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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very well written but very hard going. Probably too much story to be carried by one main character ..... as complex as he is.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I originally had high hopes for this book, however I just found it incredibly boring. I’d keep finding myself zoning out whilst reading, to the point that I had no idea what was going on anymore.
Four and a half stars for this utterly compelling story of a complicated, clever, perplexing man's life, from childhood, through his student days at Cambridge, and working life in London. Mike Engleby tells his own story, and he is a brilliantly unreliable narrator. As well as the murder mystery which unfolds slowly, the book is about politics, psychology, philosophy, Cambridge life in the 1970s, the nature of friendship, and of self. It's funny, disturbing, thought-provoking, clever, and enthralling.
An enlightening read which I would recommend to anybody, though on account of what makes it so good - the (purposefully) meandering nature of its prose - it can be a little heavy going at times. The comedy is brilliant, more wit than gags, some high brow stuff that I didn't even understand but I look forward to the day where I read this again and understand more of it. It's that kind of book. In general though most of the observations are bang on, mostly an observation of literature, philosophy, politics, and British society from the 70s through to the 00s.
The sections on society prior to 2000 were actually quite educational. Perhaps they were not necessarily meant to be, but as someone born after most of the events in this book were written, the parallels to the modern day, its struggles, its obsessions, were all incredibly interesting. Engleby is a product of his time and yet, were you to write his timeline +/- 10, 20, 30 years, the sum of him would be the same.
The basic plot (guy goes to Oxbridge and then becomes a journalist) is clearly influenced by the Faulks' own life so he brings to Engleby the additional touch of realism to make the character so believable. Its his believability that makes his character so funny, so relatable, so disgusting and likeable and creepy. Hard to pull off. I should think he is frequently compared to Humbert Humbert and he should be - you like him, you hate him, you hate that you like him.
It completely alters your perspective, a reminder the loner critic who crushes madly on a woman he never speaks to does in fact, in reality, look as his friend describes, not how he makes himself seem. But more interestingly it shows how characters like Engleby are not often represented in fiction. Why wouldn't he be mysterious, brilliant, quietly good-looking? This is how our fictional heroes often are, and how I (in a sense) imagined him, but Engleby is the true every man. Forgotten, invisible. He is the reflection of the reader, a real person inhibiting a world (fiction) where real people are not represented - and trying to distort himself into the expected.
Again you just cannot help liking him, or at least empathising with him beyond a comfortable level. There are loads of thoughts like that you could have after reading this book, little one-liners that pack a punch, and the like.
It is certainly worthy of being known as the modern classic which I'm sure it will - has? - become.
The sections on society prior to 2000 were actually quite educational. Perhaps they were not necessarily meant to be, but as someone born after most of the events in this book were written, the parallels to the modern day, its struggles, its obsessions, were all incredibly interesting. Engleby is a product of his time and yet, were you to write his timeline +/- 10, 20, 30 years, the sum of him would be the same.
The basic plot (guy goes to Oxbridge and then becomes a journalist) is clearly influenced by the Faulks' own life so he brings to Engleby the additional touch of realism to make the character so believable. Its his believability that makes his character so funny, so relatable, so disgusting and likeable and creepy. Hard to pull off. I should think he is frequently compared to Humbert Humbert and he should be - you like him, you hate him, you hate that you like him.
Spoiler
The written statement from his university friend at the end of the book, detailing how others perceived him but also the appearance of Engleby - dorkish, short, ugly - I found intriguing on two points. First how chilling it seemed to have this character we have got to know so well reduced to what he really is (or what matters) - how he is perceived by others, how we would actually perceive him if we were not reading events from his perspective.It completely alters your perspective, a reminder the loner critic who crushes madly on a woman he never speaks to does in fact, in reality, look as his friend describes, not how he makes himself seem.
Again you just cannot help liking him, or at least empathising with him beyond a comfortable level. There are loads of thoughts like that you could have after reading this book, little one-liners that pack a punch, and the like.
It is certainly worthy of being known as the modern classic which I'm sure it will - has? - become.
This book felt like a departure from Faulks's usual writing and I'm not sure that's a good thing. The rather claustrophobic first person unreliable narration by a socially-awkward student (and later, journalist) made for some uncomfortable reading and the pace was at times dreadfully slow.
This book only really got interesting in the final quarter when things started slotting into place and a lot of the things that had annoyed me about the story and execution started making sense and indeed formed part of the story. Ultimately, the ending was satisfying and I haven't given up on Faulks yet.
This book only really got interesting in the final quarter when things started slotting into place and a lot of the things that had annoyed me about the story and execution started making sense and indeed formed part of the story. Ultimately, the ending was satisfying and I haven't given up on Faulks yet.
Made me miss Cambridge so much it is unbelievable. Will try to be more like Jennifer. Maybe something problematic in how many stories there are (including this one) about evil poor people reaching the edges of the upper class and brutally murdering a bunch of them.