Chris Bohjalian
Penguin Random House
Chris Bohjalian – of Midwives fame – takes on an intriguing story in his latest novel, The Flight Attendant. It’s about Cassandra Bowden, who is, of course, a flight attendant. She’s also a heavy drinker, who has been known to black out.
As the story opens, she’s waking up hungover in a hotel room in Dubai. She doesn’t remember exactly how she got there, or what happened the night before. She’s horrified to find out that the man she slept with – a stranger she met on the plane – is dead in the bed beside her, horrifically stabbed and bloody.
Terrified, she decides against calling the police, since she’s not even sure if she killed him. There the saga begins. Oh, what a tangled web and all that.
The story is timed well to match the headlines, with elements of Russian spies and influence on American soil. It’s also the human story of Cassandra, as she comes to terms with who she is and what she may have done.
Because it’s about a flight attendant, the book is sprinkled with travel tidbits and is a bit of an inside scoop on what it’s like to work on an international flight schedule, arriving in Rome one day, Dubai the next.
The Flight Attendant is Bohjalian’s twentieth book – many of them bestsellers and three have been made into movies: Secrets of Eden, Midwives and Past the Bleachers. He often writes about social issues, moral dilemmas and different (sometimes radical) perspectives.
This time, it’s about alcoholism and what it can do to your relationships, your integrity, your career, your entire self. Readers may sympathize with Cassandra’s dilemma, but they will also want to physically restrain her from taking one more drink, knowing what it will do to her self control.
I enjoyed this book – it’s well-written, easy to read and there is enough to keep it interesting. Bohjalian is a gifted storyteller and The Flight Attendant doesn’t disappoint.
tracy.sherlock@gmail.com
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