Review: Landing by Emma Donoghue

Having read Room by Emma Donoghue I was intrigued by the fact she had written a LGBTQ novel…

Landing is a romantic comedy that explores the idea of long distance relationships. Now, I’m a slow reader but even when I didn’t have time to read daily I still couldn’t wait to get back to it and never forgot what was happening in the character’s lives.

The contrast between the two protagonists means it’s likely that we will all see at least part of ourselves in one of them. Jude the small town girl who never strays far from home, or Síle the globe trotting, nomad, flight hostess city girl. Both hopeless romantics, one already taken but in a stagnant relationship, the other desperately single. The two cross paths during Jude’s first ever flight, and the novel follows the repercussions of this chance, brief meeting as their lives become intertwined.

The novel carries along at a gentle, steady pace never making dramatic unrealistic leaps in terms of relationship development. The steady pace means that without realising it you become encapsulated by the relationship you are watching evolve and therefore be truly engaged with the emotions of the characters.

On the surface the book could be so cheesy, but it’s not, and I think the characters especially will stay with me, and I’ll revisit them in time.

 

Reviewed by Anne Loveday

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