-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
by Emil Ostrovski
On the morning of his eighteenth birthday, Jack Polovsky kidnaps his own baby, names him Socrates, stocks up on baby supplies at Walmart, and hits the road with his best friend, Tommy, and with the baby's mother, Jess. As they head to Grandma's house (eluding the police at every turn), Jack tells baby Socrates the Greek myths—because all stories spring from those stories, really. Even this one. By turns funny, heart wrenching, and wholly original, this debut novel by Emil Ostrovski explores the nature of family, love, friendship, fatherhood, and myth.
"The occasional serious moments... help anchor the story, but it's a long, meandering journey for Jack to emerge from his self-involved fog." - Publishers Weekly
"[A] humorous, philosophical, and moving coming-of-age novel... This book is a worthy purchase and should find an audience, especially readers who like humor in their realistic growing-up stories." - VOYA
"[A] moving and quirky tale that raises many questions about humanity's existence and what it means to grow up. It's sure to find a fan base with teens who are introspective and contemplative. A whip-smart debut." - School Library Journal
"Inconsistent temporal markers (dates aren't specified) are briefly distracting, but Jack's quest for meaning holds reader attention all the way." - Kirkus Reviews
This information about The Paradox of Vertical Flight was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Emil Ostrovski graduated from Vassar College in 2012 with a degree in philosophy. He currently attends the MFA program in creative writing at Columbia University and lives in New York City.
If you liked The Paradox of Vertical Flight, try these:
by Bryan Washington
Published 2026
A life-affirming novel of family, mending, and how we learn to love, from the award-winning Bryan Washington.
by Allen Levi
Published 2025
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…
by Sohn Won-pyung
Published 2021
The Emissary meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in this poignant and triumphant story about how love, friendship, and persistence can change a life forever.
When men are not regretting that life is so short, they are doing something to kill time.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
