Departure Lounge A Novel edition by Robert Laurence Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : Departure Lounge A Novel edition by Robert Laurence Literature Fiction eBooks 
The mid-Eighties. No cell phones, no email, no caller ID, no GPS. It was easier then to pass without notice, to be out of touch, to get lost. The Berlin Wall still stood, as did the World Trade Center, and Michael Reid embarks on what even he concedes to be a spate of obsessive travel Scandinavia, the Persian Gulf, South Asia, back home to the Ozarks, then off again to Greece, Eastern Europe and Egypt. Along the way, he writes letters about what he’s seeing and what he’s thinking to three friends Anna Browning, a mathematician in Tallahassee, who thinks of Michael less fondly than he thinks of her; Richard Randolph, Michael’s baseball-watching pal, who leads a comfortable—perhaps too comfortable—life as a law professor in Albuquerque; and Marie Cochran, a middle-school social studies teacher in rural New Mexico, who is Michael’s on-again-off-again lover. These three all know Michael, but they don’t know each other. And, against the background of Michael’s travels and his letters, their lives become curiously, even mysteriously, intertwined, changed in ways that Michael himself can’t imagine.
Departure Lounge A Novel edition by Robert Laurence Literature Fiction eBooks
Rarely do I read a novel that I am able to describe comfortably and confidently as literature or literary fiction. Departure Lounge is Literature with a capital L: well written, tightly structured, interesting and informative. Not formulaic in any respect, it is creative and new in its viewpointWhat struck me most about the book early on was that the writer, a male, had created so many strong female characters. How could he write so knowledgeably about so many women and their life situations?
He has done it well.
Moreover, the author knows a lot about many subjects and the reader can't help but learn things he or she didn't know previously about math; literary criticism; academia; lesbian romance; bankruptcy law; the train and boat schedules in Athens; baseball; Linda Ronstadt; and The Alexandria Quartet.
The underlying structure of the book is elegant, not unlike a 3-6-4 double-play or one of Anna's math equations (both of which are discussed in the book.)
I recommend the book highly and look forward to the author's next effort. Perhaps this is just book one of a new quartet.
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Departure Lounge A Novel edition by Robert Laurence Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Departure Lounge is a thoughtful, sensitive, and insightful work that is worthy of the praise it has received. Laurence has crafted scenes and dialogue that resonate in the innermost parts of one's vital organs. The surprisingly interconnected characters are tangible and familiar, yet incredible in their actions and self-awareness. At first, it seems as though the myriad settings will be the driving force of this novel. But the struggles (both internal and external) of the individual characters draw you in, and you become powerfully invested in their lives. A dry wit and generous understanding of the complex nature of relationships, ambition at various stages of life, and the unease with which we sometimes come into ourselves, combine to make this novel enduringly appealing.
A chapter or two into this book, I was sad to have to remind myself that this would have to be a story with a beginning, middle and end. And while the plot that does unfold is intricate and absorbing, it is sometimes a task to remember that this is a story crafted by an author, and not just a window back to the mid-80s, looking back on a number of fascinating people. These feel like people living out their lives, not fictional characters dancing to an artificial plot. I was sad to realize that I wouldn't be able to just pick up the book and continue to have new visits with them forever.
Herein you'll find absorbing characters (all kinds), fascinating places (all real), entrancing description (almost all English), and dialogue so flawlessly realistic you'll wonder if this is really all fiction. You will wonder how a book that starts out meticulously detailing petty academic sniping at a math-department faculty meeting somehow becomes a breathless page-turner. But the pages will turn, faster and faster. And, just as in life, the moment you think you know where it's going, your legs will be knocked out from under you.
This is a great mind at work, offering up a peek at a lifetime's worth of travel, study, reflection, love and heartbreak. The prologue will tell you several things that the story is about, and all of those things are in there, but none of them sum it up. It's a very specific story about very specific people, none of whom are very much like me, but it still struck deep personal chords. This is a brilliant book. I recommend it most highly.
It's hard for me to believe that Departure Lounge is a first novel. It is cleverly plotted, deftly organized, and populated with characters you get to know well and, with the exception of one or two, grow to like very much.
As noted by other reviewers, two of the books strengths are its realistic dialogue and strong female characters. Some writers struggle for years with dialogue, yet Mr. Laurence has produced characters whose voices sound so authentic that the reader can almost hear them talking. And unlike many - if not most - male authors, he has been able to create memorable women, much like one of my favorite writers, Larry McMurtry.
Mr. Laurence is obviously well-traveled and extremely well-read. The cities and other places are pictured vividly, and literary references and allusions abound. The author's travels, eclectic tastes - in music, for example -- and his background in teaching, law, and probably math all contribute to the book's realism. His description of a faculty meeting is by itself almost worth the price of admission.
This does not seem like a first novel. The story is full of detail, the author is knowledgeable about many subjects. The characters are interesting with human flaws, they take the reader into their worlds as they find their way through life. The author appears to have studied people of all ages, including children, and the characters are realistic and believable. Intriguingly written, I look forward to his second novel if he has another story to tell.
I love this book. The character development is great and grabs you; lots of detail and very interesting. I want to meet these guys (well, most of them; I don't care much for Ben). As the personal stories of the four main characters are unfolding, there are some hints of how they would at some point come together, but the suspense held me and I couldn't put it down--the momentum was increasing throughout the book.
I hope there are more coming from this author.
This is one of those stories that sucks you in and holds your attention to the end. Imagine "Pulp Fiction" without the violence. Four stories unfold in paralllel, as all the characters live out intersecting plots with one common thread - but none of the characters are able to see the connection.
For me it is usually enough if a book is diverting, or sometimes nicely diverting. This book delivers much more. I enjoyed watching the story unfold in front of me, and got more into it as the final reveal came closer.
I recommend it highly.
Rarely do I read a novel that I am able to describe comfortably and confidently as literature or literary fiction. Departure Lounge is Literature with a capital L well written, tightly structured, interesting and informative. Not formulaic in any respect, it is creative and new in its viewpoint
What struck me most about the book early on was that the writer, a male, had created so many strong female characters. How could he write so knowledgeably about so many women and their life situations?
He has done it well.
Moreover, the author knows a lot about many subjects and the reader can't help but learn things he or she didn't know previously about math; literary criticism; academia; lesbian romance; bankruptcy law; the train and boat schedules in Athens; baseball; Linda Ronstadt; and The Alexandria Quartet.
The underlying structure of the book is elegant, not unlike a 3-6-4 double-play or one of Anna's math equations (both of which are discussed in the book.)
I recommend the book highly and look forward to the author's next effort. Perhaps this is just book one of a new quartet.
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