Stateless - Elizabeth Wein

I was drawn to Elizabeth Wein's new novel - Stateless - by the premise. 

1937. Stella North is the only female pilot to participate in an international plane race called the "Circuit of Nations Olympics of the Air". 

A fairly large number of characters are introduced in the first few chapters of the book. The ten pilots, and the supporting crew.  They're all from different countries, so for me it was a bit of a struggle to remember who was who. Stella is the voice behind the book. There wasn't much of a background provided to the main character, instead we get a sense of her through her flying and her thoughts. But I have to say, that I really never connected with Stella.

The airplane bits were quite knowledgeable and detailed. For this reader, probably too much, as I found myself skimming those bits. I was happy to see the mystery introduced. 

The time frame and the European setting of course addresses the political alliances of the time, the jockeying of countries and the possible of another world war.

So, Stateless has all the pieces that would normally have me stuck in a book for hours. But by about page 150, I felt my attention wandering and my interest flagging. And, yes I made the decision to skip to the final pages to see how things turned out. 

Let's go with the wrong reader for a good book. And split it up the middle, with a solid three.