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Summary: Some sauce with your fuselage?
Review: This book is truly about the greatest love of all, the premise being a man who is ingesting a boeing 747 because of his enormous love for a woman. Sound stupid??? I was skeptical at first too, but once I got started, I couldn't put the book down. Set in the heart of America, Ben Sherwood has indeed given us a modern day fable about love, and where it takes us. The book is a lot of things, but I think most importantly, in the story, the protagonist is afforded a second chance, which is something that we could all use at times, and something we can all relate to. It's not a long story, but it sure is a good one. Read it once and even the most cynical may find themselves believing again. In true love. In a second chance. Or just believing in general.
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Summary: This book will stir your heart!!
Review: This is a magnificent book! Every single page is filled with a genuine spirit of sweetness and warmth all too rare in our cynical world. Its point -- that we must slow down our mad pace and take the time to see the simple wonders right in front of us -- can't be heard enough. Sherwood writes with grace, style and wit. His book is the funny, quirky product of a highly original, altogether American imagination. I can't wait to see what he'll give us next! Buy it, read it, then read it out loud to someone you love. I guarantee it will stir your heart.
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Summary: The Man Who Ate the 747 Made My Heart Soar
Review: I loved this book so much! In a world full of cynics, Ben Sherwood has written something true and pure and so very romantic.. the story is at its essense, a triumph over cynicsm about love, and negativism about relationships. It's also very funny.. and the humor is kind and generous. The author has an excellent eye for detail as well and I was delighted by the people and the places he describes so vividly. When you finish this book (teary-eyed if you're anything like me!) you'll feel like you could go to Superior, Nebraska and know your way around town and know people in it! I hope when they make the movie version (and they MUST be!) they stay true to this wonderful story and these delightful characters. Way to go Ben Sherwood! I just finished digesting 747, and I'm already hungry for your next novel!
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Summary: BOOORRRING
Review: I'm sorry, but I found this book totally boring. I mean please. I could stop mid-chapter with no urgent desire to pick the book back up and keep reading. Hmmmm....should've bought the book I really wanted instead of the one with all the hype.
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Summary: THE READER WHO ATE THIS BOOK
Review: This book is first class. I read it in one sitting, completely engrossed in Ben Sherwood's magical prose. "The Man Who Ate the 747" is a modern parable about what we crazy humans will do for love told with wonderful humor, insight and style. Sherwood spins his tale with such command that he made me laugh out loud on one page then get misty-eyed on the next. He has crafted a soaring love story that honestly earns its wings. Read it then buy it for that special someone to show how much you love them.
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Summary: Hot Damn!
Review: Buy this book! Be the first on your block to fall in love with love, Ben-Sherwood style.
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Summary: It would take a lot of catsup...
Review: Yes, dear readers, there really is a Superior, Nebraska. I looked it up. In the unique vision of the author of this fable, Superior farmer Wally Chub comes up with a bizarre way to remove the 747 that has crash-landed on his property. To catch the attention of Willa Wyatt, the newspaperwoman he's had a crush on all his life, he decides, piece by piece, and part by part, to eat it. What better way to prove his love and devotion? Enter J.J. Smith, Keeper of the Records for the Book of Records. Hearing of Wally's unusual diet regimen, J.J. comes to town hoping to catch him in the act of breaking the world record for such a feat. What he finds in Superior, Nebraska is quite apart from his plans. I really didn't want to like this book -- the ending becomes predictable fairly quickly -- but the fun is in getting to that end. There's a whole cast of small-town eccentrics, busy-bodies, and people you wish you could sit down to coffee with. Adding flavor to the story are the crazy world records J.J. has witnessed as part of his career. As for me, I'm feeling a little bit sad that nobody has ever loved me desperately enough to chow down on a 747. Not even so much as a single-engine two-seater.
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Summary: Interesting story that beautifully captures the idea of love
Review: I don't read many love stories, but this one is by far the most unique and interesting I have read. This is the story of J.J. Smith, who is the "Keeper of the Records" for The Book of Records. He travels the world in search of records -- like the longest continuous kiss (30 hours, 45 minutes), the lengthiest single unbroken applie peel (172 feet, 4 inches), and the farthest a champagne cork has flown (177 feet, 9 inches). The catch is that J.J. doesn't believe in true love, until he meets a small town called Superior in Nebraska in which a man is trying to prove his love by eating an entire Boeing 747! Throughout the story, quite interesting records (that are true) are spouted out by J.J. This makes for good reading in itself, but the author, Ben Sherwood, is able to weave this into a realistic love story and in the end leaves the reader with some powerful ideas. The first gem that the book addresses is the beauty of the "small town." J.J. comes to Nebraska from the Big Apple, but through all of its quirks and unique people, J.J. begins to truly appreciate the Superior. This is reminiscent of the Doc Hollywood story. Sherwood does a wonderful job making the reader feel like he is a part of Superior and in the end this small town represents any unique little town in the "middle of nowhere, or the middle of everywhere." I always enjoy when an author came capture the joy and feelings of what it means to be a kid. Sherwood does this by illustrating several instances in which children flock to see the "Keeper of the Records." Whether they come to try to break records on pogo sticks or with yo-yos, Sherwood shows that "kids are the same all over the world." I love this idea! And of course, the final issue that the author tackles is love. Claiming at the outset that this is the "greatest love story ever," the reader in the end is left with a warm, fuzzy feeling when J.J. -- who spent the entire story engrossed in statistics -- claims that each one of us can claim the record for the greatest love if we recognize it when we find it, pure and true. Wow, that's awesome. As Sherwood points out, love isn't about finding someone that is perfectly compatible for you, someone that provides grand gestures, or a person of selfless sacrifice. Certainly these things are great in a relationship, but true love is just a feeling. My few reservations about this book are not worthy of mentioning here. This is a good book and a great love story that is well-worth the read for all those romantics out there!
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Summary: Maybe Better On Film?
Review: I read somewhere (maybe this site?) that a screenplay was in the works. I can imagine this story well on the big screen. I was enchanted at the beginning of the story, but my expectations swiftly began their downhill descent. The writing was okay, the plot too predictable. It's a very short book, but I struggled to finish it. I gave it three stars basically because there were a few really good lines in it that warmed my heart. One in particular: "..We chase wild dreams and long for all that eludes us, when the greatest joys are within our grasp, if we can only recognize them..."
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Summary: Charming, quirky romantic comedy
Review: The opening chapter hooked me and it's the rare writer who can do that just by describing a character's job duties. JJ Smith, the protagonist, 'authenticates greatness' by observing and recording Guinness World Records. Yet he feels ordinary and inadequate after his girlfriend Emily breaks up with him. A letter arrives on his desk telling about a man literally eating a 747 that recently crashed in the Midwest. Intrigued, JJ heads to Omaha, Nebraska, to authenticate this feat. There he meets Wally Chubb, who is doing this to prove his undying love for a woman, Willa Wyatt. The townsfolk tend to fall into the country-rube clich?, but overall, Sherwood writes with affection for his characters. We see JJ and Willa begin to fall in love and we ponder how Wally will take this news. We see Superior (the fictional Nebraska town) overrun with reporters and wonder if Willa will leave the small town for the big city. We also wonder if Wally will ever realize the long-suffering devotion paid to him from Rose. Normally, romantic comedies are not my cup of tea. But Sherwood won me over with his tale. It's an easy, breezy read and since Sherwood works in the film industry, I wouldn't be surprised to see this playing either on the small screen or at a multiplex sometime soon.
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