Scan barcode
rebeccazh's review against another edition
read for school. the writing style is so not my thing, i find myself zoning out while i read. so tbh i don't really know what i read lol. i like the idea of the book a lot. commercializing or abstracting england into its iconic buildings/places... which makes you question what is authenticity and identity. and then in the process, this fake england becomes something real when the actors hired for the roles start to become their roles. it's like what baurdillard(?) says about simulacra (in late capitalism): the simulation/facade becomes all that there is.
ekisanouk's review against another edition
Super slow paced in the beginning. Couldn’t manage to make it past the first few pages.
soinavoice's review against another edition
4.0
I have to agree with several other reviewers that I found the introductory segment, which recounted the childhood of Martha Cochrane, who is the closest thing the book has to a protagonist, to be the strongest part. Vivid and insightful character portrait.
As for the rest of the book, it is frequently an extremely witty satire. As an American transplant to the UK, the list of quintessentially English qualities as compiled by tourists especially delighted me with its accuracy (30. Double-decker buses, 31. Hypocrisy, 32. Gardening, 33. Perfidy/untrustworthiness, 34. Half-timbering, 35. Homosexuality). I found it most successful on this lightest of levels, and then possibly the next most successful on a philosophical one. It seemed to me that Barnes was championing the idea that humanity thrives on a kind of willful disingenuousness. Martha, who is hired as a professional cynic, ultimately suffers from that cynicism--which the book seems to strongly equate with realism. She is perhaps the only character unable to really embrace delusion, and thus markedly the most adrift. It's an interesting take on humanity, if rather melancholy (I found the book overall to be rather melancholy). What I found least successful was the reflection on national identity. Maybe it'd be more apparent to someone who'd grown up in the UK, but while the book dwelt gleefully on its Britishness in all its details, its greater points overall seemed to be more universal. Maybe the point is simply that Britain had reached the tipping point of cynicism that allowed something like "England, England" to occur. And maybe, in the wake of Brexit, I was expecting too much from this book as an insight into the complexities of English/British national identity. But there remained for me something distinctly under-realized here.
So, if you're looking for delightfully witty satire mixed with more profound speculation about the human condition and don't mind being made a little melancholy, check this book out. But if you're hoping for non-superficial insight into anything particularly English/British, you might want to look elsewhere.
As for the rest of the book, it is frequently an extremely witty satire. As an American transplant to the UK, the list of quintessentially English qualities as compiled by tourists especially delighted me with its accuracy (30. Double-decker buses, 31. Hypocrisy, 32. Gardening, 33. Perfidy/untrustworthiness, 34. Half-timbering, 35. Homosexuality). I found it most successful on this lightest of levels, and then possibly the next most successful on a philosophical one. It seemed to me that Barnes was championing the idea that humanity thrives on a kind of willful disingenuousness. Martha, who is hired as a professional cynic, ultimately suffers from that cynicism--which the book seems to strongly equate with realism. She is perhaps the only character unable to really embrace delusion, and thus markedly the most adrift. It's an interesting take on humanity, if rather melancholy (I found the book overall to be rather melancholy). What I found least successful was the reflection on national identity. Maybe it'd be more apparent to someone who'd grown up in the UK, but while the book dwelt gleefully on its Britishness in all its details, its greater points overall seemed to be more universal. Maybe the point is simply that Britain had reached the tipping point of cynicism that allowed something like "England, England" to occur. And maybe, in the wake of Brexit, I was expecting too much from this book as an insight into the complexities of English/British national identity. But there remained for me something distinctly under-realized here.
So, if you're looking for delightfully witty satire mixed with more profound speculation about the human condition and don't mind being made a little melancholy, check this book out. But if you're hoping for non-superficial insight into anything particularly English/British, you might want to look elsewhere.
monikapuff's review against another edition
3.0
Might be because I am sick of Barnes at the moment, but I think this is the most disgusting novel I have read in the last 4 years of my studies. It's cheap, it's 'scandalous' but in an ugly, ugly way. I am open minded, and not much things make me go 'eeew yuck god damn it' but this...
I understand that it is a satire and a farce, but this is just no up my alley. I get the structural part of the novel, and perfect usage of Baudrillard's theory of simulacra, and that is the only reason I give this three stars. And Martha, she kicks ass. Really. The first part was nice, and the last one, mostly because it was pretty much regular Barnes, questioning everything, the truth, memory, identity and those are the things I apreciate his writing.
Paul is a ball-less bastard, Sir Jack is just... a joke. I despise him and things he stands for.
I understand that it is a satire and a farce, but this is just no up my alley. I get the structural part of the novel, and perfect usage of Baudrillard's theory of simulacra, and that is the only reason I give this three stars. And Martha, she kicks ass. Really. The first part was nice, and the last one, mostly because it was pretty much regular Barnes, questioning everything, the truth, memory, identity and those are the things I apreciate his writing.
Paul is a ball-less bastard, Sir Jack is just... a joke. I despise him and things he stands for.
indigochlo's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
i_need_organization_skills's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
turrean's review against another edition
2.0
Not quite sure what to make of this. It was wickedly barbed in places; horrifyingly funny in places (reminded me of Carl Hiaasen) ; wincingly satiric in others. It's one of those books I suspect I am not sophisticated enough to embrace. I loved the whole premise of an "alternate England" theme park which becomes more popular than the real-life one. And lord, Barnes has a marvelous talent for words! But I found the last third of the novel weirdly dull compared to the first two sections. It's basically a laundry list of the events that happened to the island over the next 10 years. The story of the two lovers is strangely incomplete. And I wasn't really sure if I was meant to think England was actually delivered...or damned...by its return to a more bucolic existence.
It would be lovely to be delivered from Donald Trump by an American Martha...
It would be lovely to be delivered from Donald Trump by an American Martha...
dorisxdw's review against another edition
1.0
It started off interesting fand then just totally lost me