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mikewa14's review against another edition
3.0
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/three-brothers-peter-ackroyd.html
itstheblob's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
kdhanda's review against another edition
4.0
The book follows the fortunes of three brothers who are all born on the same day, one year apart. The writer makes this statement right at the beginning of the book and the reader is left to wonder at the significance of this event. The mother leaves the household abruptly and, for some reason, her absence is never explained to the boys. The oldest, Harry, goes into journalism, the middle brother, Daniel, escapes in books and goes off to Cambridge and the youngest, Sam, is drawn to the marginalized and downtrodden. There are unexplained, supernatural elements scattered throughout the book and the reader is left to wonder the significance of such elements. A quick read, highly recommended if one is into Dickens or London.
mikki_9's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Very interesting book, and very British.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Murder, Abandonment, Death, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Classism, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexual content
zarazoom's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
mswm36's review
3.0
At one stage, the narrator describes a book that one of the brothers is writing about London's popular culture: "one of the themes of [the] book concerned the patterns of association that linked the people of the city; a preoccupation with the image of London as a web so taut and tightly drawn that the slightest movement of any part sent reverberations through the whole." This description could easily be applied to Ackroyd's story as well.
claireshields's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
joecam79's review against another edition
3.0
Peter Ackroyd's fascination with London borders on the obsessive. The larger part of his eclectic and prolific output is haunted by the city, and particularly by a quasi-mystical sense - shared by other authors, particularly [a:Iain Sinclair|6851|Iain Sinclair|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1261049079p2/6851.jpg] - that every place has an underlying character that survives societal and topographical changes. Ackroyd has been the city's chronicler in his magnum opus - [b:London: The Biography|107400|London The Biography|Peter Ackroyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348728966s/107400.jpg|695097] - and its sequels [b:Thames: Sacred River|928796|Thames Sacred River|Peter Ackroyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320486977s/928796.jpg|913789], [b:London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets|10783451|London Under The Secret History Beneath the Streets|Peter Ackroyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320524407s/10783451.jpg|15695572] and the upcoming Queer London. The city provides the backdrop to several of his biographies (for instance the volumes dedicated to Dickens and Wilkie Collins). In his fiction, it not only serves as a setting but is treated almost as another protagonist, equal to the living characters.
Ackroyd's latest novel, Three Brothers, in some ways sums up concerns found in several of Ackroyd's earlier London books. The siblings of the title were, like the author, born and brought up in post-World War II London in (it is suggested) a Catholic household. It is indeed tempting to read their intertwined life stories as a sort of fictional autobiography - particularly in the case of Daniel, the shy literature graduate turned author/critic who slowly comes to terms with his homosexuality.
I read this novel, quite appropriately, over a two-day visit to London. It certainly gripped me. Yet, it felt strangely slight, and I suspect that it is not a book which will stay long with me. Part of its problem is that it tries to be too many things at the same time. At its heart it is a realist novel, which depicts the tough day-to-day life in the years after the war. This realism is reflected in the matter-of-fact third person narrative - detached to the point of blandness. Yet, true to Ackroyd's "psychogeographical" outlook, the plot is driven by remarkable coincidences and by the strange visions of the past experienced by the youngest brother Sam. This technique is not new - Ackroyd himself has used it in [b:Hawksmoor|67729|Hawksmoor|Peter Ackroyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411397981s/67729.jpg|65684] and, a similar approach (translated to Prague) is found in [a:Miloš Urban|1737540|Miloš Urban|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1375650126p2/1737540.jpg] 's The Seven Churches. Yet, whereas this supernatural element fits those novels' Gothic atmosphere like a glove, here it just feels out of place.
Other elements jostle for the readers' attention. There's a hint of satire of the journalistic world which is vaguely reminiscent of Waugh (although good old Evelyn is much funnier), there is a nod to thriller and crime fiction. At one point there's even a cameo for a poltergeist, which causes a couple of pages of mischief before being dispensed with completely. I tend to like genre-bending fiction, but I ultimately felt that there was too much going on for a novel a mere couple of hundred pages long.
Ackroyd's latest novel, Three Brothers, in some ways sums up concerns found in several of Ackroyd's earlier London books. The siblings of the title were, like the author, born and brought up in post-World War II London in (it is suggested) a Catholic household. It is indeed tempting to read their intertwined life stories as a sort of fictional autobiography - particularly in the case of Daniel, the shy literature graduate turned author/critic who slowly comes to terms with his homosexuality.
I read this novel, quite appropriately, over a two-day visit to London. It certainly gripped me. Yet, it felt strangely slight, and I suspect that it is not a book which will stay long with me. Part of its problem is that it tries to be too many things at the same time. At its heart it is a realist novel, which depicts the tough day-to-day life in the years after the war. This realism is reflected in the matter-of-fact third person narrative - detached to the point of blandness. Yet, true to Ackroyd's "psychogeographical" outlook, the plot is driven by remarkable coincidences and by the strange visions of the past experienced by the youngest brother Sam. This technique is not new - Ackroyd himself has used it in [b:Hawksmoor|67729|Hawksmoor|Peter Ackroyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411397981s/67729.jpg|65684] and, a similar approach (translated to Prague) is found in [a:Miloš Urban|1737540|Miloš Urban|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1375650126p2/1737540.jpg] 's The Seven Churches. Yet, whereas this supernatural element fits those novels' Gothic atmosphere like a glove, here it just feels out of place.
Other elements jostle for the readers' attention. There's a hint of satire of the journalistic world which is vaguely reminiscent of Waugh (although good old Evelyn is much funnier), there is a nod to thriller and crime fiction. At one point there's even a cameo for a poltergeist, which causes a couple of pages of mischief before being dispensed with completely. I tend to like genre-bending fiction, but I ultimately felt that there was too much going on for a novel a mere couple of hundred pages long.
booktwitcher23's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good read to capture the London of the 1960's and early 70's. Not so keen on the 'ghosts' though.
joecam79's review against another edition
3.0
Peter Ackroyd's fascination with London borders on the obsessive. The larger part of his eclectic and prolific output is haunted by the city, and particularly by a quasi-mystical sense - shared by other authors, particularly [a:Iain Sinclair|6851|Iain Sinclair|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1261049079p2/6851.jpg] - that every place has an underlying character that survives societal and topographical changes. Ackroyd has been the city's chronicler in his magnum opus - [b:London: The Biography|107400|London The Biography|Peter Ackroyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348728966s/107400.jpg|695097] - and its sequels [b:Thames: Sacred River|928796|Thames Sacred River|Peter Ackroyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320486977s/928796.jpg|913789], [b:London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets|10783451|London Under The Secret History Beneath the Streets|Peter Ackroyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320524407s/10783451.jpg|15695572] and the upcoming Queer London. The city provides the backdrop to several of his biographies (for instance the volumes dedicated to Dickens and Wilkie Collins). In his fiction, it not only serves as a setting but is treated almost as another protagonist, equal to the living characters.
Ackroyd's latest novel, Three Brothers, in some ways sums up concerns found in several of Ackroyd's earlier London books. The siblings of the title were, like the author, born and brought up in post-World War II London in (it is suggested) a Catholic household. It is indeed tempting to read their intertwined life stories as a sort of fictional autobiography - particularly in the case of Daniel, the shy literature graduate turned author/critic who slowly comes to terms with his homosexuality.
I read this novel, quite appropriately, over a two-day visit to London. It certainly gripped me. Yet, it felt strangely slight, and I suspect that it is not a book which will stay long with me. Part of its problem is that it tries to be too many things at the same time. At its heart it is a realist novel, which depicts the tough day-to-day life in the years after the war. This realism is reflected in the matter-of-fact third person narrative - detached to the point of blandness. Yet, true to Ackroyd's "psychogeographical" outlook, the plot is driven by remarkable coincidences and by the strange visions of the past experienced by the youngest brother Sam. This technique is not new - Ackroyd himself has used it in [b:Hawksmoor|67729|Hawksmoor|Peter Ackroyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411397981s/67729.jpg|65684] and, a similar approach (translated to Prague) is found in [a:Miloš Urban|1737540|Miloš Urban|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1375650126p2/1737540.jpg] 's The Seven Churches. Yet, whereas this supernatural element fits those novels' Gothic atmosphere like a glove, here it just feels out of place.
Other elements jostle for the readers' attention. There's a hint of satire of the journalistic world which is vaguely reminiscent of Waugh (although good old Evelyn is much funnier), there is a nod to thriller and crime fiction. At one point there's even a cameo for a poltergeist, which causes a couple of pages of mischief before being dispensed with completely. I tend to like genre-bending fiction, but I ultimately felt that there was too much going on for a novel a mere couple of hundred pages long.
Ackroyd's latest novel, Three Brothers, in some ways sums up concerns found in several of Ackroyd's earlier London books. The siblings of the title were, like the author, born and brought up in post-World War II London in (it is suggested) a Catholic household. It is indeed tempting to read their intertwined life stories as a sort of fictional autobiography - particularly in the case of Daniel, the shy literature graduate turned author/critic who slowly comes to terms with his homosexuality.
I read this novel, quite appropriately, over a two-day visit to London. It certainly gripped me. Yet, it felt strangely slight, and I suspect that it is not a book which will stay long with me. Part of its problem is that it tries to be too many things at the same time. At its heart it is a realist novel, which depicts the tough day-to-day life in the years after the war. This realism is reflected in the matter-of-fact third person narrative - detached to the point of blandness. Yet, true to Ackroyd's "psychogeographical" outlook, the plot is driven by remarkable coincidences and by the strange visions of the past experienced by the youngest brother Sam. This technique is not new - Ackroyd himself has used it in [b:Hawksmoor|67729|Hawksmoor|Peter Ackroyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411397981s/67729.jpg|65684] and, a similar approach (translated to Prague) is found in [a:Miloš Urban|1737540|Miloš Urban|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1375650126p2/1737540.jpg] 's The Seven Churches. Yet, whereas this supernatural element fits those novels' Gothic atmosphere like a glove, here it just feels out of place.
Other elements jostle for the readers' attention. There's a hint of satire of the journalistic world which is vaguely reminiscent of Waugh (although good old Evelyn is much funnier), there is a nod to thriller and crime fiction. At one point there's even a cameo for a poltergeist, which causes a couple of pages of mischief before being dispensed with completely. I tend to like genre-bending fiction, but I ultimately felt that there was too much going on for a novel a mere couple of hundred pages long.