NOOK Book (eBook - B&N epub)
$10.94
BN.com price
$14.99 List Price (Save 27%)

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

Overview

Tie into the Warner Bros. Max and Carla are two New Yorkers who have nothing in common until they both survive a plane crash. Now they must face their families, friends, guilt and each other in this deftly-crafted saga.

Tie into the Warner Bros. motion picture coming this fall, starring Jeff Bridges and Isabella Rossellini. Max and Carla are two New Yorkers who have nothing in common until they both survive a plane crash. Now they must face their families, friends, guilt and each other in this deftly-crafted saga.

... See more details below

More About This Book

Overview

Tie into the Warner Bros. Max and Carla are two New Yorkers who have nothing in common until they both survive a plane crash. Now they must face their families, friends, guilt and each other in this deftly-crafted saga.

Tie into the Warner Bros. motion picture coming this fall, starring Jeff Bridges and Isabella Rossellini. Max and Carla are two New Yorkers who have nothing in common until they both survive a plane crash. Now they must face their families, friends, guilt and each other in this deftly-crafted saga.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
A powerful examination of denial and guilt, Yglesias's ( Hot Properties) terrific new novel opens with a gut-wrenching scene incarnating the worst nightmares of anyone who is afraid of flying. Forty-two minutes after takeoff, a DC-10 en route from New York to Los Angeles loses its rear engine. Max Klein, an architect traveling with his business partner, imagines the worst. Carla Fransisca, her two-year-old son in her lap, refuses to believe that she and her child are in danger. When the plane crashes, both are ironically confounded: Max walks away unhurt, and Carla blames herself for her son's death. The ordeal crushes Carla, elevates Max to a higher level of perception and strips them both of everything except brutal, fearless honesty. Yglesias chronicles their actions after the flight with the same candor, often portraying Max and Carla as abrupt and abrasive without making them any less real or less likable to the reader. A screenwriter as well as a novelist, he makes good use of cinematic techniques. Each image in his simple, precise prose is vivid and memorable; the pre-crash scene on the plane and a later re-enactment of the accident, in particular, linger in the mind. Film rights to Spring Creek Productions; audio rights to Simon & Schuster; BOMC alternate. ( Apr. )
Library Journal
Acclaimed author Yglesias ( The Murderer Next Door , LJ 8/90) examines how almost dying can affect one's life. His protagonists are Max and Carla, who experience psychological problems after surviving a DC-10 crash. An architect traveling on business, Max accompanies his partner, who is killed in the crash. Having outwitted death, Max decides that he has nothing further to fear. Carla, traveling with her baby, feels unworthy to live once she loses him. Consumed by guilt, Max and Carla reexamine their lives, their relationships, and their religious beliefs, and eventually realize that they alone can make each other whole. Yglesias, a talented writer, immediately involves readers in the fate of his characters, telling their story extremely well. Highly recommended.-- Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, Md.
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Writing very smartly indeed but no better or worse than in his largely well-received Hot Properties, The Murderer Next Door, etc., Yglesias achieves by sheer dint of an inspired story what may be his breakthrough novel (already optioned for a Peter Weir film starring Jeff Bridges and Isabella Rossellini). This time out, he tells of a magical change of character in the survivor of a runway air-crash. First-rate but unfulfilled architect Max Stein becomes really alive, fearless of all constraints, and sets out to trim all the deadwood out of his life and stand dripping with dew in the early lilacs. This lightning bolt of alienation from society or estrangement from mankind is a state of mind much enjoyed by Tolstoy's heroes, and with that plot and a man back from the dead, Yglesias can do anything and it will be as fresh as a visiting Martian's first hot dog with mustard. Unhappily married fellow survivor Carla Fransisca blames herself for losing her infant in the crash and becomes housebound and fearful of the streets. Enter superhonest, worry-free Max to bring her back to life, telling her, "`We're safe because we died already....You've passed through death. You're alive now. Both of us are. All of the survivors are. Don't you see? Everybody else'—he gestured at the streets, at the people hurrying to their destination, hunched against the cold, scurrying with the fear of hunted mice—`they don't know what it is to die in their minds as we did."' Meanwhile, Max and Carla are hounded by their mutual lawyer, Brillstein, who hopes to wring a huge settlement from the airline—though neither Max nor Carla will make it easy for him with lies about the crash. Also, Max's wifeDebbie, long-suffering through the ordeal of her husband's manic honesty, weighs having him committed and saved from overrich fearlessness. Smells like a wonderful story that should enjoy huge word of mouth.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781453204993
  • Publisher: Open Road Publishing
  • Publication date: 11/16/2010
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Edition description: B&N epub
  • Pages: 339
  • Sales rank: 813,132
  • File size: 2 MB

Meet the Author

Rafael Yglesias
Rafael Yglesias

Rafael Yglesias (b. 1954) is a master American storyteller whose career began with the publication of his first novel, Hide Fox, and All After, at seventeen. Through four decades Yglesias has produced numerous highly acclaimed novels, including Fearless, which was adapted into the film starring Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez. He lives on New York City’s Upper East Side.

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit