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Capital
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Review
This is an intelligent and entertaining account of our grubby, uncertain, fragmented London society that has almost replaced religion with shopping. Read it. --Claire Tomalin, Observer
Brimming with perception, humane empathy and relish, its portrayal of this metropolitan miscellany is, in every sense, a capital achievement. --Peter Kemp, Sunday Times
John Lanchester has spun a complex and gripping tale of London life, a pre-crash portrait of greed and fear and money ... His characters are richly and sympathetically drawn ... He handles their disparate story lines with immense skill. There is, too, a rich seam of wit running throughout the book which makes it a treat to read, despite its serious intentions. --Antonia Senior, The Times Book of the Week
Brimming with perception, humane empathy and relish, its portrayal of this metropolitan miscellany is, in every sense, a capital achievement. --Peter Kemp, Sunday Times
John Lanchester has spun a complex and gripping tale of London life, a pre-crash portrait of greed and fear and money ... His characters are richly and sympathetically drawn ... He handles their disparate story lines with immense skill. There is, too, a rich seam of wit running throughout the book which makes it a treat to read, despite its serious intentions. --Antonia Senior, The Times Book of the Week
Review
"Precise, humane and often hilarious, John Lanchester's Capital""teems with life. Its Dickensian sweep and its clear-eyed portrayal of the end of a strange era make this novel not only immensely enjoyable, but important, too."
--Claire Messud
"Strikingly original..."
--"The Guardian"
"Lanchester makes us care deeply about his imperiled characters....A remarkably vibrant and engrossing novel about what we truly value."
--"Booklist"
"Capital""[is] filled with the news of now, in which the intricacies of the present moment are noticed with clarity and relish and then brilliantly dramatized. It is clear that its characters, its wisdom, and the scope and range of its sympathy, will fascinate readers into the far future."
--Colm Toibin
--Claire Messud
"Strikingly original..."
--"The Guardian"
"Lanchester makes us care deeply about his imperiled characters....A remarkably vibrant and engrossing novel about what we truly value."
--"Booklist"
"Capital""[is] filled with the news of now, in which the intricacies of the present moment are noticed with clarity and relish and then brilliantly dramatized. It is clear that its characters, its wisdom, and the scope and range of its sympathy, will fascinate readers into the far future."
--Colm Toibin
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
78 of 83 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Perhaps John Lanchester has fallen prey to the hyperbole of his well meaning journalist colleagues: I had great expectations from the press for this novel and its reported ambition to pull together all the threads that make London what it is today: to be "The Way We Live Now" for the 21st century.
The premise is genius - take a south London street and its occupants from the old school banker heading for a fall, along with everyone else, to the old lady, the last of the ordinary pre-professional class who is dying, and use it as a prism to view London the city and the City of London. I recognised the street - hell, I live in a south London street between a retired electrician and his wife, who do indeed still have lino in the kitchen, and a banker who's putting in a loft conversion - and I recognised every single one of the characters from the banker's wife to the Polish builder. The plot bounces along, the writing is clean and well structured and it does manage to link all the disparate characters together in a way that doesn't jar. I want to love it and yet.....and yet......
The thing is: I know all this, and you do too. You know the characters if you've had a drink in a City bar, have employed a Polish builder, watched a episode of Gavin and Stacey, taken a trip to Harvey Nicks, watched Peston on the news and have heard of Banksy. I wanted more heft, more nuance, more insight, characters who were flesh and blood, not illustrations of a type. In short, I wanted more than a confirmation of what I can see around me every day. Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner.
"Capital" is worth the read, but wait for the paperback and a long flight. It may be the way we live now, but it won't be "The Way We Live Now" in a hundred years.
The premise is genius - take a south London street and its occupants from the old school banker heading for a fall, along with everyone else, to the old lady, the last of the ordinary pre-professional class who is dying, and use it as a prism to view London the city and the City of London. I recognised the street - hell, I live in a south London street between a retired electrician and his wife, who do indeed still have lino in the kitchen, and a banker who's putting in a loft conversion - and I recognised every single one of the characters from the banker's wife to the Polish builder. The plot bounces along, the writing is clean and well structured and it does manage to link all the disparate characters together in a way that doesn't jar. I want to love it and yet.....and yet......
The thing is: I know all this, and you do too. You know the characters if you've had a drink in a City bar, have employed a Polish builder, watched a episode of Gavin and Stacey, taken a trip to Harvey Nicks, watched Peston on the news and have heard of Banksy. I wanted more heft, more nuance, more insight, characters who were flesh and blood, not illustrations of a type. In short, I wanted more than a confirmation of what I can see around me every day. Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner.
"Capital" is worth the read, but wait for the paperback and a long flight. It may be the way we live now, but it won't be "The Way We Live Now" in a hundred years.
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I liked John Lanchester's previous book Whoops and was looking forward immensely to Capital. It had been hailed as possibly the State of the Nation novel of the decade.
Capital is a diverting enough read but it lacks the insight and incisiveness that you would hope for from a really good book. The plot involves a myriad of characters linked to addresses in Pepys Road. Unfortunately many of these come over as stereotypes - the greedy banker, the selfish wife, the hard-working Pole, the devout Muslims, the heroic refugee. The writing is good but far from brilliant.
One problem is that Capital is not different enough from similar novels published recently - such as Sebastian Faulks' A Week in December or Hearts and Minds by Amanda Craig. Although it is an entertaining book but I was disappointed as I was expecting something more.
I am sure there is a State of the Nation novel of the decade somewhere - but this isn't it.
(I dithered about the star rating - would have opted for 3 and a half so erred on the side of kindness!)
Capital is a diverting enough read but it lacks the insight and incisiveness that you would hope for from a really good book. The plot involves a myriad of characters linked to addresses in Pepys Road. Unfortunately many of these come over as stereotypes - the greedy banker, the selfish wife, the hard-working Pole, the devout Muslims, the heroic refugee. The writing is good but far from brilliant.
One problem is that Capital is not different enough from similar novels published recently - such as Sebastian Faulks' A Week in December or Hearts and Minds by Amanda Craig. Although it is an entertaining book but I was disappointed as I was expecting something more.
I am sure there is a State of the Nation novel of the decade somewhere - but this isn't it.
(I dithered about the star rating - would have opted for 3 and a half so erred on the side of kindness!)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Capital was given quite a fanfare when it was published and Lanchester is a good writer. But for me the characters were rather like cardboard cut-outs and I couldn't bring myself to care deeply enough about them. The goings-on in Pepys Road were quite entertaining, but so are the goings-on in every street in every city in every part of the world. This is probably an OK holiday read but it does not set the pulse racing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
London Calling (but not very loud)
I nearly give this book the dreaded three star review, standing for middle of the road average. An easy enough read, this is a novel about London life as it might be for a lot of... Read more
Published 9 days ago by J. Mcgregor
Too many characters but a good read
Capital is set in a tree-lined residential street somewhere in an affluent part of London. It starts with an unknown person taking pictures of people's doors on the street, in the... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Helena Halme
Over hyped
I like this kind of plot (short chapters, parallel plots which finally diverge in some sort of denouement) - helps with my short attention span! - BUT this book left me cold. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Constant Gardener
Whoops a miss
Lanchester's last book Whoops was an extraordinary feat, managing to make the dry, complex world of high finance both comprehensible and riveting. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Gaelen Parker
Brilliantly written
Wonderful, multi-narrator tale of London life. Brings SW4 to life beautifully. Story dips a little at the end of the book which was disappointing but still a wonderful read and... Read more
Published 28 days ago by BMcB
Capital
where to start...oh yes, this book is very dull!....i have got 40% into it and still asking myself what is the point. I am bored of the non plot, where is it going? Read more
Published 1 month ago by roquet
Capital
We both enjoyed tis book thoroughly and found it difficult to put down. The threads were so well interwoven and caught one's imagination. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jean Paisley
CAPITAL
I purchased this book for my son in law , a lecturer, and the family are queueing up to read the book. Comments will come later.As a social commentary it should be a good read. Read more
Published 1 month ago by N/N
A capital read?
I generally enjoyed this book but it didn't entirely grip or convince me. The cast of characters was too large and I ended up by not caring sufficiently about any of them. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. G. R. Luthman
Love the structure, the colour and humour of the writing
A clever portrait of just te right number of characters whose lives interreact on one street.. I still have a third still to read , and can't leave it alone. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Patbrock
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