- Title:
- Airside
- By:
- Christopher Priest
- Pages:
- 297
- Rating:
- 4
Hollywood actress Jeanette Marchand was beautiful, talented, beloved by audiences.
During a time of personal crisis, she declares she is going to take a vacation in England, to explore the possibilities of working in London, before returning to the USA.
She never returned to the USA. She never even left the airport. At least – no-one saw her leave.
Years later, a young film student finds himself digging deeper into her disappearance. Where did she go? Was she really dead? Who was the mysterious man who sat beside her on the flight across from New York?
I found myself oddly compelled to keep reading this. There were glimpses, particularly in the Seoul hotel and Gimpo airport when I felt like the whole world would fall apart, and we’d crack through into whatever Matrix-like edifice we were actually in. The aviation stuff was interesting, of course, and I suppose having that as a thread, along with film, made for an interesting and learnable yarn. I never quite felt at ease with the timing of things, Justin’s life felt oddly compressed or contracted. I felt like smartphones and the era of propellers had an uneasy detente in the book, and neither were quite comfortable with the other on the page.
A book I’d read again? Maybe, for the illusive detail. One I am comfortable I’ve understood all the nuances of? Not a chance.