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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us April 14, 2005 BOOK review Chang-rae Lee’s ‘Aloft’ opens reader to new world of literature By Chris Honoré Tidings reviewer To discover the novels of Chang-rae Lee is a remarkable thing. Not meaning to get too hyperbolic, it feels like the equivalent of digging for clams on the beach and discovering a small chest of gold. And better yet, come to find out that Lee has written two other novels, “A Gesture Life” and “Native Speaker.” What this means is that when you turn the last page of “Aloft,” it is with the assurance that time spent with Lee, with his wonderful prose and fine storytelling, is not over. “Aloft” tells the story of Jerry Battle, a semi-retired resident of Long Island, once the owner of a successful landscaping company, who ponders and reflects and maps out his world in a carefully observed and compelling way. Battle, ruminating, constantly evaluating, is the first to acknowledge that he is flawed, that he has led a life that is far too self-absorbed and yet, truth be told, not all that atypical. A man approaching his sixtieth birthday, he looks back on his tumultuous marriage, prematurely ended, thinks of his son and daughter, of a long and broken relationship with a wonderful woman, and realizes that he has managed to skirt much of life’s buffeting and wonders if he hasn’t failed himself and those he cares about. His son, Jack (who now runs the landscaping business), and a daughter, Theresa (a college English teacher), who, taking their cue from their father, call him Jerry instead of dad. But then Jerry is adept at creating distance between himself and those he insists matter, including his aging father who is cloistered, against his will, in a nearby assisted living center. And when Jerry is filled with doubt, feels the exigencies of life pressing down, he takes his much cherished plane and flies aloft, high above the microcosm of Long Island, gazing down on the diminished movement of people and feels somehow reassured, even calm. He soars and he sorts out the vagaries of life and the meaning of his own abiding disaffection. What is stunning about this book, truly remarkable, is the narrative voice, the first-person observations of Battle. It is a first person point of view that is authentic, rings true, and if it weren’t so clear that the author of the book is one Chang-rae Lee, you might fully expect to see the photograph on the back cover to be that of an aging Italian landscaper. An old guy who has written his memoirs, taking the reader on a journey through his life. That is the genius of this book: Lee’s remarkable gift as a writer, marshaling prose that is immensely well-crafted and poignant and beautifully imagined throughout. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams