- Paperback: 350 pages
- Publisher: snowbooks; UK open market ed edition (1 July 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1906727392
- ISBN-13: 978-1906727390
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,066,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What can I say? Can I order my position as the number 1 fan? Violet is an irresistible egotist who had me both captivated and cringing with self-recognition. Ditto her double. This is a classy narrative and it had me simultaneously pondering, second-guessing and itching to devour it whole. It's beautifully crafted and its subtleties are still echoing round in my head now I've finished, which is just how a great novel should leave you.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Burning Out
Katherine May's first novel flows with an intensity and sense of drama that keeps one's attention and interest to the very end. Violet has a strange telepathic relationship with a doppelgänger several years younger than herself who appears to be about to make the same mistakes in her life as Violet feels she has made in hers. From this intriguing start Katherine weaves a dreamlike and multi layered narrative that explores many areas of the modern human condition. I would mention just two as follows. Her satire of the slavery of corporate existence is penetrating and timely given the cracks that are now appearing in its structure and her analysis of its effects on its work serfs stands comparison with 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists'. Her exploration of identity and consciousness is thought provoking without being didactic and suggests much promise for future work.
But most exciting of all is her ability to create a compelling page turning story in masterly prose. One soon has a desperate need to find out how Violet resolves the problems in her and her alter ego's lives. For a first novel her style is already very assured and one hears an original voice being given its first extended outing.
If there is one area that I feel is calling for development in Katharine's work it would be to see her weave together the relationships of several complex and differing characters who affect one another over time rather than just one- albeit in two bodies. But really all I am saying is that I can't wait to read her next book!
Katherine May's first novel flows with an intensity and sense of drama that keeps one's attention and interest to the very end. Violet has a strange telepathic relationship with a doppelgänger several years younger than herself who appears to be about to make the same mistakes in her life as Violet feels she has made in hers. From this intriguing start Katherine weaves a dreamlike and multi layered narrative that explores many areas of the modern human condition. I would mention just two as follows. Her satire of the slavery of corporate existence is penetrating and timely given the cracks that are now appearing in its structure and her analysis of its effects on its work serfs stands comparison with 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists'. Her exploration of identity and consciousness is thought provoking without being didactic and suggests much promise for future work.
But most exciting of all is her ability to create a compelling page turning story in masterly prose. One soon has a desperate need to find out how Violet resolves the problems in her and her alter ego's lives. For a first novel her style is already very assured and one hears an original voice being given its first extended outing.
If there is one area that I feel is calling for development in Katharine's work it would be to see her weave together the relationships of several complex and differing characters who affect one another over time rather than just one- albeit in two bodies. But really all I am saying is that I can't wait to read her next book!
Format:Paperback
I read this book on recommendation from a friend and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not the sort of fiction I usually go for but it's wonderfully descriptive albeit a bit confusing at times. The narrative is from two perspectives and a different type font is used when the main characters'"double" is speaking. I started off really disliking the main character Violet (I meet far too many people just like her, mainly working in PR or events!!) but as the book progresses, I felt more sympathetic towards her. I also liked the portrayals of the depressing Kentish coastal resort.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Linked lives are the theme of Katherine May's first novel
Violet lives in a sterile flat in a controlled existence - her food arrives in calorie-controlled packages; she works, goes to the gym, and occasionally visits her collection of... Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2009 by medwaymaria
A compelling page turner.
I found this first novel of Katherine May to be a real page turner. I loved, and related to, Violets collection of rocks and stones from the beach and their descriptions both of... Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2009 by Mrs. S. Gagie
Beautifully written and engaging
You can tell that Katherine May has sharpened her writing claws on poetry. Her book is exquisitely written, and her characters are believable and engaging. Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2009 by Fiona Robyn
wistful and haunting
This is a book that is both entrancing and a real page turner, and kept me hooked from begining to end. Read more
Published on 5 Aug 2009 by Mrs. R. Shaw
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