A Shallow Whirlwind

Up in the Air is a mediocre novel about a middle aged businessman's journeys to attain one million frequent flyer miles.  This novel written in mostly third person, is really slow.  It goes through the daily life of Ryan Bingham, which is basically him traveling from one place to the next firing people.  The novel starts with an itinerary, that goes through countless cities and airports.  Some days he takes three flights just to get to a destination he had already visited.  His life is one big whirlwind of family obligations he forgets, job meetings he blows off, and life ambitions that don't pan out.  The book is mostly a rant reminiscent of a businessman's Catcher in the Rye.  It doesn't have the teenage angst, but it has what angst is substituted for later in life, selfishness.  He tirades on about how special his life and observations are.  It always seems to go back to the one million miles.  He has people around him that need him, but he is focused, obsessed.  A prime example is when the brides maid's car broke down, she needed the miles to get to his sister's wedding.  He down right refused.  With all this going on he is constantly juggling the stories of previous and present women.  He has more than a few.  The only one he really seems to have any sort of attachment to, is his ex wife.   Too bad she got away, or more like he pushed her away.  It was a very passive aggressive move, but nonetheless he succeeded at his goal.  He put distance between him and her literally and figuratively.  The story really doesn't pick up until page 222, when he is confronted by the publisher that he has committed plagiarism.  This dumbfounds Ryan.  He is convinced the world is out to get him at this point.  A huge paranoia stemming from a briefcase that mysteriously appears, a covert company that is supposedly playing tricks on him, and his present employer that is watching his every move on behalf of the airline company.  He is hitting a hole that is really hard to come out of. All of these situations, and the way he deals with them make it hard to sympathize with the character.  He is an egotistical, selfish man with a pill problem.  On the last page, the author finally sheds some light on why he is acting this way,  he has a brain tumor.  I really think that was a cop out ending.  It wasn't all that great of a book.  If leaving one unsatisfied was the author's intention, he did a great job.