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'As unusual as it is well wrought: it resonates with a Whitmanesque sense of the city's possibilities and unsatisfied longings' (The New Yorker )
'David Benioff's headlong suspense novel is a deceptively simple chronicle of [Monty's] final day of freedom...Working in a novelistic form of "real time", Benioff shows a knack for critiquing his genre while revitalising its cliches... Instead of yielding mere irony, the author, in his first novel, achieves both pathos and excitement' (Entertainment Weekly )
'Brilliantly conceived, this gripping crime drama boasts dead-on dialogue, chiaroscuro portraits of New York's social strata and an inescapable crescendo of tension. Monty's solution to his agonising dilemmas will shock even hardened suspense lovers' (Publishers Weekly )
'The 25th Hour is a wonderfully written first novel . . .[a] brilliant and disturbing story' (Otto Penzler - amazon.com )
'A stylish, beautifully written novel with a sharply drawn backdrop of New York . . . The book is filled with marvellous vignettes. The mixture of tenderness and jealousy among the friends, their fear and resentment remain in the memory' (Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph )
'The most impressive novel since Donna Tart's THE SECRET HISTORY . . . a masterly crafted variation on the conventional crime and punishment novel' CITY LIFE (Philip Hamer at CITY LIFE )
'A marvellous novel . . . the result is a beautifully written, well-paced novel - with a cracking twist in its tail.' - OBSERVER (Observer )
The New York Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First class first novel!,
By MISS C J GATHERCOLE (EAST PRESTON, WEST SUSSEX United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The 25th Hour (Paperback)
It is amazing this is Benioff's first novel as it has a depth and maturity that is unexpected. Rather than a murder mystery or a plot driven novel, it is a story. A story about people and characters and how they relate to each other. It is however, not in the least bit boring. It is a novel driven by characters who leap off the page at you from the first sentances and who you can see in your mind as if you were watching a film. Classed as an urban thriller, Spike Lee has brought the film rights, so it will be interesting to see how he develops the characters and theme of the book. This is definately a one sitting read, because you cannot put the book down once you start. You want to know what happens to these people and you remember them long after you've read the book. Don't expect a rollercoaster plot but do expect an enjoyable read, that will leave you looking forward to Benioff's next helping. Truely a new talent and one to look out for in future!
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Taut and Gripping Debut,
By
This review is from: The 25th Hour (Paperback)
First things first—I've read the book twice, read multiple drafts of the movie script (written by Benioff himself), and spent an hour interviewing David Benioff for Creative Screenwriting magazine, and I assure you, the film will measure up to the book. And the book is outstanding. Slapped with the mystery/crime designation by the publisher's marketing department, the book contains very little mystery or suspense. Rather, it is a trim and haunting account of what goes on in the head of a man who realizes all too well that he’s thrown his life away and that nothing will ever be the same. The story is about the last day of freedom for Montgomery “Monty” Brogan, a pretty-boy Irish-Catholic New Yorker in his late 20s who is about to spend seven years in a federal penitentiary for dealing drugs. In his last 24 hours of freedom Monty must say goodbye to his two oldest friends, Wall Street whiz kid Frank Slattery, and high school English teacher Jakob Elinsky, as well as his longtime live-in girlfriend Naturelle, his bar owner father, his loyal pit bull Doyle, and the post-Soviet mobsters he worked for. This last day is effectively a deathbed for Monty, as he makes his peace with all the people he’ll leave behind, knowing that he’ll be a totally different person after seven years of hard time. But it’s also about those left behind, and their own struggle to come to terms with the fact that someone close to them is gone, and that to a certain extent they are complicit in his downfall. These are fully realized characters, as Slattery struggles to control himself in a high-stakes, high-pressure job, Jakob struggles to avoid the allure of his student Mary, Naturelle must start planning on moving back to her mother’s home, and Monty’s widowed father must say goodbye to his only child. Despite the lack of suspense, the book builds steadily, ending with a powerful and uncompromising punch. A great debut and it's a shame Benioff has turned his attention almost entirely to film. For those who want more, there are at least three short stories of his available online for free.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not living up to its potential,
By Charles Deckers (Netherlands) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The 25th Hour (Paperback)
The story is about a guy's last 24 hours before he had to show up for a jail sentence for drug dealing. We travel around with him and get to know his girl friend and his two friends. One of the friends is a school teacher who is attracted to one of his pupils. The last evening is in a night club, owned by some kind of maffia boss, where all the characters move to and from each other. The first 90% of the book are inspired and makes you wanting more, but the end is a bit forced and a disappointment.
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