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mazza57's review against another edition
2.0
hard work, lots of it inane drivel good beginning good twist at the end but most of it was unmemorable rubbish - dont waste your time
hobbes199's review against another edition
4.0
It's Christmas eve, on the dawn of the Millennium, and cynical, self-loathing, lonely, and depressed Byron Easy is taking an arduous train journey from London to Leeds to visit his mother. Thankfully, it's not that arduous for the reader as we are treated to a new refreshing and enlightening male voice in the form of debut novelist Jude Cook's messed-up protagonist.
As we join Byron, it's obvious that he's just come out of a very difficult and volatile relationship, and as we progress we get more of an insight into Mandy, the beauty with a very dark side. Alongside Byron's recollections about Mandy we get a full run down of his past; his many jobs, friendships and the loves that got away are all given the wannabe poets treatment and very rarely do any of them come away smelling of roses. Where Byron's memories are most evocative (and Cook's writing at it's best) is in the chapters covering his childhood and early home life. It's obvious from the outset that Byron has serious self-esteem issues, which over the course of time has an effect on all of his relationships, and it's in the chapter 'Home' that we start to see the root of these issues.
Very rarely does Byron refer to his parents as 'mum and dad', much preferring first name terms, nicely underlining the detachment that he feels from these people for whom there is an obvious mutual love, but a complete inability to show it. Cook gives Byron a beautifully evocative and understated voice for this chapter, which for once doesn't overpower the narrative, instead choosing to let Byron's memories (and possibly those of the reader) drive the story forward.
This simpler narrative is a welcome break from Byron's dips into his notebook where he takes on the voice of his namesake while recording either what he experiences on his journey or recalls from his past journal entries, and it's this 'recounting' where I occasionally came unstuck with the novel. For a novel that touches (brilliantly I may add) on the male image, depression, self-worth and the place of the 'self-aware man' in society, being regularly told 'something worse is coming' caused the book to be closed and not opened for a day or two. It's certainly not a novel that can be read in one go-you will need a break, especially towards the last third, a section which should possibly come with a trigger warning as events unfold in a graphic and heartbreaking manner.
Whilst sometimes infuriating, it's obvious that Jude Cook is a talented writer and definitely one to watch for the future and he should be applauded for writing about depression and abuse from a male perspective, something that is seriously lacking from mainstream literature.
Disclaimer: This review was based on an advanced review copy supplied by NetGalley in return for an unbiased review
As we join Byron, it's obvious that he's just come out of a very difficult and volatile relationship, and as we progress we get more of an insight into Mandy, the beauty with a very dark side. Alongside Byron's recollections about Mandy we get a full run down of his past; his many jobs, friendships and the loves that got away are all given the wannabe poets treatment and very rarely do any of them come away smelling of roses. Where Byron's memories are most evocative (and Cook's writing at it's best) is in the chapters covering his childhood and early home life. It's obvious from the outset that Byron has serious self-esteem issues, which over the course of time has an effect on all of his relationships, and it's in the chapter 'Home' that we start to see the root of these issues.
Very rarely does Byron refer to his parents as 'mum and dad', much preferring first name terms, nicely underlining the detachment that he feels from these people for whom there is an obvious mutual love, but a complete inability to show it. Cook gives Byron a beautifully evocative and understated voice for this chapter, which for once doesn't overpower the narrative, instead choosing to let Byron's memories (and possibly those of the reader) drive the story forward.
This simpler narrative is a welcome break from Byron's dips into his notebook where he takes on the voice of his namesake while recording either what he experiences on his journey or recalls from his past journal entries, and it's this 'recounting' where I occasionally came unstuck with the novel. For a novel that touches (brilliantly I may add) on the male image, depression, self-worth and the place of the 'self-aware man' in society, being regularly told 'something worse is coming' caused the book to be closed and not opened for a day or two. It's certainly not a novel that can be read in one go-you will need a break, especially towards the last third, a section which should possibly come with a trigger warning as events unfold in a graphic and heartbreaking manner.
Whilst sometimes infuriating, it's obvious that Jude Cook is a talented writer and definitely one to watch for the future and he should be applauded for writing about depression and abuse from a male perspective, something that is seriously lacking from mainstream literature.
Disclaimer: This review was based on an advanced review copy supplied by NetGalley in return for an unbiased review
whatmattersmost's review against another edition
3.0
Many thanks to Netgalley, Jude Cook, and Pegasus Publishing for allowing me an advanced reader copy of Byron Easy.
This book is a marathon - not a sprint. The writing is brilliant and full and extremely dense and the main character has a completely phrenetic yet intriguingly beautiful way of looking at the world. As you can probably tell from the jacket, this is not a feel good kind of book. It's the story of a drunk, broke, depressed, wanna be author told in a combination of flashback and present tense that somehow works together to create the story.
Not everyone is going to love this and I can't say that I really loved it in the way I wanted to but there were moments of true brilliance hidden in these pages as well as madness and extreme self indulgence.
Fans of Kerouac and Vonnegut will be incredibly comfortable between the covers of this story.
Goodreads rating: right between 3 and 4 stars but the fact that this book took me a full month to slog through had me round it down.
This book is a marathon - not a sprint. The writing is brilliant and full and extremely dense and the main character has a completely phrenetic yet intriguingly beautiful way of looking at the world. As you can probably tell from the jacket, this is not a feel good kind of book. It's the story of a drunk, broke, depressed, wanna be author told in a combination of flashback and present tense that somehow works together to create the story.
Not everyone is going to love this and I can't say that I really loved it in the way I wanted to but there were moments of true brilliance hidden in these pages as well as madness and extreme self indulgence.
Fans of Kerouac and Vonnegut will be incredibly comfortable between the covers of this story.
Goodreads rating: right between 3 and 4 stars but the fact that this book took me a full month to slog through had me round it down.
bookdancing's review
4.0
4.5 actually
http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Byron_Easy_by_Jude_Cook
http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Byron_Easy_by_Jude_Cook
devilstatedan's review
2.0
This follows the title character over the course of a night as he travels by train to see his family for christmas after he has undergone an intense marriage breakdown. The novel is his recollections of his life & many of his relationships (some bad, some even worse) over the course of the journey. It's sometimes humourous, other times horrific & worth a go if you like reading about others' disfunctionality!
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