Panorama

January 1, 2018
The lead-up to and aftermath of a commercial jet crash are seen from the perspectives of many people whose lives the tragedy touches.Kistulentz's debut novel begins at the Salt Lake City airport on New Year's Eve 2000--"the last day of the last year when we still felt safe"--with an unhappy 48-year-old airline mechanic who makes a mistake in the preflight check of a 727, preoccupied with getting home to his wife to celebrate New Year's Eve. Though the crash won't actually occur until the following afternoon, its utter devastation is described in this chapter, "soot and ash and oozing plastic and blood spatter, the implied presence of human remains." This choice trades in some of the suspense of the situation for a heart-wrenching certainty about the outcome for several of the characters, of which there are many, though some only get a chapter or two--for example, a kid who films the crash, various airport employees, members of the airline's Adam and Eve teams who go out to notify the next of kin. The central cast member among the passengers is Mary Beth Blumenthal, a single mother who's left her 6-year-old son home in Texas with a co-worker so she and her boss can spend the weekend together in a Salt Lake City hotel, though she's still wondering why he chose Utah. Her brother, a Washington, D.C.-based television pundit named Richard MacMurray, who presumably will be inheriting her orphaned son, is followed even more closely than Mary Beth, including very detailed chapters on his career options and love life, including even the post-breakup sexual adventures of his ex-girlfriend. These chapters seem marginal to the main concerns of the book and, once the crash has occurred, verge on tastelessness. Though Kistulentz confidently sets up and populates the panorama of the book's title, there's a paint-by-numbers quality to his depiction of his characters' emotions that keeps the reader at arm's length when we should be most swept up.This book has the architecture of a great novel but falls short in the execution. A writer worth watching.

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January 29, 2018
The plot of Kistulentz’s poignant debut novel (after the poetry collection Little Black Daydream) centers on a New Year’s Day plane crash in Dallas that kills everyone on board. But this is neither a thriller nor a traditional disaster story. A short opening chapter describes the tragedy, then flashes back a day or so. The reader follows the highly self-reflective activities of Richard MacMurray, a discontented cable news anchor, as well as his sister, Mary Beth. She has been dating her boss, Mike Renfro, and considers him her leading prospect for marriage. Having a husband is a priority for Mary Beth, single mother to her six-year-old son, Gabriel, who has never known his biological father. Richard eschews the glare of the public spotlight for an evening alone with a bottle of wine, while Mary Beth and Mike ring in the New Year with a romantic getaway in Salt Lake City. The crash occurs near the novel’s midpoint, and the story then follows the families and loved ones of the victims as they cope, grieve, and try to understand their losses, particularly Richard and Gabriel, who are brought together after Mary Beth dies in the crash. This is a lyrical and moving debut novel.

April 1, 2018

Panorama Flight 503 Salt Lake City to Dallas lifts off on a gorgeously clear New Year's Day morning--a day on the calendar traditionally earmarked for optimism, reflection, and new beginnings. With new beginnings, however, come endings, and this powerful debut novel concerns itself with both. Flight 503 never makes it to Dallas, crashing violently and exploding into flames after a mechanical malfunction renders the pilots helpless. Set the year before 9/11, the story follows the impact of this tragic event on a single family. Kistulentz, who has published two books of poetry (The Luckless Age and Little Black Daydream) tells the tale beautifully. At the center is single mom Mary Beth, who is aboard the flight, leaving behind six-year-old son Gabriel and brother Richard, who will take custody of the child. This is a work about contingencies and asymmetrical events in everyday life--events that are beyond our control. It is also a deeply moving meditation on the nature of family and home and a celebration of our redeeming capacity for optimism in the face of tragedy, hardship, and loss. VERDICT Enthusiastically recommended for fans of literary fiction.--Patrick Sullivan, Manchester Community Coll., CT

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2018
Kistulentz's debut novel explores the fallout of a tragedy through his characters' hopes and fears. Mary Beth has flown to Salt Lake City to celebrate New Year's with her boyfriend (who's also her boss), leaving her young son, Gabriel, in the care of a coworker. Her brother, Richard, is a hey, it's that guy cable-news talking head based in D.C. Both siblings are unsatisfied with their professional or personal lives but are trying to change thatwhen Mary Beth's plane crashes, leaving no survivors. Over the course of New Year's Day, several lives will be affected by this event; Richard, first, as he makes plans to retrieve Gabriel, but also a server at a bar whose husband is on the plane; teenagers who caught the crash on film; the plane's mechanic; and several of the passengers. The first part of the book is an interesting dive into lives that haven't exactly gone as planned, while the second half feels a bit rushed. Readers of character-driven fiction who appreciate a happy ending will enjoy this.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)