Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliantly Written, Compelling but not always Accessible , 20 Jun 2008
Fans of Scarlett Thomas' earlier work will love this book; people new to her may find themselves in a little deeper than they expected. The End of Mr Y represents a step forward from the excellent PopCo in terms of scope and ambition but I think it loses out a little in accessibility and ultimately, plausibility.
The central themes of this book are deep and metaphysical; it deals with language, thought and existence, borrowing from Derrida, Heidegger and Samuel Butler. There is also a fair dollop of quantum theory thrown in. So not a light read then.
That Thomas has even managed to produce anything remotely readable from her heavy subject matter is testament to what a talented novelist she is. Despite the novel's length and content, it is immensely readable and even qualifies as a page turner. The author's enthusiasm and knowledge of her subject shines off nearly every page. That said, in a few places I was overwhelmed by the metaphysics and lost my way amongst all the thought experiments.
The End of Mr Y made my brain hurt; not necessarily a bad thing but not what everybody wants from a novel. Thomas' publishers have been pushing this book hard and deservedly so but I think there maybe some disappointed readers out there who were expecting something lighter. (I note that on Amazon, as I write this review, it is #13 in 'Chick Lit'. This is like placing Dostoyevsky in 'True Crime'.)
The 'End of Mr Y' is an excellent novel but I would suggest starting with PopCo as a gentler introduction to the wonderful, kooky world of Scarlett Thomas.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating, quirky and entertaining., 27 Aug 2008
An ambitious book that really does cover pretty much everything - life, death, sex, time travel and the fabric of the universe. The book's protagonist Ariel - flawed, entertaining and brilliantly drawn - is obsessed with a seemingly cursed book ("The End of Mr Y") which claims to reveal the secrets of telepathy and time travel. As she struggles to understand the world revealed by the book (and to evade others who want to find it), Ariel has to try to untangle the connections between matter, time and consciousness.
Part thriller, part metaphysical journey, the story never gets bogged down as it touches on some deep themes. Sure, you have to think a little as you read it, but is that such a bad thing ? A great read that will stay with you long after you finish it.
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42 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, 8 Jul 2007
Ariel Manto is writing her PhD thesis and has a facination with a book called 'The End of Mr. Y', which no-one alive has ever read. That's partly becasue everyone who has had anything to do with the book has either died or disappeared.
Ariel finds a copy of this book, quite unexpectedly, in a local bookshop and learns it's secret; the book contains a recipe for a potion which allows you to enter an alternative dimension, 'The Troposphere'. Once in the Troposphere, you can travel around using the thoughts of others.
This is the start point for what turns out to be an adventure through science, religion, self-doubt, self-loathing and ultimately, love.
For those people who have read Popco, The End of Mr Y follows a similar kind of narrative. Thomas appears to have taking a load of subjects she is interested in (homeopathy, religion, quantum physics) and fused them into one glorious whole.
I loved this book. She did lose me a bit when describing the fourth-dimension, quarks, time and matter and all the electron stuff, but it has to be said, Scarlett Thomas on her bad days is better than most other writers on their best days.
Brilliant. If you liked Popco, you'll love it!
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