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 First edition cover | |
| Author | Walter Kirn |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
Publication date | 2001 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 303 |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-49710-7 |
| OCLC | 46472260 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3561.I746 U6 2001 |
| Preceded by | Thumbsucker (1999) |
| Followed by | Mission to America (2005) |
Up in the Air is a 2001 novel by American authorWalter Kirn. It was adapted into the2009 feature film of the same name starringGeorge Clooney.
Ryan Bingham is a 35-year-old career transition counselor for aDenver-based management consulting company, Integrated Strategic Management (ISM). He isdivorced and his disturbed younger sister is about to embark on yet another disastrous relationship. He flies around the country firing and then counseling recently laid-off people for reentering the job market.
Bingham inhabits a world ofPalm Pilots, rental cars, salted almonds,Kevlar luggage and nameless suite hotels wheree-mail andvoicemail are the communication norm. He takes a lot ofpills and spends time among women inLas Vegas.
Bingham is trying to get to a millionfrequent flyer miles, a number only reached by nine other people in the same mileage club (from the fictionalairline Great West). Before his boss returns from vacation, Bingham files hisletter of resignation and cancels his company credit card. Bingham is positioning himself to be hired by MythTech, a shadowy company based inOmaha, Nebraska.
Bingham fears that someone may be furtively cashing in his precious miles, which would be tantamount to stealing his soul.[1]
Kirn wrote the book in ruralMontana during a snowbound winter on a ranch while thinking about airports, airplanes and about a particular conversation he had with another passenger in afirst-class cabin. That passenger stated that he used to have an apartment inAtlanta but never used it. He got a storage locker instead, since he stayed in hotels and was on the road 300 days a year. He considered theflight crew to be like family, and indicated that he knew theflight attendant by name and knew her kids' names.[2][3]
Jason Reitman andSheldon Turner adapted this novel into a 2009award-winning feature film starringGeorge Clooney. The film was critically acclaimed and was nominated for sixAcademy Awards, includingBest Picture.
The book received some good reviews and initially sold well untilSeptember 11, 2001 when sales slowed to a near halt. The cover's cartoon of flying businesspeople, one of them on fire and hurtling earthward in a similar manner toThe Falling Man, also hurt sales. Sales of the book were revived following Jason Reitman's film adaptation.[4]