- Hardcover: 300 pages
- Publisher: Flamingo; First edition (6 July 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0002254069
- ISBN-13: 978-0002254069
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 14 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 839,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
From the reviews of X 20:
‘Elegant, witty and confident’
Observer
‘Beard is as good on the sensuality of smoking as on the philosophy. This is an unusually intelligent, funny and readable first book.’
Sunday Times
‘Beard’s prose is dry, nonchalant and fluent. An accomplished first novel.’
TLS
‘Populated by a cast of well-drawn eccentrics, loaded with encyclopaedic detail on the history and iconography of smoking, this comic novel nevertheless aims at deep seriousness. Beard’s writing can be breathtaking’
Daily Telegraph
Product Description
The new novel from the author of X 20.
How much can a life change in a day, in the blinding flash of a moment? What can you learn about someone in an instant, in a lifetime? Take a day, any day, and see.
A funny, clever and unusual novel – a love story in which all the events, people and places are taken from the contents of the 1 November 1993 issue of The Times newspaper. Every object, item of clothing, shop, book, colour or weather system in Damascus can be found in the one newspaper, as can the scores in sports events and the occupations of passersby – all brought together by Richard Beard’s crisp and witty storytelling.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good follow up to X20,
By foxtrot_uk@hotmail.com (bournemouth, uk) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Damascus (Paperback)
An impressive book which only just fails to live up to the excellence of Beard's first novel. Beard continues to experiment with structure and is proving to be quite a master of it. Looking forward to his third book when it comes out.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Over intellectualised,
By
This review is from: Damascus (Paperback)
I got quite bored reading this. The characters are quite well drawn, but the plot is random, as you'd expect from something garnered entirely from one newspaper. Very thin on ideas after page one, not something I'd recommend.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I absolutely loved this book.,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Damascus (Hardcover)
This is probably one of the most refreshing books I've read to date. It's rich form kept me interested, allowing me to finish it within a week between long hours at school and tons of homework. The parallel lives of the two main characters--meeting at certain points in their lives without ever knowing it--helped culminate a lovely, almost innocent love story. It's a novel about stepping out of your rut in life, taking chances and risks. I bet the next day was November 2, 1993 :-)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Coincidence...or not?,
By Chris MB "CMB" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Damascus (Hardcover)
Like Geoff Nicholson's Bleeding London, Damascus relies on a great deal of intersecting between characters, times and places. Beard uses this very interesting technique as well as a non-linear timeline to tell a compelling and often hilarious story. His characters are incredibly well developed and his writing is accomplished.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A complex, excellent and well thought out piece of writing,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Damascus (Hardcover)
In brief, Damascus weaves the stories of relatively anonymous people, any one of which could be your neighbor, or seated next to you on the train, by intertwining their past lives with their present lives. A well thought out and complex piece of fiction, this book is wholy worth reading based on the merits that after every chapter, it forces you to examine your own life, and to question your past, your present, and your future, both in parts and in totem. And not only does it provoke thought, it carries the reader through to the last page, always wanting to know more about the characters, the plot, and eventually the reader himself. Beard develops his plot with uncanny ability to combine what appear to be separate vignettes or snapshots of his characters lives into a cohesive story. The reader inevitably comes away from the book comparing him/herself to one of the characters, and knowing examples of all the others. For anyone who is intelligent and is up to the challenge of a book that will not only entertain but also make you think, Damascus proves an excellent choice.
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