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bookishgoblin's review against another edition
1.0
This is absolutely awful. If I could give it negative stars I would, -3 stars to this. It's a good concept that is executed terribly. Each person on this train has their own page long story, but each person is boring, I forgot half the stories a second after reading them and the other half barely even went in. This was fairly progressive in several ways and honestly offensive in many others. I know that there should be separation of the author from the text, but honestly, I felt genuinely sick reading this. The book seems massively in favour of immigration painting characters from other countries in a wonderful and sympathetic note. However, there were some massive problems mostly concerning women being abused, it also managed to demonise any woman who was sexual in any way. I don't mean to tell Ryman how to write, but women do not think how he thinks they do.
Basically the whole book pissed me off, and I didn't even finish it. There is a section at the end that tells you briefly what happens when people get off the train, and I read about the characters I knew about, but frankly I just really didn't care.
This was the most boring book I've ever read, had he picked a select few characters and made longer stories out of it and explored them more it could have been great, but no. He had to attempt some experimental bullshit that destroyed some perfectly good stories.
I could complain a lot more, but frankly, I want to be done with this book
Basically the whole book pissed me off, and I didn't even finish it. There is a section at the end that tells you briefly what happens when people get off the train, and I read about the characters I knew about, but frankly I just really didn't care.
This was the most boring book I've ever read, had he picked a select few characters and made longer stories out of it and explored them more it could have been great, but no. He had to attempt some experimental bullshit that destroyed some perfectly good stories.
I could complain a lot more, but frankly, I want to be done with this book
simonrtaylor's review against another edition
2.0
Ryman takes one of the most fascinating aspects of life and dedicates a whole book to it in 253. It is set in a London Underground train, which consists of seven carriages each with 36 seats. That’s a total of 252 passengers, plus the driver.
Ryman hones in on the fact that 253 lives have, very temporarily, intersected. Each person is both the main character in their own life, and a supporting actor in the lives of 252 others. For seven minutes, all of their journeys have aligned. It’s an incredibly thought-provoking idea.
The structure of 253 is straightforward. Each character is the star for 253 words, in which their appearance and thought process is explained. We get an insight into these 253 lives, all for just a handful of paragraphs (albeit with some interesting and generally witty footnotes).
While this itself is very intriguing, in practise it does lose its appeal after the first few people. There is no particular narrative or plot; nothing that moves the ‘story’ on. When 253 began its life in 1996, it did so online. Everything that connected the characters, from experience to attitude to situations, is hyperlinked and emphases the countless connections we all have to absolute strangers. In what is subtitled The Print Remix, we lose this and without a hugely powerful short term memory, you’re unlikely to pick up on this. Instead, the book can only really be approached in print order (which is layout order of the train), and it’s what distinguishes the characters that it noticeable.
There is a conclusion, The End of the Line, that is designed to shock. It seems unnecessary. The point of 253 seems to be the trivialities that bind us, and so a more defined shared experience is at odds with the premise of the rest of the book.
I don’t think Ryman has done a bad job here; far from it. 253 shows evidence of deep thought and careful construction. It allows the reader to dwell on some of the most incredible intricacies of life, and has a warm, charming tone about it. Particularly as the tenth anniversary of the 7/7 attacks is marked in the UK, this is perhaps more than any other piece, a work of pure humanity. However, its translation into print has robbed it of the ability to lay bare those connections. Though an index is provided, it’s not quite the same. What was, in its original form, a fascinating web just falls apart into 253 splinters which, on their own, are not particularly interesting or entertaining,
Ryman hones in on the fact that 253 lives have, very temporarily, intersected. Each person is both the main character in their own life, and a supporting actor in the lives of 252 others. For seven minutes, all of their journeys have aligned. It’s an incredibly thought-provoking idea.
The structure of 253 is straightforward. Each character is the star for 253 words, in which their appearance and thought process is explained. We get an insight into these 253 lives, all for just a handful of paragraphs (albeit with some interesting and generally witty footnotes).
While this itself is very intriguing, in practise it does lose its appeal after the first few people. There is no particular narrative or plot; nothing that moves the ‘story’ on. When 253 began its life in 1996, it did so online. Everything that connected the characters, from experience to attitude to situations, is hyperlinked and emphases the countless connections we all have to absolute strangers. In what is subtitled The Print Remix, we lose this and without a hugely powerful short term memory, you’re unlikely to pick up on this. Instead, the book can only really be approached in print order (which is layout order of the train), and it’s what distinguishes the characters that it noticeable.
There is a conclusion, The End of the Line, that is designed to shock. It seems unnecessary. The point of 253 seems to be the trivialities that bind us, and so a more defined shared experience is at odds with the premise of the rest of the book.
I don’t think Ryman has done a bad job here; far from it. 253 shows evidence of deep thought and careful construction. It allows the reader to dwell on some of the most incredible intricacies of life, and has a warm, charming tone about it. Particularly as the tenth anniversary of the 7/7 attacks is marked in the UK, this is perhaps more than any other piece, a work of pure humanity. However, its translation into print has robbed it of the ability to lay bare those connections. Though an index is provided, it’s not quite the same. What was, in its original form, a fascinating web just falls apart into 253 splinters which, on their own, are not particularly interesting or entertaining,
brassduke's review against another edition
4.0
Truly brilliant book for all those who love people-watching
marvelarry's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
larasam's review against another edition
2.5
One of those books that is interesting in concept, and I bet it was better online when you had the interactivity. Also I know it's the kind of book you're supposed to page through every now and then instead of read all at once, but because I got this from the library I had to read big chunks at a time, and I think that took away from the reading experience.
circularcubes's review against another edition
3.0
The idea behind this book is really interesting, but the execution left a bit to be desired, in my opinion. 253 characters, all sitting on a train in London between three different stops, who are described in 253 words each (minus footnotes), many linked together by familial, personal, and professional relationships. The idea behind it is intriguing, but as a reading experience, it was meh.
I tried reading this in its original format, on the website http://www.253novel.com/, but I quickly decided that I would prefer reading this on paper, because the endless clicking around wasn't quite doing it for me. However, other reviewers have mentioned how the experience is completely different with the physical book - the clickable hyperlinks that take you from one passenger to another, all down the length of the train, aren't marked out in the book. Some of the more obvious connections are pointed out (interpersonal relationships, for example), but the only way for you to know that the author meant for us to take note of the (otherwise unconnected) folks reading the Financial Times is to look at the index at the back of the book. While I did flip around when it was obvious that other passengers completed a little story of sorts, the more happenstance connections passed me by. On the one hand, that's quite different from the original web version of the book, but on the other hand... I don't really care that three different people were reading the same newspaper on the train, you know?
I could forgive most of the format's sins, because I still find the concept itself interesting. The character studies themselves, though... I didn't like them all that much. While there were enough interesting ideas and moments to get me to finish the book, a lot of the characters felt flat. I wasn't the comfiest with the way many of the immigrants and non-English folks were portrayed, and it did really bother me that white Englishness was the default, and that the non-white characters had their race, nationality, and appearance pointed out while English passengers were never described as "white" or "English." A lot of characters have their stories end with a Big Decision having just been made, and while that might make their stories more compelling, it did make the entire book feel more artificial.
Overall, an interesting book. Not a book I'd necessarily recommend, but I'm glad I gave it a try.
I tried reading this in its original format, on the website http://www.253novel.com/, but I quickly decided that I would prefer reading this on paper, because the endless clicking around wasn't quite doing it for me. However, other reviewers have mentioned how the experience is completely different with the physical book - the clickable hyperlinks that take you from one passenger to another, all down the length of the train, aren't marked out in the book. Some of the more obvious connections are pointed out (interpersonal relationships, for example), but the only way for you to know that the author meant for us to take note of the (otherwise unconnected) folks reading the Financial Times is to look at the index at the back of the book. While I did flip around when it was obvious that other passengers completed a little story of sorts, the more happenstance connections passed me by. On the one hand, that's quite different from the original web version of the book, but on the other hand... I don't really care that three different people were reading the same newspaper on the train, you know?
Spoiler
I also did not bother to flip back and remember all the stories of the people who die in the train crash at the end of the story. I did for a few of the names that sparked some recognition, but for the most part, their deaths didn't feel real enough to be important, or important enough to feel real.I could forgive most of the format's sins, because I still find the concept itself interesting. The character studies themselves, though... I didn't like them all that much. While there were enough interesting ideas and moments to get me to finish the book, a lot of the characters felt flat. I wasn't the comfiest with the way many of the immigrants and non-English folks were portrayed, and it did really bother me that white Englishness was the default, and that the non-white characters had their race, nationality, and appearance pointed out while English passengers were never described as "white" or "English." A lot of characters have their stories end with a Big Decision having just been made, and while that might make their stories more compelling, it did make the entire book feel more artificial.
Overall, an interesting book. Not a book I'd necessarily recommend, but I'm glad I gave it a try.
mazza57's review against another edition
1.0
In my opinion the author has spent far too long trying to be clever writing 253 character ideas in 253 words on the same number of pages. He has completely forgotten to write soething that holds the interest of the reader or creates ant sort of meaningful narrative. The only thing of any interest takes place in the last few pages and simply isn't worth the effort of the previous 353 pages
caroleheidi's review against another edition
5.0
Very clever book and an interesting concept - everybody loves to people watch afterall.
Loved how the narrative managed to move forward and build suspense despite being fairly disjointed.
Frequently made me laugh out loud whilst reading.
Loved how the narrative managed to move forward and build suspense despite being fairly disjointed.
Frequently made me laugh out loud whilst reading.
sonofthunder's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a fascinating and quirky book! Got to say it upfront, this was an absolutely fantastic book to read on the airplane. I guess the best word to describe this book would be "experimental"? It's a book about a certain subway train in London. A train with 252 passengers and 1 driver, 253 people total. Each person on the train is given their own mini-chapter and each of these chapters contains 253 words. Each of these chapters describes the outward appearance and actions of the character, then tells us who they are and their background, as well as giving us their inner thoughts at the time when they're on the train. In one way, this book made me think it would be a fantastic writing exercise. Imagine writing a book about 253 different characters, describing their backgrounds, motivations, feelings, thoughts, fears and dreams! And furthermore, imagine then interweaving these characters together - so that multiple of them know each other or work together or have had relationships with each other or hate/love each other. And furthermore, imagine the interactions of these characters with other random people they don't know during this one seven minute train ride. Well, I know I certainly couldn't write a book like this but, but Geoff Ryman totally did that here! And he executed the concept flawlessly. I must confess, reading this felt a bit voyeuristic, peering into the innermost thoughts and dreams of these people. But was that not part of the point? Look and see that each of these people on the train (who at first glance may appear boring or weird or cringe) have their own story, their own heart-cry, their own drama playing out! I did eventually slide into a bit of a dream state reading this on the plane - if you read it quickly enough, all the peoples' stories start to slide into each other, which is an interesting experience. Also, reading it on a plane...you start to look at the people around you and see and imagine their own lives and wonder what they're thinking and feeling. Cannot recommend this book enough for a travel book. Parts of this book made me a bit uneasy, seeing the weird and not entirely appropriate thoughts and feelings of different characters...but again - part of the point, is it not? I know I would greatly blush if others could see and visualize my inner thoughts. The horror. This book was very well written - full of comedy and horror and making me laugh and cry. Not sure if I'd recommend it to everyone, but it was certainly a wonderful experience to read it and consider the more full experience of what it means to be human, of what it means to dream, of what it means to walk through this life with eyes partially veiled while also slightly seeing and wondering about what is beyond.
joerichards90's review against another edition
4.0
Quirky, original, well thought-out and as engaging as you want it to be.