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rnicaogain's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
orangemulli's review against another edition
4.0
Four stars to a novel about banks and the financial crisis? Yup that young mr murray sure has a way with words. A cack a minute!
georgiaanne___'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
piku_baumann's review against another edition
5.0
A little too concerned with itself, perhaps, but funny and intelligent and thought-provoking. Enjoyed it very much.
lanadelgray's review against another edition
2.0
Thematically promising, but stylistically excruciating, Murray's ambition collapses under its own weight here.
This novel is hampered by an unnecessary level of contrivance. Metafictional techniques have their utility, for instance in Ben Lerner's 10:04 or Daniel Kehlmann's F (two recent works that touch on some of Murray's subject material, but do so with far more wit) - here the postmodernist trickery is suffocating and, really, not very clever.
Adding to the density of the book are entirely extraneous characters having extraneous conversations. Sometimes Murray writes these exchanges in the 'accents' of his characters (Londoners and Germans might be find themselves questioning the accuracy of this treatment), sometimes, as in the protagonist, this is not deemed worth the effort - it's hard to know whether the inconsistency or the ham-fistedness is more frustrating. Murray does not have an ear for dialogue and, unfortunately, his book is 80% chit-chat.
The nadir, however, is the novelist's insistence on explaining his own jokes (which even schoolchildren know is a bad habit). One example of many: the characters frequent a club called 'Life', pronounced as in the Irish for 'Liffey' - once this verbal tic is explained, the narrator proceeds to list puns based on the club name ("After a few drinks Life won't seem so bad"). Explication is the order of the day: symbols, metaphors and allegories all get the same treatment. The novel spends as much time explaining the concept of a simulacrum as a full series of Baudrillard lectures. Its critique of the Celtic Tiger is about as subtle as Ross O'Carroll Kelly - only with worse prose.
This novel is hampered by an unnecessary level of contrivance. Metafictional techniques have their utility, for instance in Ben Lerner's 10:04 or Daniel Kehlmann's F (two recent works that touch on some of Murray's subject material, but do so with far more wit) - here the postmodernist trickery is suffocating and, really, not very clever.
Adding to the density of the book are entirely extraneous characters having extraneous conversations. Sometimes Murray writes these exchanges in the 'accents' of his characters (Londoners and Germans might be find themselves questioning the accuracy of this treatment), sometimes, as in the protagonist, this is not deemed worth the effort - it's hard to know whether the inconsistency or the ham-fistedness is more frustrating. Murray does not have an ear for dialogue and, unfortunately, his book is 80% chit-chat.
The nadir, however, is the novelist's insistence on explaining his own jokes (which even schoolchildren know is a bad habit). One example of many: the characters frequent a club called 'Life', pronounced as in the Irish for 'Liffey' - once this verbal tic is explained, the narrator proceeds to list puns based on the club name ("After a few drinks Life won't seem so bad"). Explication is the order of the day: symbols, metaphors and allegories all get the same treatment. The novel spends as much time explaining the concept of a simulacrum as a full series of Baudrillard lectures. Its critique of the Celtic Tiger is about as subtle as Ross O'Carroll Kelly - only with worse prose.
davidsteinsaltz's review against another edition
4.0
The consummate novel of the 2008 financial crisis. Tawdry and insane. Hysterical reflection on the relation between finance and art.
patkay85's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
emmamadds's review against another edition
4.0
The first half was a bit slow on the uptake and I found the characters to be initially very irritating.
However, after the second half turns into a sweeping commentary on capitalism, the value of art, and the blurred line between reality and stories (the fictitious).
However, after the second half turns into a sweeping commentary on capitalism, the value of art, and the blurred line between reality and stories (the fictitious).