See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

23 used & new from £1.49

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Book of Dave
 
 

The Book of Dave (Hardcover)

by Will Self (Author) "Carl Dévúsh, spindle-shanked, bleach-blond, lampburnt, twelve years old, kicked up buff puffs of sand with his bare feet as he scampered along the path from..." (more)
3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


3 new from £4.27 17 used from £1.49 3 collectible from £7.50
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 18 used & new from £2.27
Paperback (Reprint) £7.99 £5.49 89 used & new from £0.01

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Great Apes

Great Apes

by Will Self
3.7 out of 5 stars (29)  £6.99
How the Dead Live

How the Dead Live

by Will Self
3.8 out of 5 stars (25)  £6.99
The Road

The Road

by Cormac McCarthy
4.3 out of 5 stars (332)  £2.99
The Butt

The Butt

by Will Self
3.2 out of 5 stars (6)  £4.79
Grey Area

Grey Area

by Will Self
4.5 out of 5 stars (4)  £5.99
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 495 pages
  • Publisher: Viking (1 Jun 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0670914436
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670914432
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 15.2 x 4.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 160,683 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #20 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > S > Self, Will

Product Description

Review
England in the future and (mostly) underwater is the post-apocalyptic setting for the brazen Brit author's ambitious dystopian satire.The title story, one of two energetically detailed narratives, is the "text," written, in 2000, more in anger than in sorrow, by London cabdriver Dave Rudman, whose wife Michelle has fled their rickety marriage, remarried and kept Dave from seeing their son Carl. Dave's mad, self-justifying, misogynistic "memoir," which he buries in the backyard of Michelle's new home, takes on a vivid extended life more than 500 years later, when it's excavated, fervently embraced as a sacred text and used as a template by a rigidly structured society in which parents live apart and children are shuttled between them during designated "Changeovers." This stripped-down future, after rising sea levels have turned Britain into hundreds of tiny islands (e.g., that of "Ham," formerly Hampstead, where Michelle's family now live), stimulates both Self's abrasive genius for elaborating ingenious premises in mordantly funny detail (Great Apes, 1997), and his maddening tendency to beat every idea to death (How the Dead Live, 2000). In the 2500s, the practice of "Davinity" (i.e., worship of Dave) is expressed in the language (derived from his chaotic book) of Arpee, specifically the dialect of Mokni-of which numerous brilliant examples are given, and minimal interpretation is supplied in a brief concluding glossary. Much of this is superb, but a byzantine plot involving the son (another Carl) of a "heretic" who opposed Davinity and preached the equality of the sexes, is simply tedious. Though this edgy novel invites comparison with such contemporary classics as Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange and Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker, its anarchic vision of future shock is far less compelling than Dave's own story of loss, grief, surrender to drug addiction and madness.Thus, this is indeed divided: by turns acrid, funny and perversely moving, yet marred by sourness, shrillness and redundancy. (Kirkus Reviews)

Telegraph, May 20, 2006
The Book of Dave is Self's most successful novel to date. Funny, frightening, moving'

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Carl Dévúsh, spindle-shanked, bleach-blond, lampburnt, twelve years old, kicked up buff puffs of sand with his bare feet as he scampered along the path from the manor. Read the first page
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Book of Dave
83% buy the item featured on this page:
The Book of Dave 3.7 out of 5 stars (45)
Grey Area
7% buy
Grey Area 4.5 out of 5 stars (4)
£5.99
Great Apes
4% buy
Great Apes 3.7 out of 5 stars (29)
£6.99
The Butt
3% buy
The Butt 3.2 out of 5 stars (6)
£4.79

 

Customer Reviews

45 Reviews
5 star:
 (15)
4 star:
 (14)
3 star:
 (8)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (45 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not for everyone, 2 Mar 2007
By Mister Hobgoblin (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
I suspect this is not a book for the masses.

As other reviewers have noted, the novel does have two strands narrated across alternating chapters - one set in the very recent past following Dave the Cabbie and one in the far future, where Dave the Cabbie's demented ramblings have sparked off a new world religion.

I suspect that if one had the patience, there is a work of genius bursting to get out. The references from the future turn up later in the text as deriving from the past. Read across is not always obvious, and one comes to accept eccentricities from the future before realising how far out of context they have become from references in the present.

The phonetically rendered vernacular is irritating, although I rather liked cloakyfings. But as with other texts written in vernacular, the use of it becomes both less frequent and less irritating as the novel progresses. And underneath it all is a brilliantly detailed vision of a future dystopian society.

The plots in the two stories are set out in non-linear style and each has a cast of similarly named characters, makign it quite difficult to follow. However, each plot is engaging in its own way. And whislt the Dave the Taximan story is the most gripping, the far future story is more poignant because of its finality. The Dave the Taximan story offers a rationale for the later events, but one knows, ultimately, where the story will end up. The downside of the interleaved narratives, of course, is that the penultimate chapter has to reach a crescendo, and then the last chapter has to work up to a second one when you really feel as though the story's finished.

The characters themselves are less well drawn in the future narrative than the complex characters of the recent past. Dave the Cabbie is not the racist, mysoginist bigot portrayed in the blurb. In fact, he is repelled by his colleagues who are that way inclined. He is caring and sensitive, and that is probably his downfall as he finds his life spinning out of control. This adds to the irony of Dave's book becoming a sacred text. There are wonderful cameos from the Skip Tracer and the Fighting Fathers (or whatever they called themselves).

Overall, this is a wonderful and funny satire on the nature of religion and personal destiny, along with some dazzlingly imaginative speculation of a far future revisitation of mediaeval values. It is heavy going, though, with dense plotting and lengthy detail. Worth it, though, and it deserves to get somewhere in the annual awards round.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Deep, dark and brilliant - but not my idea of fun., 29 May 2007
By qangela (Isle of Man) - See all my reviews
The Book of Dave looks at the logical conclusions of the rise in our society of acrimonious divorce, with the dice loaded against fathers in terms of both access and child support. Will Self presents the bleak, flawed life of Dave, a bigoted, occasionally violent London cabbie who is fighting to sustain access to his son. Dave, in an anti-depressant fuelled psychosis, writes and buries his own book of holy law, based on the Knowledge, his hatred of `mummies' and his longing for `the lost boy'. Self juxtaposes this with a grim post-apocalyptic vision of the future, where Dave's book has been unearthed and adopted as the new religion. Relationship breakdown, domestic violence against women and hatred and disenfranchisement between parents hasn't just become the norm, it's now the law.

The Book of Dave is as adventurous, inventive and socially-relevant as, say, Great Apes but it just doesn't have the laughs of Will Self's earlier fiction. His sense of the ridiculous that makes his earlier books so funny is present but is drowned by a relentlessly depressing story of cruelty, despair and failure which at times is hard for the reader to bear. Some readers might find the first sight of the dialogue off-putting as the majority of it is written phonetically but it's actually just Eastenders-style Cockney and is much more accessible than the narration in Anthony Burgess' brilliant A Clockwork Orange, for example.

It's been said before that people are either fans of Will Self's journalism or fans of his fiction. Personally, I'm in awe of his fiction. This particular example of it didn't make me laugh but it was as unnerving, intelligent and compelling as the best of his earlier work.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not for everyone, 11 Aug 2006
By Mister Hobgoblin (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
I suspect this is not a book for the masses.

As other reviewers have noted, the novel does have two strands narrated across alternating chapters - one set in the very recent past following Dave the Cabbie and one in the far future, where Dave the Cabbie's demented ramblings have sparked off a new world religion.

I suspect that if one had the patience, there is a work of genius bursting to get out. The references from the future turn up later in the text as deriving from the past. Read across is not always obvious, and one comes to accept eccentricities from the future before realising how far out of context they have become from references in the present.

The phonetically rendered vernacular is irritating, although I rather liked cloakyfings. But as with other texts written in vernacular, the use of it becomes both less frequent and less irritating as the novel progresses. And underneath it all is a brilliantly detailed vision of a future dystopian society.

The plots in the two stories are set out in non-linear style and each has a cast of similarly named characters, makign it quite difficult to follow. However, each plot is engaging in its own way. And whislt the Dave the Taximan story is the most gripping, the far future story is more poignant because of its finality. The Dave the Taximan story offers a rationale for the later events, but one knows, ultimately, where the story will end up. The downside of the interleaved narratives, of course, is that the penultimate chapter has to reach a crescendo, and then the last chapter has to work up to a second one when you really feel as though the story's finished.

The characters themselves are less well drawn in the future narrative than the complex characters of the recent past. Dave the Cabbie is not the racist, mysoginist bigot portrayed in the blurb. In fact, he is repelled by his colleagues who are that way inclined. He is caring and sensitive, and that is probably his downfall as he finds his life spinning out of control. This adds to the irony of Dave's book becoming a sacred text. There are wonderful cameos from the Skip Tracer and the Fighting Fathers (or whatever they called themselves).

Overall, this is a wonderful and funny satire on the nature of religion and personal destiny, along with some dazzlingly imaginative speculation of a far future revisitation of mediaeval values. It is heavy going, though, with dense plotting and lengthy detail. Worth it, though, and it deserves to get somewhere in the annual awards round.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer brilliance.
As a bit of a Will Self obsessive (owning about 9 of his books) this review was never going to be unbiased, but I think The Book of Dave may well be his masterpiece. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Christopher Fraser

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer brilliance
This book gives up its bounty slowly. And yes, you have to persevere with it. But what riches it produces! Read more
Published 1 month ago by sadgrove

5.0 out of 5 stars A revelation indeed.
I am a big fan of Will Self and have read most of his novels and short stories and I think this is my favourite. Read more
Published 4 months ago by ollieearl

2.0 out of 5 stars Painful
I found this book physically painful to read.
I've spoken to others who trudged on and actually finished the book who have said it was great, but i admit to only reading a... Read more
Published 4 months ago by MJR

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
I bought this book for the father of my children, as it is after all a book written from a dad to his son... It's a rather dark and acid humour... Read more
Published 5 months ago by French girl

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard Read But Worth It
Will Self is an author that is a bit hit and miss with people, people either love his quirky tales and devour him or people are put off by the fact that he can come across as... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Simon Savidge "savidgeread...

4.0 out of 5 stars A little too long
I read this and thought, oh yes, I had forgotten how amusing Will Self could be. And there was some very amusing rants by the taximan who sporned an entire way of life. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Edward Daniels

1.0 out of 5 stars Tedious
I got a third of the way through this book and by then had realised that every other chapter was going to be written in an invented future language. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Don

4.0 out of 5 stars At least he provides his own dictionary this time....
I think I must have read most of Will Self's books by now - and this is, by some distance, his best. Read more
Published 8 months ago by MisterKeith

5.0 out of 5 stars what's your moto
Big, difficult, silly, sad, funny, awesome, bonkergull, tedious, jiggy, thought provoking, technically sound, technically inaccurate, perverse, anachronistic, long, brilliant.
Published 9 months ago by 2cleverbyhalf

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (2 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
Anyone read Riddley Walker? 0 1 month ago
New London, and what are motos? 4 2 months ago
See all 2 discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

Discover Health & Beauty

 

Let Olay Amaze You

Olay Total Effects Day Moisturiser SPF15 50ml
Amazon.co.uk sells all your favourite ranges from Olay, including Regenerist and Total Effects.

Discover Olay at Amazon.co.uk

 

Train Hard...Play Hard

Nike, Gola, Converse, and more
Gear up with up to 60% off athletic and outdoor shoes.

Shop now

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates