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tombennett72's review against another edition
2.0
I would have considered this book to be 'average', had I not read Capital by John Lanchester.
The similarities between the concept of the story and even some of the key characters between the two books is at best odd. But Capital is much the better read.
The similarities between the concept of the story and even some of the key characters between the two books is at best odd. But Capital is much the better read.
narcissia's review against another edition
3.0
I got this as an ARC through Goodreads first reads. This book is well written, satirically funny in parts, with characters who range from endearing or funny to depressing or disturbing. I found it was quick and easy to read the parts about my favorite characters. But that when I got to the POV of any of the creepier characters it felt slower and less enjoyable to read those parts. I see this as a plus though, because it made the characters feel more real to me. The sections for the characters who made me smile or roll my eyes and laugh sort of bounced along, while the creepier characters' sections seemed to linger and ooze by slowly.
mollyss's review against another edition
3.0
I did. Like this, especially toward the end. But I would say that there were a lot of characters and some of the storylines were quite pointless.
ronne's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
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.