As a snapshot of the lives, deaths, and aspirations of the men in the early introduction of aviation into industry, post-world war 1, this was an insightful read. Much of the intrigue happens within the characters. The sincere unpreparedness and loneliness of the inspector, Robineau, abuts against Rivière's love for his men, kept intentionally under wraps beneath layers of harsh discipline, high expectations, and high hopes for the future of aviation. All the while their interpersonal interactions are surface level and lack the insights allowed by the vulnerability readers are able to see and explore as the novel progresses and a nig t flight pilot, navigator, and their plane are lost to a cyclone.
At points, it took a few rereads of sentences to parse their meaning, but I think that makes sense, as the book was originally published in French.
I probably should not have read the last half of this while on a plane.