Disaster books hit the shelves just a little before the movies. However, the cinema versions seem to have fared better and soon the literary genre appears to have sunk like the Titanic.
In reality, we do continue to produce and relish disaster fiction. The difference, I think, is that contemporary tastes run to alien settings. In other words, while books continue to be published that revel in disaster scenarios, these are not the ones we routinely read about in the daily papers.
Whatever the reason for this shift, Arthur Hailey books are now ex-best sellers at best. Arthur Hailey's Airport was a bestseller in the seventies when I was very young and ripe for such things.
Airport is basically about a bomb on a plane. And, around the ensuing ruckus, we get sucked into the lives of airport staff and others involved. It is quite engaging.
I suppose, the book and film, more than anything else led to a lifelong panic that I experience on planes.
The book will charm the modern reader as many things have now changed drastically since that time.
Apparently, Hailey wrote poetry and short stories when a child but was a dropout as teenager, as his family could not afford college. After a period as pilot in World War II, he moved to Canada, hoping to write for a living. To support himself, he worked at various jobs: real estate agent, advertising executive, editor and sales promotion manager. On the side, he dished out pacy stories and TV scripts about detectives and doctors.
“Flight Into Danger” was his first produced screenplay. It did well and so Hailey could devote himself to writing - starting at 6 a.m., to type 600 finished words a day.
And, thus, he produced a series of typical novels: The Final Diagnosis, Hotel, Wheels, The Moneychangers and Strong Medicine. Some went on to become films and TV shows, though he remains famous for Airport, his fourth novel. It was with that book that the disaster genre was officially launched.
In reality, we do continue to produce and relish disaster fiction. The difference, I think, is that contemporary tastes run to alien settings. In other words, while books continue to be published that revel in disaster scenarios, these are not the ones we routinely read about in the daily papers.
Whatever the reason for this shift, Arthur Hailey books are now ex-best sellers at best. Arthur Hailey's Airport was a bestseller in the seventies when I was very young and ripe for such things.
Airport is basically about a bomb on a plane. And, around the ensuing ruckus, we get sucked into the lives of airport staff and others involved. It is quite engaging.
The book will charm the modern reader as many things have now changed drastically since that time.
It was fascinating to read about “stowaways” because in the current situation Ada Quonsett would not get past the entry gate without a ticket. At the time when this novel was written, people could actually board a plane to say good bye or handover something forgotten and then get off – contrast that with today where your friend or family member just drops you off at the entry to the airport because its just useless to try and even enter the terminal.
Apparently, Hailey wrote poetry and short stories when a child but was a dropout as teenager, as his family could not afford college. After a period as pilot in World War II, he moved to Canada, hoping to write for a living. To support himself, he worked at various jobs: real estate agent, advertising executive, editor and sales promotion manager. On the side, he dished out pacy stories and TV scripts about detectives and doctors.
“Flight Into Danger” was his first produced screenplay. It did well and so Hailey could devote himself to writing - starting at 6 a.m., to type 600 finished words a day.
He was extremely well paid for his books and their film-rights. And ended his days in the Bahamas - this fairytale ending is the dream of many a writer.
If you wish to analyse the 'formula', perhaps this page will help - certainly, a regular regimen of writing does result in a volume of output and, in some cases, there is a progressive improvement. However, given the sinking popularity of Hailey's 'Comet', we can see that mere daily writing does not ensure a dedicated readership.
Airport bred a series of films, each, reportedly, worse than the other and a delightful outcome was:
Whatever present oblivion has clouded Arthur Hailey's books, they remain eminently readable and, mostly, accessible. I can bet that if you embark on one, you're bound to want to read your way through his output.
No comments:
Post a Comment