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mrs_bonaventure's review against another edition
2.0
Struggled with the first third, tolerated the middle third and by the last, cared about some characters enough to finish it. Some good comedy towards the end although the whole thing read as a bit of a caricature or satire; no bad thing but it then made occasional pathos seem like sentimentality and big themes seem overblown. I suspect it's just a bit of fun.
Hard to read after John Lanchester's Capital which much more resembled a modern go at Thackeray or Trollope.
Hard to read after John Lanchester's Capital which much more resembled a modern go at Thackeray or Trollope.
jomasini's review against another edition
2.0
I found the first half a struggle to get into, really slow going - largely due to the financial market bits (I'm still no clearer)
The second half picked up in pace and interest, but I would have liked the balance between the storylines to be different, as it focused on the ones I was least interested in
That said, the description of London on page 1 really hit the spot, a lovely reflection of the city at this point in time
The second half picked up in pace and interest, but I would have liked the balance between the storylines to be different, as it focused on the ones I was least interested in
That said, the description of London on page 1 really hit the spot, a lovely reflection of the city at this point in time
jason_pym's review against another edition
2.0
As a satire it's not sharp enough, as a straight novel it's too bland. There's nothing new or insightful, some of the scenes (the Islamists choosing English-sounding names, the Parallax computer game, etc) were embarrassingly bad. I'd just skip it if I were you. The only other Faulks' I've read is Birdsong, and I thought that was great, I really enjoyed it. I don't know what happened here.
kingarooski's review against another edition
3.0
I read a previous Sebastian Faulks novel before (Birdsong). Amazingly, it followed the same pattern of reading as A Week in December: he bores the pants off me in the first 200 pages or so, but then I become more interested in his characters, his prose, his plot developments. In the end, I like the book and enjoy it. If Sebastian Faulks ever writes a book less than 200 pages, I don't think I'd finish it.
chipie's review against another edition
3.0
Just ok, well written but not quite sure what the point was.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
3.0
"You like reading, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Why?"
"Dunno. I s'pose it's an escape from the real world."
"But surely it's just the opposite," said Gabriel. "Books explain the real world. They bring you close to it in a way you could never manage in the course of the day."
"How do you mean?"
"People never explain to you exactly what they think and feel and how their thoughts and feelings work, do they? They don't have time. Or the right words. But that's what books do. It's as though your daily life is a film in the cinema. It can be fun, looking at those pictures. But if you want to know what lies behind the flat screen you have to read a book. That explains it all."
It took me awhile to get through this book, but I think the fault was mostly my own. I was in the mood for something emotionally resonant, like Birdsong, Charlotte Gray or On Green Dolphin Street, but A Week in December is a much colder book. It's a satire of modern life, well done, but it does carry more than a whiff of old man crankiness. Is it possible to write a social satire with heart? Faulks does give a half-hearted try at the end; he's too good a writer to make every single one of his numerous story-arcs end in despair. And he writes fantastically well, so that his biting jabs at what is presented as the emptiness of modern life all hit their targets with wit and accuracy.
Set in London in 2007, the book follows a large cast of characters through their daily lives. There's a soulless investment banker plotting a big trade and a hopeful Jihadist. Would you like to guess which is the bad guy? There's also a bitter book critic, a disaffected young person, and an up and coming Polish football player, among many others, allowing Faulks to lampoon pretty much every facet of modern British society. The book warms up a bit in the final third, as though Faulks had, in the end, found it impossible to avoid all sympathy for his characters and the plot does heat up, but writing about an entirely irredeemable character in a three dimensional way does ultimately prove beyond even Sebastian Faulks's considerable skills.
"Yeah, I do."
"Why?"
"Dunno. I s'pose it's an escape from the real world."
"But surely it's just the opposite," said Gabriel. "Books explain the real world. They bring you close to it in a way you could never manage in the course of the day."
"How do you mean?"
"People never explain to you exactly what they think and feel and how their thoughts and feelings work, do they? They don't have time. Or the right words. But that's what books do. It's as though your daily life is a film in the cinema. It can be fun, looking at those pictures. But if you want to know what lies behind the flat screen you have to read a book. That explains it all."
It took me awhile to get through this book, but I think the fault was mostly my own. I was in the mood for something emotionally resonant, like Birdsong, Charlotte Gray or On Green Dolphin Street, but A Week in December is a much colder book. It's a satire of modern life, well done, but it does carry more than a whiff of old man crankiness. Is it possible to write a social satire with heart? Faulks does give a half-hearted try at the end; he's too good a writer to make every single one of his numerous story-arcs end in despair. And he writes fantastically well, so that his biting jabs at what is presented as the emptiness of modern life all hit their targets with wit and accuracy.
Set in London in 2007, the book follows a large cast of characters through their daily lives. There's a soulless investment banker plotting a big trade and a hopeful Jihadist. Would you like to guess which is the bad guy? There's also a bitter book critic, a disaffected young person, and an up and coming Polish football player, among many others, allowing Faulks to lampoon pretty much every facet of modern British society. The book warms up a bit in the final third, as though Faulks had, in the end, found it impossible to avoid all sympathy for his characters and the plot does heat up, but writing about an entirely irredeemable character in a three dimensional way does ultimately prove beyond even Sebastian Faulks's considerable skills.
marjolein85's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I like the concept of this book, but not the writing. Although it is not a long book, it felt like it was. Much unnecessary information was provided, which made it difficult to get through.
jennilisanne's review against another edition
2.0
Really disappointed. Just far too much going on to keep track properly on who people were. Lots of page flipping back needed!
catrink's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. This should have been much better than it was. Interesting premise - following the lives of very different people in 2007 London. Sadly the conversations were stilted, the level of detail too high and really only one character seemed to have depth. I did finish it because I dislike not finishing a book.