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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"One of the most impressive novelists of his generation."
-"Sunday Telegraph"
"The best novelist of his generation."
-"Scotsman"
"Faulks is beyond doubt a master."
-"Financial Times"
-"Sunday Telegraph"
"The best novelist of his generation."
-"Scotsman"
"Faulks is beyond doubt a master."
-"Financial Times"
"From the Hardcover edition."
Allan Massie, Scotsman
'Evidence of Faulks's remarkable empathy and mastery of the
novelist's art... Compelling, disturbing and significant... A remarkable
achievement'
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
novelist's art... Compelling, disturbing and significant... A remarkable
achievement'
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
215 of 227 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is phenomenal; it has shot into my top ten books of all time. It takes a lot to make it into this esteemed list and Faulks has certainly delivered a lot here. He is truly a master and this change from his usual style is brilliant. He has moved away from the historical novel to a relatively contemporary setting. The story touches on the themes of education, class, politics, and psychosis. The narrator is Engleby, an undergraduate at Cambridge in the 70's. He is a strange character, a loner and outsider, very much on the fringes of life. He is not particularly pleasant but he is engaging, intelligent and funny. However, there is always something missing from his accounts of his life and the reader can never be sure if they are missing some details. Most of the book takes place inside his mind and since he has `selective memory' he is always one step ahead of the reader. This isn't a book in which a great deal happens but the beauty is in the subtlety.
Faulks' writing style is very lucid and he uses language sparingly; with his books you get none of the 'misty' effect I've noticed in many new books lately where the actual story seems to be lost underneath a mass of unnecessary verbosity. He is perceptive and insightful with a dry sense of humour. His ruminations on the pointlessness of studying English are very, very funny. Faulks is not afraid to offend and that is a refreshing quality in this day and age.
I read this book very quickly as I found myself literally unable to put it down. If you are a Faulks fan this is a must read for you. If you are new to him, Engleby is a great introduction (although don't expect his other works to be similar - they're not.) Every time I open a book I hope that this will be the one that gets me really inspired and keeps me up all night reading; this was the one.
Faulks' writing style is very lucid and he uses language sparingly; with his books you get none of the 'misty' effect I've noticed in many new books lately where the actual story seems to be lost underneath a mass of unnecessary verbosity. He is perceptive and insightful with a dry sense of humour. His ruminations on the pointlessness of studying English are very, very funny. Faulks is not afraid to offend and that is a refreshing quality in this day and age.
I read this book very quickly as I found myself literally unable to put it down. If you are a Faulks fan this is a must read for you. If you are new to him, Engleby is a great introduction (although don't expect his other works to be similar - they're not.) Every time I open a book I hope that this will be the one that gets me really inspired and keeps me up all night reading; this was the one.
55 of 59 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A convincing portrayal of a loner, a troubled character, Mike Engleby, this is a gripping read that draws you back until it is finished. I was intrigued how this would progress and how his life would play out after the occurences we hear about from his school and college years. The novel tells Engleby's story as seen through his eyes, and it is up to the reader to believe what they will to an extent. Faulks cleverly evokes some degree of sympathy in the reader for Engleby and the lonely world he inhabits, yet we are fearful and chilled by some of his actions and reactions to people and events as the novel progresses. It was interesting to read a novel in which mental illness is dealt with, and compelling, though at times painful, to be inside Engleby's head. Though it doesn't make for an easy read, I really enjoyed this novel, and am glad I picked it up. The period detail of the times he lives through is a thorough and well written backdrop to the events that Engleby recites. I thought the occasional comments that are slipped in about the changes in education over the time period that the novel spans, 70's through to present day, were quite telling.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Engelby is a lonely man toughened from his working-class upbringing by a bullying father and residential public school. He'd won a scholarship for the latter, a pyrrhic victory considering the harsh treatment he received there. His life-long dependency on drugs, thieving to afford them, using his high intelligence to blag his way through Cambridge university into a journalist career creating an unenviable yet intriguing character.
Engelby was obsessed by an undergraduate girl-next-door woman, who went missing. Upset by this event, Engelby iteratively picked up hints through self-revelations about the girl's fate. I don't recall having read a crime story where the first-person narrator was so guilty even though he didn't initially know it. Very cleverly done.
Faulks is a literary writer of merit and, like Engelby was brought up near Reading, was a Cambridge undergraduate and became a journalist. Differences are that Faulks was born into a wealthy legal family and seems to be a happier and `better' person. Interesting that there are similarities in the journalism backgrounds (The Independent newspaper for example).
The writing style is very satisfying, handing us wish-I-wrote-that phrases such as - in discussing a meal - `I ate myself to a standstill'. However, I felt the denouement arrived three-quarters through the book. Some of the trial and post-trial analysis laboured with repetition, maybe with subtle purpose, but with the effect I skimmed some pages. Nevertheless, I'd heartily recommend this book to any writer exploring literary styles, and to any lover of a mystery told in a unique way.
Engelby was obsessed by an undergraduate girl-next-door woman, who went missing. Upset by this event, Engelby iteratively picked up hints through self-revelations about the girl's fate. I don't recall having read a crime story where the first-person narrator was so guilty even though he didn't initially know it. Very cleverly done.
Faulks is a literary writer of merit and, like Engelby was brought up near Reading, was a Cambridge undergraduate and became a journalist. Differences are that Faulks was born into a wealthy legal family and seems to be a happier and `better' person. Interesting that there are similarities in the journalism backgrounds (The Independent newspaper for example).
The writing style is very satisfying, handing us wish-I-wrote-that phrases such as - in discussing a meal - `I ate myself to a standstill'. However, I felt the denouement arrived three-quarters through the book. Some of the trial and post-trial analysis laboured with repetition, maybe with subtle purpose, but with the effect I skimmed some pages. Nevertheless, I'd heartily recommend this book to any writer exploring literary styles, and to any lover of a mystery told in a unique way.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant on so many levels
I had read Birdsong and found the writing and characterisation to be excellent. The scene in the tunnel with the canary was especially harrowing and literally made me sweat. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Terrier girl
dark haunting and disturbing
Engelby is not easy reading - the subject matter, and the personality of the the narrator is too disturbing and unsettling for that. Read more
Published 1 month ago by markr
Books in Great Condition!
The book was a real bargain as it was in next-to-new condition and quite appropriate to give as a gift. Read more
Published 2 months ago by stargirl
The Catcher in the Rye
It reminded me of the Catcher in the Rye, Engleby V Holden Caulfield, (what a match) so nothing very new about the subject but well written and the first Faulks I have read.
Published 3 months ago by S. Y. Sadler
My First Faulks
Started off interesting, well paced, and overall a very easy, enjoyable read about the protagonist living through navy school, then going to Cambridge, all from a 'working class'... Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. Davies
Dark and Different
I actually enjoyed this book. I had read Birdsong which I thought was excellent so tried another Sebastian Faulkes novel. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Denny Turner
Tedious in the extreme
I read "Birdsong" when it was all the rage and enjoyed it but was subsequently disappointed by another of Faulks' books in a similar vein. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Anne Eyries Woolley
Disappointing
I had previously tried to read Birdsong and given it up as a waste of my time. My wife gave me this one because she thinks I should read 'modern' books. Read more
Published 6 months ago by ukreader
FORGET RELATIONSHIPS
If we think of Engleby as a whodunit, then I suppose its line of descent is from The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Read more
Published 6 months ago by DAVID BRYSON
A powerful study of a disturbed personality,
When choosing this book, I made the mistake of thinking that I was choosing a relatively comfortable read - and in this I was wrong. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Alison McVey
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