The Infinite Air
The Infinite Air tells the life story of pioneering aviator Jean Batten: her childhood in New Zealand, her dedicated mother and dysfunctional family, her brushes with the early heroes of aviation which inspired her to give up a promising musical career to pursue flying. Her passion for flying took her to the Stag Lane flying club, where Jean rubbed elbows with the great aviators and hobbyists of the 1930s (including Amy Johnson and the Prince of Wales), whilst at the same time, she and her mother subsisted on cups of tea and minute steak in a downtrodden London flat. The heartbreak and romance of aviation comes across through Jean’s determination to prove herself by flying solo to New Zealand, whatever the cost.
Although it is billed as a novel, The Infinite Air reads like a fictionalised biography, well-paced and easy to absorb. Kidman has clearly done her research; however, a discussion about which parts of the story were based on fact and which were only “inspired by fact” is missing from the end matter. Kidman may have better served Jean’s story by turning her not inconsiderable narrative skills to a straight biography. At times the story seemed limited by the constraints of Jean’s life, whilst the fictional possibilities of the glamorous setting and characters were almost limitless. The heavy emphasis on her aviation career added to a sense of lopsidedness and aspects of Jean’s later life – her war work, coming under suspicion as a Nazi spy, her relationship with Ian Fleming and friendship with Noel Coward – were hurried over.
A sweeping saga of a fascinating life and an entertaining insight into the early days of aviation. Jean Batten comes across as a complex, yet sympathetic – if not always likeable – woman.
