The Paradox of Vertical Flight

Dear Reader,<br /><br />Two things struck me with alarming force at the end of tenth grade, when all the sophomores were called in for consultations with their respective guidance counselors.<br /><br />1. Mitt Paloma (fake name) had a better class rank than me.<br /><br />2. Mitt Paloma would, in all likelihood, go on to a better college, and generally have a better life than me.<br /><br />You have to understand something about my relationship with Mitt Paloma. I hated Mitt the way a priest hates a kid who baptizes his pet rock Gloria in the holy water, and then, upon being discovered, proceeds to hurl dear Gloria in the general direction of the bewildered priests's testicles. <br /><br />What I needed was a trump card. Something to make admissions deans all over the country trip over themselves at the thought of my attending <i>their</i> institution of higher learning.<br /><br />Writing, I decided, would be this trump card. After all, how hard could it be? <br /><br />More than a few years, trunk novels, and college rejection letters later, my first novel is coming out.<br /><br />I hope you enjoy it. <br /><br />- Emil<br /><br /><br />

4 años después lo volví a leer y lo volví a amar. &lt;3<br /><br />------<br /><br />¡He disfrutado tanto este libro! Creo que llegó a mí en el momento ideal, justo cuando necesitaba una historia así y es que está contada desde una perspectiva más que interesante. En más de una ocasión me he reído a carcajadas con el libro, sin dudas se ha vuelto uno de mis favoritos &lt;3<br /><br />Reseña: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E-4JNUaYs4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E-4J...</a> ♥

Quiero un nuevo género para este libro: "Literatura filosófica juvenil".<br />Este libro fue increíble de principio a fin. Ojala que todos le den una oportunidad para que comprendan la mente de nosotros los que estudiamos o hacemos filosofía (?)<br />Uno de mis favoritos sin duda y espero releerlo pronto &lt;3<br /><a href="http://graciasaloslibros.blogspot.com/2015/04/resena-el-viaje-de-socrates-emil.html" rel="nofollow noopener">Reseña completa en <i>Gracias a los Libros</i></a>

No sé qué decir de este libro, la verdad. Es bueno. Me gustó mucho. Me reí con ganas. No voy mucho con la filosofía de los antiguos. Es decir, me gusta pensar, pienso bastante a diario acerca de muchas cosas, reflexiono, medito, y creo que por eso sentí un cierto parecido al protagonista en la manera de ser del personaje. Es interesante. Habla de muchos temas. Es la clase de lectura que me llama la atención. Que no es felicidad en todas partes. Que es más meditación y reflexión que cualquier otra cosa. A mi me gusto. Es muy entretenido. Viaje con él y volé con él. Sentí el amor y la amistad. La fuerza de una mirada y la debilidad de una mirada. No sé, aunque siento que algo me quedó faltando, le doy las cinco estrellas porque no me falló. No falló en su forma. No fue menos de lo que esperaba de él. Hay que digerirlo despacio. No hay que tomarse todo en serio. Al fin y al cabo es solo una historia. Supongo que lo releeré en algún momento para ver lo que no vi a primeras.

It took me over a week to read this less-than-300-page book. That is not a good sign.<br /><br />This is not a good book. It's self-congratulatory navel-gazing pretensiousness on paper.<br /><br />It's drivel. It tries way too hard to be Deep and Meaningful and to Say Something Important. It succeeds at none of these things. Zero. Zip. Nada.<br /><br />And it's dry. Boring. Overwrought. Overwritten.<br /><br />Review to come on my blog and BookLikes!

4.5 (o quizás un poquito más) ¡Me ha encantado! Este libro es una maravillosa mezcla de personajes temerarios, un road trip en ciernes, conversaciones filosóficas y una pizca de locura. Recomendadísimo :)

*Also posted at <a href="http://oopsireadabookagain.blogspot.com/2014/05/blog-tour-review-giveaway-paradox-of.html&quot;" rel="nofollow noopener">Oops! I Read A Book Again</a>*<br /><br />Thank you to Amy of Lady Reader's Blog Tour and Booki of HarperCollins for the review copy! This in no way affected my views of the novel.<br /><br />I've been pining for this novel ever since its publication date because of all the raves it got. I thought I'd never get to read it then here comes Amy's tour. I practically begged to be included in the tour and everything was worth it. Oh my, this book just swept me off my feet. And I'm going to list all the reasons why.<br /><br /><b>Seven Reasons Why I Love <i>The Paradox of Vertical Flight</i></b><br /><br />1. Jack Polovsky. Jack Polovsky is a one-of-a-kind character, one I will never ever forget. The way he thinks, the way he talks, everything. He is certainly one of my favorite characters EVER. He won't wow you in the looks department but oh, the intellect on this one. He talks about philosophy like it's perfectly normal to talk about Nietzsche's eternal return on a daily conversation. I just get him. I might not be as deep as him but I understand all of his views and I just connect to him. Jack Polovsky on his own is awesome but what takes him to the next level is how he interacts with all the characters in the story, which is point number two.<br /><br />2. Relationships. Even more than Jack, I think the heart of this book lies on all his relationships. Whether it's friendship or love or even his relationship with Facebook, all of these were deftly described and fleshed out by the author during the course of the book. And with that, I will break down each of Jack's major relationships showcased in this novel.<br /><br />2.1 Jack with Socrates. Jack can't let go of Socrates for adoption and so, he kidnaps him and decides to bring him to his grandmother for them to meet. Jack goes and has tons of conversations and story-telling time with Socrates (all of which I immensely enjoyed). This relationship will just move you because Jack's love for Socrates is just so palpable that even though it would be hard (and stupid) to keep the kid, you can't help but want that. Jack has been having some existential issues and when Socrates came, he realized tons of things and we were there as he got to think about everything.<br /><br />Then the prologue and the epilogue? I JUST LOVE - I DON'T HAVE WORDS. <br /><br />2.2 Jack with Tommy K. I might love Jack but then I think I like Tommy K more. He's Jack's best friend and he's the best best friend for Jack. He rides all of his jokes, he helps him NO MATTER WHAT and he just plain supports Jack while still being able to call his shit out. He tells it straight to Jack but then he's not that stock awesome funny best friend. He's so much more than that. His own issues? I just wanna hug him. I just wanna hug him for being there for Jack, for joining this whirlwind of a journey, and for letting me know him. Tommy K rocks!<br /><br />2.3 Jack with Jess. Jess is Jack's ex-girlfriend and Socrates' mother. From Jack's memories and when we get to spend time with Jess, you know that they're for each other. Maybe not for forever and definitely not for raising a child but they had this chemistry where Jess tolerated (and even found it cute) Jack's philosophical and completely nerdy ramblings. You know they're on the precipice of something great - of falling in love - but then Socrates happened. We now got to see how they interacted with so much behind them and possibly nothing in the future for them. They obviously care for each other so much and they get each other but it's just not meant to be.<br /><br />2.4 Jack with Baba. Oh my, please don't let the tears fall. I just love how much they love each other. I was close with my grandmother and I found my own relationship with my grandma mirrored in Jack's. It's just, let's just not go there.<br /><br />3. Humor. Oh the humor! I looked like a lunatic laughing all by myself too many times while I read this book. It's short, with only 10 chapters, but it was so full of funny - scratch that - HILARIOUS situations and musings and dialogue. They cuss like normal people do and their digs on each other (Jack, Tommy and Jess) were just gold. I just had so much fun reading this book. The sarcasm, the wittiness, just, GREAT STUFF IN HERE.<br /><br />4. Philosophy. So I'll confess right off the bat: I LOVE PHILOSOPHY. I love all the talk of if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound and all the ideologies and paradoxes and EVERYTHING. Especially when I'm drunk. Jack is a philosophy major and philosophical ideas are just part of his daily thinking and speech. I. LOVE. IT. For those iffy on philosophy, I think you will still enjoy this. Emil writes it simply and I'm sure you've encountered almost all those discussed in here. This is the most fun book with philosophy I have ever read and I didn't realize I like reading philosophy. (I love philosophy but reading the text and materials are just not for me. I'd rather discuss.) It's just a testament to Emil's talent that he managed to incorporate so many ideas and thought experiments in this book while still being engaging, funny and fast-paced.<br /><br />5. Issues. From the blurb, you'll glean on that Jack's kind of suicidal. Then he's got a kid up for adoption at 18 years old. His best friend, Tommy K, also faces his own problems. This book tackles a lot of problems and issues WITHOUT EVER being preachy. Without ever seeming like it's discussing existential issues and all that. The issues are so embedded in the characters and the plot that they are just part of it, without trying to take center stage.<br /><br />6. Road trip! Oh, have I mentioned that this novel features an amazing road trip? Not yet? Now I am. Seriously, you guys, this road trip trumps all road trips. With police looking for them (THE HECK, Jack babynapped!), it might not be THAT realistic but oh goodness, the adventure this quartet had was crazy, exciting and gut-busting in its hilarity.<br /><br />7. The writing. Emil Ostrovski's writing was pretty simple but now that I'm writing this review, there's this one scene that I remember, which made me realize how good the writing was. It's a scene where Jack was called to finally meet Jess and Socrates at the hospital. He goes to buy M&amp;Ms and while eating them recalls a memory with Jess. WOW, that? More than awesome. More than amazing. What a great literary style/device. After remembering that, more and more instances of Emil's simple yet engaging prose came to mind. Sigh. That scene before the epilogue? When we get to know why the title of the book is its title? GOOSEBUMPS. Brilliant. Heartbreaking too.<br /><br />"But -- but in falling, we fly, don't we? We fly vertically. That's the paradox of vertical flight. Falling is the only way we can fly."<br /><br />Wow, that was a very long review. My point is: this book is great and you should just read it to see for yourself. It will make you laugh, feel, think and all you'll ever want from a book. It's not a romance but it features love, most importantly, love for life. The Paradox of Vertical Flight will take you to a road trip of philosophically epic proportions. I cannot recommend this enough!

The review is also up on my blog - <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://www.happybookloversblog.com">http://www.happybookloversblog.com</a><br /><br />I don't know what I was expecting out of this. I loved the cover when I first saw it and thought, "Yeah, I have to read that!" Guys, this book was seriously awesome. It's hard to earn top marks from me, and this one nearly did it.<br /><br />On page 2, the author referenced Kafka and "Metamorphosis," so I was already in love and super impressed that that made it into this YA novel. Then, as if it couldn't get more awesome on the scale of pop-culture references, he also managed to include Star Wars, the Wizard of Oz, Medal of Honor, Harry Potter, and old Greek philosophers. And it all made perfect sense. SO COOL.<br /><br />The pacing was also spot on. The narrator was Jack, who stole his son at the beginning of the novel because he just couldn't bring himself to say goodbye on the spot like that. His narration constantly switched between telling the readers what was actually happening and his thoughts and imaginary conversations he had with his son, Socrates. These conversations were brilliantly hilarious. Jack imagines the baby discussing all sorts of philosophy and existential topics and is surprised that the baby doesn't respond back, so he makes up his responses. It was so witty and quick-paced I forgot it was supposed to be a baby talking, and then Jack would mention it, and it was hilarious again that he was having these imaginary conversations.<br /><br />It was so impressive the sheer amount of stuff Ostrovski tackled. Between teen pregnancy, adoption, parental ties, and the idea of a ceiling on the Earth and religious/philosophical beliefs, it's a wonder now that I didn't get overwhelmed or bogged down. But the writing was so colloquial and it all flowed together so well, it was easy to breeze through while still questioning life along with Jack.<br /><br />Definitely worth the read and purchase, especially for something light and summery but still with big-picture questions.<br />

Sometimes, your professional sweepstaker mother would win a book and then give it to you because it isn't her type of book or she just has a huge TBR. And then you take the book because, well, it's a free book and place it on your shelf, forgetting about it for months.<br /><br />8 months later, you suddenly fall into a major reading sort of slump. You're tired of dystopian, paranormal and even fantasy, so you take a peak at your contemporary shelf and realize wow... I read all of these already. But then you see this blue spine with yellow lettering and come to the conclusion that this is your last resort.<br /><br />After reading the novel, an involuntary tear rolled down my cheek because this beautiful piece of work has been on my shelf for <i>8 months</i><br />To be perfectly honest, I really don't want to explain the plot because I think going into it blindly would help the reader fully appreciate the novel (since that's what I did). Lets just say that its about a newly 18 year old named Jack who receives a surprisingly birthday present from a person whom he hasn't spoken to in a long time. That's when all hell breaks loose.<br /><br />The characters in the story were slightly unstable yet relatable, the plot is epic, and this is probably the most quotable book that I have ever read. Every time Jack said something, I kept thinking to myself "wow that should be put on a t-shirt."<br /><br />Another great aspect was the amount of pop culture that was brought into the story. I was geeking out at almost every reference. There was practically half a page where Jack was applying <i>Harry Potter</i> into his situation. I also loved the Star Wars, Narnia, and Greek mythology references too. But philosophy played a major role which I really enjoyed. People in the other reviews said it was too much, but I think that is what makes this story amazing. It's smart, honest, and downright hilarious.<br /><br />There was so much thought put out in this book it's just...I can't explain it. Emil Ostrovski has such a powerful and intriguing mind. I hope he writes more books to see what else he has hidden up in his brain. I just really want more of Ostrovski. Like i need another book right now!!<br /><br />This definitely earned all the stars and is now rightfully placed on my favorites shelf. <br /><br />

review goes live on <a href="http://theprettygoodgatsby.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow noopener">the blog</a> <b>9/16</b>.<br /><br />When I first heard about <i>The Paradox of Vertical Flight</i> I was intrigued: an 18-year old &amp; his 21-year old ex just became parents, the baby is named Socrates, and they take off for Grandma's house. That's certainly unlike anything I had ever read before! I allowed curiosity to get the better of me and was horribly let down.<br /><br />Jack and Jess were a summer fling. Once her college friends came back into the picture, Jack was cast off to the side and it wasn't until she found out she was pregnant that she got back into contact with him. Now the baby has been born and Jess made the decision to give him up for adoption. Initially Jack was on board. Once he saw his son however, his feelings changed and <i>he jumped out a hospital window with his newborn baby.</i><br /><br />Whatever. I can totally get with wacky, slightly unrealistic plots. While Jack's extreme irresponsibility made me cringe (leaving his HOURS-OLD son in a sink while he uses a public restroom, for instance!), what ultimately made me put this book down 45% of the way through was the writing:<br /><blockquote>"Overthrowing the patriarchy is not incompatible with romanticism, Jack."</blockquote><br />This gem is taken from a conversation Jack and Socrates have. Socrates the baby, not the Greek philosopher. Also, Socrates is the one who offered up this statement.<br /><br />And:<br /><blockquote>Existential angst about the pointlessness of our mundane existences, case in point, the immutability of school schedules.</blockquote><br /><br />These are just a few examples of the overly-pretentious writing. At first I thought it was just how the book was written, but after seeing the author's <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/415843531" rel="nofollow noopener">'review'</a> on goodreads as well as his blog, I've realized it wasn't the book. I also learned the author is only 22. Hopefully he'll cut the crap soon and simply <i>write</i>. He definitely has potential - this novel could have been so much better! - but for now, I have to walk away.