How to Read the Air

A heartbreaking literary masterwork about love, family, and the power of imagination, which confirms Mengestu s reputation as one of the brightest talents of his generation.Dinaw Mengestu s first novel, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, earned the young writer comparisons to Bellow, Fitzgerald, and Naipaul, and garnered ecstatic critical praise and awards around the world for its haunting depiction of the immigrant experience Now Mengestu enriches the themes that defined his debut with a heartbreaking literary masterwork about love, family, and the power of imagination, which confirms his reputation as one of the brightest talents of his generation One early September afternoon, Yosef and Mariam, young Ethiopian immigrants who have spent all but their first year of marriage apart, set off on a road trip from their new home in Peoria, Illinois, to Nashville, Tennessee, in search of a new identity as an American couple Soon, their son, Jonas, will be born in Illinois Thirty years later, Yosef has died, and Jonas needs to make sense of the volatile generational and cultural ties that have forged him How can he envision his future without knowing what has come before Leaving behind his marriage and job in New York, Jonas sets out to retrace his mother and father s trip and weave together a family history that will take him from the war torn Ethiopia of his parents youth to his life in the America of today, a story real or invented that holds the possibility of reconciliation and redemption. Read How to Read the Air By Dinaw Mengestu – kino-fada.fr This was the most annoying book I have read in a very long time I suffered through this book I have read The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by this author in the past While I wouldn t give it rave reviews, it was ok I purchased this book because I wanted to support an Ethiopian author, as my husband is Ethiopian This is not a novel it is a 320 page essay of pure fluffy words If, and when, there was dialogue between Jonas and his wife, it was stilted The author never gives any char This was the most annoying book I have read in a very long time I suffered through this book I have read The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by this author in the past While I wouldn t give it rave reviews, it was ok I purchased this book because I wanted to support an Ethiopian author, as my husband is Ethiopian This is not a novel it is a 320 page essay of pure fluffy words If, and when, there was dialogue between Jonas and his wife, it was stilted The author never gives any character development which leaves the reader feeling absolutely nothing for the main character, nor his immigrant parents The book jacket description is a false lure into a storyline ...So maybe this isn t exactly five stars, it certainly has its flaws but for the few parts here and there where it drags there are dozens of other bits that sneak up on you and cut you, just cut the living shit out of you Mengestu s alternating, gradually merging, story of an abusive immigrant father told often invented by his thirty something son in midst of the dissolution of his marriage covers a rang... Surprisingly very good. First let me say this book is getting a solid 4 1 2 stars and I mean this in the best possible way I ve had this book in my possession for a while I ve even started it a few times only to put it down but this time, it was as if the book was whispering to me from the shelf With a wave of a hand a curling of its figurative finger it enticed me to come closer Keep coming in a little deeper Just a little deeper, I have a story about a story and some lies and truth to t Surprisi...The eerie calm in Dinaw Mengestu s new novel, How to Read the Air, is almost never broken There are flashes of violence a black eye, a broken lamp but those strikes interrupt an atmosphere of smothered despair Named one of the New Yorker s best 20 writers under 40, Mengestu earned high praise for his 2007 debut, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, about a lonely Ethiopian working in Logan Circle, and his new novel concentrates that theme of alienation even further.The story contr The eerie calm in Dinaw Mengestu s new novel, How to Read the Air, is almost never broken There are flashes of violence a black eye, a broken lamp but those strikes interrupt an atmosphere of smothered despair Named one of the New Yorker s best 20 writers under 40, Mengestu earned high praise for his 2007 debut, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, about a lonely Ethiopian working in Log...Somehow, I missed Dinaw Mengestu s impressive literary debut which garnered reams of ecstatic praise so I m a little late to this party But after turning the last page of How To Read The Air, I can see what all the fuss was about This is an exquisite multi layered book, an extraordinary look at immigrant s identity, the downward spiral of violence, the power of story telling, and the vision of redemption It is rich, complex, and very, very good.His protagonist, Jonas Woldemariam, is tread Somehow, I missed Dinaw Mengestu s impressive literary debut which garnered reams of ecstatic praise so I m a little late to this party But after turning the last page of How To Read The Air, I...After a while, I found the book sort of rote It felt like it was written by an MFA graduate by which I mean it was well written, intelligent, but it lacked something Spirit Sincerity The great impetus for the narrative wasn t that great, wasn t much of a narrative The disintegration of the relationships were dealt with in manners I ve read before unexplainable ennui, boredom, random, for the sake of it.I couldn t get into the perspective either It worked when he was describing his relatio After a while, I found the book sort of rote It felt like it was written by an MFA graduate by which I mean it was well written, intelligent, but it lacked something Spirit Sincerity The great impetus for the narrative wasn t that great, wasn t much of a narrative The disintegration of the relationships were dealt with in manner...How to Read the Air is the parallel story of two marriages as the participants struggle to connect with each other and find truth in themselves One couple, Yosef Mariam, are immigrants from Ethiopia who embark on a road trip from their home in Illinois to Nashville The trip highlights the fragility of their relationship and their inability and unwillingne...What a flat tire of a read this turned out to be and with all the hype that ensued I shouldn t have to question why All the elements for a possible fantastic novel were omitted in exchange for a series of ridiculous hard to follow sub stories It was just too many and really not necessary Technically, it is well written and Mengestu uses every trick in the bag to spin this tiresome tale of his Yes, I said tiresome because of it s lack of passion and spark No life or soul could I find between What a flat tire ...What I was expecting A novel about a married immigrant couple from Ethiopia and the trials they faced there and then and here and now What it is A novel about the immigrant couple s son, his divorce, his retracing his parent s honeymoon.I read a quarter and very little, maybe ten pages at that point followed the parents and what unlikeable people they are I don t advocate spousal abuse, but I gotta be honest. If I was the husband, I would slap that woman into next year She s got it comin...7 things I like about How to read the air 1 I like the title See, how to read the air basically refer to the fact that when you live in some dangerous environment, knowing how to read the air is essential for your survival You must possess a sixth sense that allows you to detect the change in the Air, which announces imminent danger How do I know this euhh it s in the book Yosef was at a rally in Addis Ababa, when the army descends on them One nasty soldier was targeting him, that s wh 7 things I like about How to read the air 1 I like the title See, how to read the air basically refer to the fact that when you live in some dangerous environment, knowing how to read the air is essential for your survival You must possess a sixth sense that allows you to detect the change in the Air, which announces imminent danger How do I know this euhh it s in the book Yosef was at a rally in Addis Ababa, when the army descends on them One nasty soldier was targeting him,...

• English
• 03 December 2017
Dinaw Mengestu
• Hardcover
• 320 pages
• 1594487707
• Dinaw Mengestu
• How to Read the Air