Customer Reviews

The Man Who Ate the 747

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

What lengths would you go to for love?

J.J. Smith, Keeper of the Records for The Book of Records (akin to the Guinness Book), is a "been there, done that" kind of guy. He has traveled all over the world authenticating the longest kiss, the most splits of a single human hair, etc. Then he receives this letter about a man who is eating pieces of a jumbo jet in order to prove his love for a woman. A Tall Tale? Maybe. Could happen? Probably not. Plain fun? You betcha!

The Man Who Ate the 747 is a feelgood novel with downhome humor and a sweet love story. Most of the characters in this novel go through some kind of change, which is always a refreshing change of pace after reading novels where the characters are stuck in the same desperate loop, who never learn lessons or grow beyond their boundaries. Ben Sherwood's writing is gentle and flowing and transports readers to wide open spaces where the unthinkable happens.

"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." How true... Read this novel and see for yourself.

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!

"This is the story of the greatest love, ever." So begins The Man Who Ate the 747 and the narrator, J.J. Smith, "Keeper of the Records" for the Book of Records, ought to know. He has spent his entire life searching for and recording world records, from the longest kiss ever to the world's largest menu item, to the man hit most by lightning. But he's been in a real slump lately, too many "almost" record breakers, but no true winners for The Book. That is until he receives a letter about a man, Wally Chubb, in Superior, Nebraska, who's eating an entire 747, that crash landed on his farm. And why is Wally doing this? So that the woman he loves, and has loved since he was ten, Willa Wyatt, will finally notice him and just maybe love him back. This would be the biggest and best record, yet. Off J.J. goes to Nebraska, for what will become the greatest adventure of his life. Ben Sherwood has written a touching, witty, uplifting story, that will put a smile on your face and keep you turning pages to the very satisfying end of the book. His writing is smart and eloquent, with scenes that come alive on the page and his interesting, quirky characters are so beautifully drawn, that they grab your attention and pull you right into the novel. Getting to know these people and spending time with them, in Superior, is so wonderful, you'll really miss these folks when the story is over. This is a small, sweet book and a gentle love story, told with great insight, wisdom and humor...a book that shouldn't be missed.

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!

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.

The best part of this novel is the prelude, written in the first person from the perspective of one its characters. The prelude is highly credible and drew me into the story. But then, suddenly, the perspective shifts. The rest of the story is written in the third person. Why this inexplicable shift?

The author is apparently unfamiliar with the maxim, "Show, don't tell." He closes Chapter 6 with the explanation, "Within 12 hours Superior would become the center of the universe," and lo and behold, Chapter 7 begins with the words, "The invasion took less than 12 hours." Where's the suspense in that? Why should anyone read further if the author informs you ahead of time what is going to happen? Similarly, in Chapter 3, we're introduced to Wally, where we witness him eating his 747. Then, in Chapter 4, we're supposed to pretend we haven't been witness to this scene, and we're supposed to share in J.J.'s questioning and ultimate incredulity that a man is eating a 747. What for? Why?

The characters lack credibility and depth. Why, for example, would J.J. Smith announce that he is a recorder from The Book of Records and then act annoyed that the townspeople of Superior respond predictably to his presence? If he is as travelworn as the author would have us believe, why doesn't he know better than to keep his identity incognito, or at least, not blurt it out as soon as he arrives in town? Why would both he and Wally chase after a woman who is obviously not interested in either one of them? Why would Willa be wearing her father's red cardigan on a hot summer day when the air conditioning is broken? Would a 747 really crash gracefully and its pilots walk away unharmed and uncaring? If Wally is eating the 747 to attract Willa's attention, why does he keep it a secret? And anyway, it's not a secret: everyone in the town knows, but nobody cares. If nobody in Superior cares, why would the rest of the nation? It's not even made clear in the first place why Wally is eating a 747; it's only implied from the book cover.

The only value I would suggest that one could gain from reading this novel is the realization that you, too, can write a novel. It's a depressing read, not much more challenging than watching a television sitcom. To see the way the nation is portrayed as getting utterly caught up in a Nebraska farmer's feat of eating a 747 by grinding it up and mixing it in with the ketchup on his hamburgers is ultimately depressing. Mr. Sherwood confirms that we have become a culture of voyeurs.

Predictable and manipulative, this book doesn't have a single original idea. Will the small-town heroine overcome her distrust of the wordly stranger and return his affection? Will outcast Wally, the 747-eater, ever gain the town's respect? I'll give you one guess. The plot is basically a retread of The Music Man, right down to the parades and the stranger's "rescue" of the heroine's kid brother. (When the town holds a dance, you expect the band to play "Shipoopi.") Sherwood attempts to conjure a homespun, "Lake Wobegon" kind of feeling ("'Hope you're not one of those vegetative types,"' [Righty] said. 'Not much to eat here at the Git-A-Life [Cafe] that isn't deep-fried or cut off a cow.'"), but it doesn't ring true. Sherwood doesn't have Garrison Keillor's writing ability, to be sure; more important, he doesn't really know the people he is writing about the way Keillor does. (Sherwood grew up in Los Angeles, got his degree from Harvard, and was a Rhodes Scholar before becoming a correspondent for ABC and NBC news.) What's more, he's willing to let us write his next book for him; he solicits contributions to his "Book of Wonders" at the end of this novel and on his Web site.

If you're looking for a pleasant diversion, wait until this book comes out in paperback (or wait for the movie; the movie deal was announced before the book was even published). But if you're looking for something with literary merit, there are many more accomplished authors to choose from.

I actually like the melancholy of the first chapter or two. There is a certain richness in those scant few pages that promises a pretty good reading experience--not brilliant prose, but pleasant enough. But then Mr. Sherwood seems to put the plotting into high gear--so high that he runs roughshod over the characters in a frantic, breakneck effort to get to "The End." The tone shift was jarring, too. It certainly didn't work for me. The characterization of J.J., which starts well, ends up going nowhere, and Willa is and remains a cipher--a half-drawn woman. Just when we think an opportunity to get below her surface has arisen, we suddenly skip off that surface like so many flat stones. The rest of the characters and plot are so underdeveloped that I felt I was reading Sherwood's outline, not his novel! Where are the missing 40 to 60 pages that would have given us breadth, depth, and texture? It's too bad. There were moments I liked, and some turns of phrase, too. I can say this, though--the movie, if it ever gets made (no guarantees in Hollywood), would pretty much have to be better than the book. I can also say that, when one is as "connected" as is Mr. Sherwood, and has one's highly-placed friends writing blurbs for the back cover, well--it's no secret why and how he got raves! The real puzzler is the "professional" reviewers going ga-ga over this. Couldn't they figure out that Mr. Sherwood's writing abilities, though showing promise, are essentially at a very "early" stage in his career? I don't mean to dog the guy. I'd bet he's a very nice man. But for goodness sake, "Get thee to a writing class!"

A debut novel with the unlikely title of The Man Who Ate The 747 is a salubrious return to a more innocent America, a laugh out loud funny romp, and a tender love story all rolled into one.

Armed with rapid fire wit and bountiful imagination the author introduces 34-year-old John " J. J". Smith, an employee of the Book of Records. J.J. locates and verifies worthy accomplishments. Proudly wearing his mantle of authority, a navy blazer with a gold crest on the pocket, he "authenticates greatness."

Citing benchmark moments, he recalls observing a woman "shaving the longest single unbroken apple peel in history, measuring 172 feet and 4 inches," and monitoring a determined Sri Lankan who balanced on one foot for 77 hours.

J.J.'s late father, a 40-year route marker for the Department of Transportation, gave his son solid advice, "Stick to the straight and narrow, and stay in your own lane." Thus, J.J. can quote almost every record in The Book by memory. He has traveled the world and seen it all. There is only one subject about which he is totally uninformed, and that is love.

Regrettably, it seems that J.J.'s days of glory may be behind him as he has not recently discovered a noteworthy feat.. New rules make standing records harder to break. For instance, couples who try to beat the longest kiss record (30 hours, 45 minutes) are now required to stay awake at all times. To make matters worse, J.J.'s insatiable superior, Nigel Peasley, reminds J.J. that he hasn't "landed anything since the world's biggest feet" and issues an ultimatum - produce or else.

Sifting through his mail a dejected J.J. finds a boy with two front teeth "the mostest spread apart, " an artist who creates meatloaf sculptures and, wonder of wonders, a report of a man who is eating a 747.

As preposterous as this claim appears, J.J. boards the next Dollar Jet for Superior, Nebraska, "where folks care about crops, family, and faith." There he finds a hefty farmer, Wally Chubb, who is indeed making meals of a 747 not for fame or glory but for love of a woman.

With the aid of a Rube Goldberg contraption Wally pulverizes plane parts into powder which he ingests, all so that Willa Wyatt, the town's newspaper editor will know how much he loves her.

J.J. believes he has found an achievement that "transcended astonishment," and that global attention will put Superior on the map. Soon out of state license plates are chock-a-block on the town's only thoroughfare, foreign tongues are spoken at the Hereford Inn, and satellite dishes sprout in Wally's pasture.

The only thing of which J.J. is not convinced are his unfamiliar feelings for Willa, a response he attributes to "a surge of dopamine in his veins."

As is often the case, the road to true love is rocky. While traveling that road Wally makes an unexpected discovery and J.J. learns that "the greatest joys are within our grasp, if we can only recognize them."

Nimble-witted Ben Sherwood writes ably and affectionately of small town America. The Man Who Ate The 747 is a rarity - a tale that tickles your funny bone and tugs at your heart.

The Man Who Ate the 747, a novel by Ben Sherwood, is one of ten books selected to receive the 2001 Alex Award by the Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA), a division of the ALA. The Alex Awards were created to recognize books written for adults that teens may enjoy. The novel is a believable tall tale about an extraordinary event and about falling completely, sweetly, and passionately in love. The story takes place in an ordinary place, Superior, Nebraska, a quiet farming community where white bread and pot roast with brown gravy is the norm. An ordinary man J.J. Smith is the Keeper of the Records for the Book of Records; he travels the world recording the world's greatest and most unusual events, including this one. What he finds in Superior, Nebraska is more than what he came to record. The story is joyous, compelling, warm and fulfilling. A must read, just for the twinkle of it all.