Landing Gear    by Kate Pullinger Order:  USA  Can Touchstone, 2014 (2014) Hardcover     Reviewed by Bob Walch There are a lot of seemingly disparate things happening in this novel that don't appear to connect, but just give Kate Pullinger time and she'll pull them all together. Harriet, the heroine of this tale, is a former radio host whose life isn't going that well. She doesn't really like playing the role of suburban housewife and her family situation is not very satisfying. Her husband hasn't shown much, if any, affection in years and their son is more interested in his video games than his parents. Finally there's Emily, a TV researcher who has been spying on Harriet. Then Yacub drops in. Or, more accurately, the young man drops down from the landing gear well of a jetliner and crashes onto Harriet's car which is parked in the lot of a supermarket. Miraculously, the young man survives that fall and, not knowing what to do with the stowaway who is fleeing a Dubai labor camp, Harriet takes him home with her. What follows is a transformative tale of how this individual who dropped into this woman's life changes her and those around her. A highly imaginative story that was inspired by recent situations where people have tried to hide away in a plane's landing gear with less satisfactory results, Landing Gear illustrates how unusual, if not totally bizarre, occurrences can sometimes act as a catalyst for life-changing events. You won't soon forget the characters whose lives unfold in this remarkable and extraordinary novel. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews