Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable book.

LATE 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 absence 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.

It has taken me a while to get to this review and I'm still very unsure how I feel. I thought this was such a raw, unscripted look at grief and the many ways a marriage can crumble and fail. Murray and Nancy are so different and I was completely fascinated with how they behaved as a couple. However, because of those differences it was also difficult for me to believe that they would have ever even come together. I loved learning about the history of their relationship, but I needed just a little more of it in order to be convinced of its' validity.

I have never been into sports and I have also never been into running, so it was hard for me to form attachments to the coaching aspect of the novel. Murray felt very detached and solely focused on his work, but he did not seem to have any clue how to care for his girls. At times he really broke my heart, but in others nothing he did made any sense.

Many passages felt incomplete to me and so much detail seemed to be left out of the story line. I think that if the book wasn't told from Murray's perspective I would have liked it more. Nancy's sections were definitely my favorite and I found her to be a fascinating character.

This is a story about hang-ups, connections and discontent, and I found the book very intriguing. It’s a sad book but it is beautifully written with very believable characters. This novel deals with tragedy and how to deal with the daily struggle of sorrow and loss. I like this book. I highly recommend it.

Late Air follows a couple, Nancy and Murray, a librarian and cross country coach who first meet in Paris, from the beginnings of their relationship to the present day, moving back and forth between then and now. The dual narrative also focuses on Murray's running team, after an incident involving one of the girls (in the present day) changes everything.

This is a story of obsession, relationships, disappointment, and I found the first half gripping. Unfortunately the book lost its way a little in the latter half and it felt like there was a bit too much going on. A solid debut, nonetheless.

Beautifully written but terribly sad. Time shifts back and forth as Gilbert tells the story of Murray and Nancy, divorced in the present but still tied to one another in so many ways. Murray, a coach, begins to both reflect and decompensated when his star runner, Becky, is horribly injured in a freak accident. There is a tragedy in the couple's past which led to the dissolution of the marriage and it echoes into the present. This is both dramatic and restrained, a hard tightrope to walk. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a free ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.

Late Air can best be described as an odd book in a mainstream way. The coach shows he cares about his athletes, himself, his wife and their child through actions. He obsesses about counting things, keeping in control, and producing results. By staying regimented he can achieve what he wants for himself and others. Much of the book is about his goals and coaching his Division 1 athletes. It’s fascinating, sad and a bit horrifying to read about the inner workings of his brain. The book can be seen as a warning against a singular focus mindset.

Despite the catch being so focused, the story was a bit all over the place. At times I got lost and other times I didn’t really care. There are many life lessons to be learned, but I didn’t really care about the characters.

All in all, a cautionary tale against obsession, but not as amazing as I had hoped.

We all deal with tragedy at some point in time in our lives. This novel deals with that and how do you cope in the daily struggle of loss.
I did enjoy this book, The cover and plot were intriguing. You do not need to be a runner to enjoy the book.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murray’s fist tightened over his watch, numbers slipping like sand.

What began as a romantic, surprising love in Paris when Murray (a marathon runner, olympic competitor, coach for Yale) and Nancy ( literary archivist) first meet in a cafe, turns into marriage. Her family isn’t thrilled about his background. Just finishing her PhD, her mother wanted far more for her than someone with Murray’s less than stellar background. Not even after marriage and a child are her parents able to open their hearts. Murray himself doesn’t have many familial connections with both parent’s deceased and a brother who dropped off West when their mother was ill. Together, they create a family of their own to build upon, chosing to focus on their careers and marriage.

Murray is more than passionate about his girls, in Nancy’s mind maybe obsessed. Having moved to New Haven more for his work than hers, there are small resentments. Never easy in making friends, she finds her own footing and befriends colleagues to share the thoughts in her mind with as Murray becomes more distant, and their intimacy recedes. Often ashamed of the jealousy she feels over Murray’s ‘girls’, Nancy tries to channel all her energy into her newborn, Jean. But the days collect in loneliness, the maternal feelings don’t come naturally and Murray is always preoccupied by his stopwatch, training. She needs her work too, this she knows. Being stuck home all day isn’t nourishment to her mind, soul. She isn’t bonding naturally, her child is often a squalling bundle of energy. She is exhausted, depressed, and lonely. In time, her little family is working again and everything feels good, though Murray is forgetful of important things, his mind never committed to Jean and Nancy.

Present day, sixteen years later Nancy and Murray are nowhere they thought they’d be. Tragedy has struck one of Murray’s star athletes, and the suffocating horrors of his own past suffering merges with present day. Now, he is beginning to see all the things he missed but is it too late, this breath of air? Could all the ridiculous fears, accusations and guilt from the past have some grain of truth? Is the injury Becky sustained his fault? Did he push his girls too hard? Was he a little too involved with others? Did he spend too much time running away from Nancy and Jean? Could anything he did or didn’t do change either outcome?

Time has its way with all the characters in this novel. Marriage through tragedy is a different beast, and sometimes it takes the passage of years to understand our choices, our mistakes, to confront our pain. Sometimes we understand too late that our partner’s betrayal may well be rooted in our own. This novel is an exploration of pain and love. You don’t have to be interested in runners (sports) to take meaning from the story, it’s much more about relationships, marriage, family. It burns slowly, takes you back and forth through Nancy and Murray’s lives, but those of you married long enough can relate especially partners who have trudged through loss together. If you haven’t known tragedy, you will one day. Grief and sorrow comes around for us all. It is the price we pay for being alive, for love.

Publication Date: November 13, 2019

Little A

You get tragedy where the tree,
instead of bending,
breaks.
Ludwig Wittgenstein

We all have tragedy visit us at some point in life. I thought I was safe until my late adult years when family members became seriously ill. I was in disbelief that all these kinds of things could happen to us. The novel Late Air examines what we do with when that tragedy hits our lives. Do we fold or struggle on, day by day.

Gilbert focuses on the characters Murray and Nancy, husband and wife. Murray is the women's track coach at Yale and Nancy is a literary archivist at The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, also at Yale. The couple works exceptionally long, selfless hours at their jobs. The work is their passion. Murray is obsessive about time. He lives by his stopwatch, each of his track students has a time that they must strive to better. He wants winners. He has had winners in the past.

A tragedy in their lives challenges all that they are, and it puts the reader in a situation of "what if" I had to try to live through all that. Gilbert creates a narrative where one survives by grasping on to life, barely breathing most days. Her other main character holds on to his stopwatch and has to come to terms with real life when he can't get the times out of his head.

I enjoyed reading this novel, packed with real life that we often have no idea exists in the real world, but it does. Gilbert has many more books to write, and I hope to read them soon.

I received an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.

1.5, rounded up to 2.
I feel bad saying that but I didn't like the book that much, specially the style it's written. It's "too much" of everything. I love books being exciting, fast-paced when the situation shouts for it, but no matter which point I, as the reader, must be able to jump into the situation and keep up with pace, calmness, highs and lows, characters and their pasts and their nows. I think this is the hardest to accomplish, I know I could never do it. Story telling without gibing away the feeling of telling but being a part lf it. This book, Late Air, is like being presented a race by a narrator who jumps through space, character, time, events, and all of this without breathing or letting you breathe and consider and feel. I hope I'm in the minority here, and that many other readers see it different.
Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy!

It is perhaps not a surprise that every one of the characters in this novel struggles for air. Whether stifled within a relationship, emotionally suppressed by mourning or physically restricted by an horrific accident, each appears imprisoned by their circumstances and consequently restrained in their expression.
Both compelling and moving, I felt myself drawn to, and able to empathise with, each perspective.
Perhaps, increased light to go with the shade would have offered a more impactful read. As with the most affecting cinematic experiences, a moment of tragedy hits its mark with greater force when it follows a burst of laughter, and there is not a lot of laughter here.
Nevertheless, Gilbert has crafted an engaging read with an authorial voice that put me in mind of Fredrik Backman's "Bear Town'. Somewhat impressive as this is her first book.

Definitely not a fan of this one. I kept reading and thinking that it had to get better. It didn't, sorry to say.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.