"Dear American Airlines", Jonathan Miles

Richard Russo's positive review of this first novel in the NYT book review section last week caught my attention. It was not so much due to Russo's insights which were just reviewerish, to create a word, but because of the information contained in the review. "Dear American Airlines" is about a literate minded mid-fifties man with his share of successes, mistakes, luck, regrets and despair and has as its main settings Manhattan, New Orleans, and an airport lounge. The book also has humor. Add to that the fact that the writer, Jonathan Miles, is the cocktails columnist for the New York Times and it had to be read immediately.

It did not disappoint.