''Up in the Air'' is a 2001 novel by American author

Walter Kirn Walter Norris Kirn (born August 3, 1962) is an American novelist, literary critic, and essayist. He is the author of eight books, most notably '' Up in the Air'', which was made into a film of the same name starring George Clooney. Overview As ...

. It was adapted into the 2009 feature film of the same name starring George Clooney.

Plot summary

Ryan Bingham is a 35-year-old career transition counselor for a

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based management consulting company, Integrated Strategic Management (ISM). He is

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

d 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 of

Palm Pilot The PalmPilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional are the second generation of Palm PDA devices produced by Palm Inc (then a subsidiary of U.S. Robotics, later 3Com). These devices were launched on March 10, 1997. Accessories and pricing Pa ...

s, rental cars, salted almonds,

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

luggage and nameless suite hotels where

e-mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic (digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...

and

voicemail A voicemail system (also known as voice message or voice bank) is a computer-based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to ind ...

are the communication norm. He takes a lot of pills and spends time among women in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Bingham is trying to get to ten million

frequent flyer miles A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...

, a number only reached by nine other people in the same mileage club (from the fictional

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

Great West). Before his boss returns from vacation, Bingham files his

letter of resignation A letter of resignation is written to announce the author's intent to leave a position currently held, such as an office, employment or commission. Historical A formal letter with minimal expression of courtesy is then-President Richard Nixon' ...

and cancels his company credit card. Bingham is positioning himself to be hired by MythTech, a shadowy company based in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. Bingham fears that someone may be furtively cashing in his precious miles, which would be tantamount to stealing his soul.

Writing

Kirn wrote the book in rural

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

during a snowbound winter on a ranch while thinking about airports, airplanes and about a particular conversation he had with another passenger in a first-class cabin. That passenger stated that he used to have an apartment in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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 the

flight crew Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions ...

to be like family, and indicated that he knew the flight attendant by name and knew her kids' names.

Film adaptation

Jason Reitman and

Sheldon Turner Sheldon Turner is a screenwriter and producer. His produced credits as a screenwriter include '' The Longest Yard'' (2005), '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning'' (2006), '' Up in the Air'' (2009) and '' X-Men: First Class'' (2011). He ...

adapted this novel into a 2009 award-winning feature film starring George Clooney. The film was critically acclaimed and was nominated for six

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, including

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Sales

The book received some good reviews and initially sold well until

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

when sales slowed to a near halt. The cover with a cartoon of flying businesspeople (presumably reminiscent of ''

The Falling Man ''The Falling Man'' is a photograph taken by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew of a man falling from the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks in New York City. The Unidentified Man in the image was trapped on the upp ...

'') one of them on fire and hurtling earthward also hurt sales. Sales of the book were revived following Jason Reitman's film adaptation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Up In The Air 2001 American novels American satirical novels American novels adapted into films Aviation novels Doubleday (publisher) books