Late Air: A Novel
Written by Jaclyn Gilbert
Narrated by George Newbern and Cinelle Barnes
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Jaclyn Gilbert’s piercing and lyrically compelling debut novel about marriage, loss, and finding the path home again.
Murray has always known how to suppress his pain.
In the shadows of a predawn run, a man tries to escape what he can’t control: His failed marriage. Grief. Even his own weakness. Murray is a college running coach insistent on his relentless training regimen and obsessed with his star athlete—until he finds her crumpled and unresponsive during a routine practice one morning.
Unable to avoid or outrun reality, Murray is forced to face the consequences of a terrible accident from the past…and his own increasingly tenuous grip on life.
In her debut novel, author Jaclyn Gilbert weaves together the strands of two lives that form a union as finely nuanced and delicate as a spider’s web—and just as vulnerable. Following the relationship of Murray and his ex-wife, Nancy, in alternating narratives, we experience their early moments of hope and desire as well as their fears and failings. With poignancy and grace, Late Air traces the collapse of a marriage, exhausted by time and trauma, and one couple’s journey to regain their footing.
Jaclyn Gilbert
After completing her BA at Yale University, Jaclyn Gilbert went on to receive an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. Since then, she has received a research fellowship from the New York Public Library and contributed to the Bread Loaf, Colgate, and Tin House writers’ conferences. Jaclyn has also led writing workshops at the Valhalla Correctional Facility, the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, and Curious-on-Hudson in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Jaclyn lives in Brooklyn with her husband and her dog, Phin. Late Air is her first novel. For more information about Jaclyn, visit her website at www.JaclynGilbert.com.
Related to Late Air
Related audiobooks
Search Heartache Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLong for This World: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Only Want What's Best Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTiger Milk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If Sons, Then Heirs: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Cowardly Woman No More Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Children Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Must Remember This: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe City Still Breathing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHouseholders Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Banks of Certain Rivers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Legacy of Bones Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBrass Ankle Blues Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Fitz Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bloomland Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Girls from Alexandria Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSerious Sweet Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Too Close For Comfort Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Perfect Arrangement Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Good Family Fitzgerald Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMisconduct of the Heart: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMagdalena Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPink Icing and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Price of Two Sparrows Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Girl in the Maze Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Awakening Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Seekers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stella & Margie Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Brightest Sun Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeauty Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5
Literary Fiction For You
The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tom Lake: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stardust Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Song of Achilles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Poisonwood Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yellowface: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Measure: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picture of Dorian Gray: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Their Eyes Were Watching God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dutch House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of The Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House in the Cerulean Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hang the Moon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers for Algernon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Late Air
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5LATE AIR is at once a book about obsession, grief, and lack of communication. Collegiate running coach Murray is struggling with multiple issues, while his ex-wife Nancy has her own demons. The story is told from multiple points of view, slowly describing the events that caused the marriage to fail and the residual damage they sustained.
As Murray is trying to cope mentally with the severe injury of his star runner, Nancy is trying to banish her own thoughts of the marriage, the tragedies within, and the lack of communication between her and Murray.
I will say that to me, Murray was a very sympathetic character and Nancy was not. She seemed dramatic and overly needy. Yes, Murray was an obsessive and at times obtuse – but I feel if Nancy had tried to talk more openly with Murray instead of wishing he would do this or say that, things would have had a fighting chance. The issues within their marriage were complicated by an event that irreversibly changed them both – and certainly many marriages have failed for the same exact reason – but what complicates matters is the utter lack of communication between Murray and Nancy. It seems that they were on their best behavior when they got married but slowly settled into the patterns of who they really were. Murray was always obsessed with lists, running, and time, while Nancy was seeking outward affection from a man who seemed unable to give it. She is so in need of feeling wanted and loved that she ends up worse off after her divorce. Her relationship with an utterly shallow man illustrates just how far a woman can fall when she is ruled by her emotions.
The main reason I wanted to read the book was the running and coaching storyline. The author does an excellent job of tying in his coaching duties spiraling into decompensation and showing us how he becomes detached from his team even as he prepares the girls for important races. The training parts of LATE AIR were true to life and much more interesting than some other parts of the book.
I will say that the book is well written, despite my lukewarm reaction to the storyline. Gilbert is adept at diving down into the deepest recesses of pain, bringing the hurt up to the surface again and again. Her ability to focus and illuminate emotions is intense, yet beautiful. I’ll definitely be looking out for her next work.