- Unknown Binding
- Publisher: Fourth Estate (7 Sep 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 184115539X
- ISBN-13: 978-1841155395
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
All Hail the New Puritans begins with a ten-point manifesto. Part pastiche of modernist manifestos, part bullet-point mission statement, this manifesto claims to eschew inter alia voice, flashbacks, poetic licence and rhetoric in favour of plain, authentic, transparent testimonial prose.
Fortunately, the practice of the New Puritans is much more interesting and sophisticated than their theory. All set in the present, the stories dissect many aspects of contemporary life with verve, wit and sympathy. While ostensibly offering us faithful representations of the present, many of the stories have considerable satirical bite.
The entertainment/information economy and its possibilities and pitfalls are chronicled in Blincoe's "Short Guide to Game Theory"--a tale of schoolboy rivalry transposed into the conflict between a board-game developer and the aspirant designer of a game called SWING, the object of which is to create and market a pop group; the protagonist and narrator in Matthew Branton's "Monkey See" works as a techie tracing internet porn, who tries to spice up his sex-life with his much-loved wife by joining a swingers group. Tony White's "Poet" explores the possibilities (emotional, economic and formal) of using Excel to write sonnets in a moving meditation on being a writer in a digital age. --Neville Hoad --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘This is an important collection. Whether you agree with the New Puritan Manifesto or not, if you care about writing you must read this book…The New Puritans have mounted a formidable revolution.' The Times
‘It is exciting to find so many good stories in one collection…Thorne and Blincoe have challenged the writer to do something original and that is exactly what the New Puritans have done.' Daily Telegraph
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book mainly because I like Matt Thorne's novels, and wasn't sure about the hype and the strange rules. But the stories deliver, and are all really good. A cool collection.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book hoping to find a set of short stories that would engage me and give me some food for thought. Instead I found a collection of short stories that could have been written by group of teenagers rushing to get their English literature homework assignment's in on time. Many of the stories could have finished with. And then I woke up to find my mother shouting at me to get ready for school.
8 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's difficult to conceive of a sorrier crowd of no-hopers than we see collected together here. With the possible exception of Dyer (who should be ashamed of himself for stooping to this level), the so-called 'new puritans' offer stories which are on the level of Little Red Riding Hood when it comes to depth and complexity. The thrust of the 'manifesto' - that literature needs to find some pure values in terms of storytelling and precision in use of language is not without value, though it is incredibly short-sighted and pretty banal in the way it's outlined. It's just a real shame that such a shower of second rate authors is the best the editors could come up with to illustrate it. The fact that they include their own work says a lot.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
refreshing and entertaining stories - some even brilliant
i'm not interested in (re)viewing this book in a context of contemporary british fiction but recently i've burrowed through a dozen or so short story collections in search of a... Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2005 by Mr. Z. Folkmanis
Good stories; strange rules
I think I have to begin by review by arguing with the last review. [The]remarks are typical of many of the criticisms fired at this anthology - which all stem from literary... Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2000
Like Chairman Mao's Little Red Book - Except White
These stories changed my life. I bought a Dreamcast after reading Scarlett Thomas's story, and bought a Formula One game for it after reading Alex Garland's. Read more
Published on 5 Nov 2000
brilliant and challenging manifesto, some stories very good
I thought the manifesto was extremely interesting and thought provoking, and where its precepts were followed produced some very interesting work, such as 'Game Theory' by Mr... Read more
Published on 1 Nov 2000
innovative and gripping
Never mind the poncey manifesto, I thought this book was fantastic, all the stories seemed real and honest. Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2000
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