yet entertaining enough to rival anything from John Grisham." ( Time Out New York)
"Kirn's style is as bright and metallic as the shiny skin of a jet airplane. But his underlying point is refreshingly down to earth." ( Chicago Tribune)

Good story, irritating narrator lisp.

I enjoyed the story but the narrator has this annoying lisp with certain words that end in the 's' sound...like his dentures don't fit correctly. It sounds like a picky complaint, but it really is irritating after awhile. I finally listened to the last half, while cleaning the garage, on a pair of cheapo travel speakers. That made it more tolerable and I got through to the end.

No true story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

If you're interested in comparing the book to the movie (that's why I did it) then it might be worth it, but otherwise no. There truly is no story. It's amazing that a good movie was made out of this.

What do you think your next listen will be?

The Reason for God

What aspect of Sean Runnette’s performance would you have changed?

A faster read?

Do you think Up in the Air needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, it should have ended sooner haha

Just breathing can be such a luxury sometimes.

I liked it a lot. It is hard because I kept wanting to compare it to DeLillo's best. It isn't DeLillo's best, but it isn't embarassed by the comparisson to good DeLillo. In someways it reminds me of 2001's answer to Americana (travel, corporate America, the West, relationships, etc). I'm fascinated with Kirn and this won't be the last of this review. However, it is late. I'm flying tomorrow (Ironically) and only half my flight will give me miles.

The book is not always better

I loved the movie but was very disappointed in the book. If you have seen the movie, don’t waste your time on the book.

Awful Ending

Voice was ok, a bit monotone.
Story was ok at first, but ends abruptly.
Not worth spending a credit on.

Boring and repetitive

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

If you like reading about anomie, this book is for you. Drifting, obsessive compulsive main character, troubled, but who cares. Great observations of air travel and details of airports, but after a while, it's more of the same and more.

What could Walter Kirn have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Kirn might have cut this by half and improved it.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Narrator: montonous.

The nomad and the madman.

I almost stopped listening to this book because I have seen the movie so many times. The book is much different than the movie, but I kept listening, and it held my interest.

Some of you out there may be able to relate to this character Ryan Bingham I suppose, if you traveled as much as his character in this book you would have to learn to compartmentalize things and basically become a real nomad.

Not the movie

This is one of those books that I don't know how they got the movie from the book. I really enjoyed the movie and found this book sad and depressing. The lead character in the book is much more dysfunctional than the movie character. Would not recommend.

Thought Provoking

This book was highly entertaining the first time through thanks to Kirn's clandestine poetry and the soothing voice of Runnette. I'm listening a second time and the elements of the plot have proven to be thought-provoking about contemporary America without becoming preachy.

The story is great, but the reader sucks!

I liked the story, but the reader is so monotonous! He reads as if he was a laying on a death bed talking about his lost opportunities and empty hopes.