- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Atlantic Books; New edition edition (10 Mar 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843542188
- ISBN-13: 978-1843542186
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,482,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'Mark Costello's fine second novel... should further convince readers that it was a happy day when he decided to stop prosecuting individual criminals and instead put all of America in the dock.' Guardian 'A fine and highly enjoyable novel... the stuff of good fiction.' Daily Telegraph 'A triumphant second novel' Independent 'He charts the entropic motion of American society... as if he were a Pynchon or DeLillo' Independent on Sunday 'It's a masterly performance... Franzen and David Foster Wallace are welcoming him deservedly into the highest echelon (under-50s division) of American fiction.' John Dugdale, Sunday Times 'While many other writers only dream of achieving greatness, Mark Costello's work should have been born with the words "Great American Novel" stamped on the front.' Economist Books of the Year 'I love this stuff - It's inventive' Time Out Book of the Week 'Like every writer of real distinction, Mark Costello stakes out territory which, until his arrival, you would never have guessed it was vital to read about immediately... Costello sure-handedly captures the uncertainties of our times.' Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections
Jonathan Franzen, author of 'The Corrections'
‘Mark Costello stakes out territory which you would never have guessed it was vital to read about'
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First Sentence
Center Effing is a town between the Ocean and I-95, on the old and settled seaboard of New Hampshire. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Center Effing is a town between the Ocean and I-95, on the old and settled seaboard of New Hampshire. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you are thinking of reading this book, be warned: the book doesn't "end", it's just that the writing stop...
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Often described as a light-hearted "riff," rather than a satire, this novel of American government and politics casts an eye on the Secret Service and its all-too-human agents. Working to protect an unnamed Vice-Presidential candidate on a pre-primary visit to New Hampshire, the assigned agents are also dealing simultaneously with their own insecurities, quirks, and numerous dysfunctions. As this wry novel evolves, the reader discovers that the differences between those we employ to protect us and those we want to be protected from may be very slim, indeed.
Half a dozen Secret Service members, their spouses, parents, children, and lovers; an equal number of computer programmers for Big If, a multiplayer war game on the Web; and the Vice-President, his staff, and campaign workers constitute a huge cast of characters, but each is so idiosyncratic, and the minutiae of his/her daily life so completely articulated, that the characters are memorable, if not fully developed. As Costello expands his scope beyond that of the campaign, he pokes fun at child-rearing practices, prison work-release programs, the real estate market, the expectations of newly-moneyed trophy wives, the addiction to violent computer games, and even the get-out-the-vote efforts of campaign volunteers.
The reader must be patient with this novel. Plot is not a major concern, as the book meanders through the lives and backgrounds of multiple characters. Vi Asplund, the main character, receives only slightly more emphasis than other characters, and conflict and dramatic action are minimal, dependent more upon the characters' past histories than upon new events. Delightful metaphors ("a tall, soft sofa of a boy," "a snippy poodle kind of sneeze") are sprinkled throughout, but they are sometimes buried in long lists of detail. The humor often feels self-conscious. This is a most unusual novel, one which defies the conventions and pushes the boundaries, and I suspect that few readers will remain neutral about it. Mary Whipple
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Do not be mislead by the synopsis to this book - it bares very little resemblence to the contents. I read this book as it was the book of the month for our book club and its recommendation had been from various newspapers and basically looking at the back of the book.
We were expecting a cross between the West Wing and 24 - oh how disappointed we were!
There were many leading characters and the only one mentioned on the cover, Felker, figured very little. Time and time again you'd get loads of details about a character that never led anywhere. In the case of one of the agents we got a far more graphic description of his sex life than anyone needed - again detail for the sake of it.
We all kept hoping that perhaps something exciting would happen - well it didn't! The only thing remotely exciting happened within the last chapter and even then ended in a damp squib.
If you are looking for an exciting book with Federal Agents gone bad, assasination plots or basically anything even remotely interesting - don't buy this book!
The author missed chance after chance to turn this book around... such a shame.
There will be 8 copies from our book group at a car boot sale near you very soon!
Oh and I think Amazon should introduce a '0 star' rating as I think all in our group would agree that 1 star is being charitably generous.
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