Author: Norman Ollestad
Genre: Memoir, Standalone
Published: 2009
Personal Rating: 4.25/5
Yearly Count: 51
From the front cover:
On February 19, 1979, I was in a plane crash with my father; his girlfriend, Sandra; and the pilot of our chartered Cessna. Sandra was 30 years old. My dad was 43. I was 11. Just after sunrise, we slammed into a rugged 8,600-foot mountain engulfed in a blizzard. By the end of our nine-hour ordeal, I was the only survivor.
Norman shares his life growing up with his father and the actual plane crash in alternating chapters; both of which were captivating. There was never a dry patch, and I was very touched by the relationship that Norman and his dad developed. The attitude of his dad made me smile and was infectious - it's one of life's lessons that I will take away with me.
I truly appreciated Norman's story and wanted to give it a 4.5/5; however, two relatively large aspects of the book prevented me from doing so. First is the fact that there were no quotation marks around the dialog. It wasn't difficult to read, but it would have been easier had they been used. Second, the detailed descriptions of surfing, skiing and surviving were somewhat difficult to follow. I'm not familiar with the lingo, so often I couldn't visualize particular events. Gratefully, there was one picture provided, and it added so much to my experience - I would have loved to have seen more. All the best to you, Norman.
Thanks to Harper Collins Publishers for providing me this advance copy. It will be released on June 2, 2009.
PLEASE NOTE:
Rachel from Harper Collins sent me exactly what I needed to make this book whole - a YouTube video that Norman put together. I loved it! You can view it here.
This sounds like a fascinating memoir! I can't even imagine being in a situation like that.
ReplyDeleteI wondered about this one. Sounds interesting! Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI hate it too, though, when they mess around with punctuation and agree no quotes does not enhance the reading pleasure.
What an experience this man went through! It sounds like a gripping story..thanks for the review! I will definitely add it to my TBR list!
ReplyDeleteThe lack of quotation marks would drive me crazy.
ReplyDeleteThis does sound like it would be a good read although the lack of quotation marks could drive me batty.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great book. I think the lack of quotation marks in the dialogue would bother me. I've read other books like that before and it forced me to put the book down. I'm glad you could still enjoy the book even though this was absent.
ReplyDeleteI've got this one on my stacks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Not thrilled to hear about the lack of quotation marks -- we'll see how the reading without them goes. I opted not to take this one on the plane with me, for obvious reasons. ;)
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested, I added a link to a YouTube video that Norman put together. It really helped fill in the missing visuals!
ReplyDeleteCarrie ~ I know! 11-years-old and he saved himself.
Nicola ~ It was a quick read - one that I was always happy to get back to. I don't understand the reasoning behind no quotation marks.
Obsesssed Reader ~ I thought it was gripping. However, I do love memoirs.
Bermudaonion ~ LOL Surprisingly enough, the lack of quotation marks didn't drive me crazy, but I didn't like it and can understand others avoiding it. The new voices were entered on the next line, so it wasn't all blurred together.
Dar ~ I don't understand why they did that. What was the point?
thatsthebook ~ It bothered me enough to mention it, but not enough to set it aside. The details that I didn't understand actually bothered me more.
Bookfool ~ LOL Wise choice. :) No quotation marks kept the flow going; however, that can lead to confusion - which did happen a couple of times. "Wait! Who said that?"