- Hardcover: 350 pages
- Publisher: Bluemoose Books Ltd (9 Jan 2010)
- ISBN-10: 0955336767
- ISBN-13: 978-0955336768
- Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 13 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,486,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Falling Through Clouds
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Falling Through Clouds is a stunning book - not only because the jacket is so striking you can't help but want to read it but because the writing is so strong and hypnotic. What is so surprising is that it's written by a debut author. The story weaves through romance, mystery and intrigue. You're pulled into the characters lives and want them to suceed in all their endeavours. I would recommend this book to anyone who has grown tired of the formulaic reads that are published at the moment and who wants to discover a fresh new voice in fiction. It's also nice to see an independent publisher taking the plunge and releasing work from a new writer. Bravo!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of those rare books which captured my attention and held it throughout the whole. In fact as the pace quickened so too did my heart. Its technical literary prowess heightens the whole experience of the dark but beautiful story in which interesting and complicated characters fight a long hard psychological battle. Without realising it, the reader is gradually drawn into the main character's mind. Flashbacks and time lapses slowly unfold parts of his world. We become detectives; invited to join him in his difficult journey towards the truth. It is easy to read; humorous, compelling and quick moving, whilst also being thought provoking and emotionally charged and I was swept away. I will be looking out for more by the same authoress. Anna Chilvers, a name to rememeber.
Format:Paperback
Two journalists are kidnapped and tortured in Iraq. Gavin considers himself responsible for Bertrand's death. Gavin makes an epic journey in search some kind of absolution from Bertrand's family while reliving the Hell of his captivity.
Heading home for the summer, archaeology student Kat abandons her companions on the platform of her local station, and returns to the train to be with a mysterious drunk (Gavin) who had occupied the seat across the aisle. Gavin is a journalist recently returned from Iraq where he was held hostage. He believes he was responsible for the beheading of his accompanying photographer, Bertrand and has been asked by Bertrand's brother, GK, via email to collect `Bertrand's parcel' from a tattoo parlour in Cornwall. Kat borrows a friend's van and together they meander around the SW coast. As soon as their relationship is consummated, Gavin abandons her. Kat waits at the local library for Gavin, hoping he will come to use the internet. There she meets Aggie, Gavin's sister, who has tracked him via his emails.
FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS promises a lot more than it delivers. There is no doubt that as a writer Chilvers is a cut above the average, but there are a number of irritating flaws and faults in FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS which ultimately left me considerably less than satisfied. The mythological story telling by Gavin is weak, boring and out of place. It should have been cut long ago. Any tension which has been built up is allowed to blow off little by little and by the time we have reached the final third of the book, everyone knows what is going on. There are no twists or surprises, no denouement, just a tedious, slow unravelling.
Chilvers manages to pull off a two-voiced narrative: Kat's story is told in the first person and Gavin's in the third. Gavin's narrative is almost exclusively told in the present tense. These stylistic gambits are well executed, but the plot, pacing and dramatic arc are not equal to them. Chilvers is far too harsh on the kidnappers. They are more than bad enough without being made worse. The story lacks verisimilitude, principally on the basis of the shoddy treatment of the bad guys. Gavin's myth is dreary.
Chilvers is attempting to write a novel which owes a lot to Iris Murdoch, John Fowles and Ian McEwan: intellectual academics who have somehow lost their way become entangled in gothic horror - A Severed Head springs to mind. As an anti-war book, perhaps it is best compared with Saturday, as the `real' story is perhaps how the horrors of war can be visited on innocent bystanders in a different place and time. The problem is that Chilvers is nowhere near as skilled as any of these writers, even in their earliest incarnations. There is no tension, no theme. Murdoch, McEwan and Fowles are all theme. They have something to say beyond telling a mere story. Chilvers has no message.
What Chilvers has done, is succeed in producing a `women's book' about two men kidnapped in the Middle East, but the intense focus on the minutiae of the actions of the female characters left me cold. I really wanted to like FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS and, for the first half of the book - apart from the pointless Arthurian legend - I did.
Heading home for the summer, archaeology student Kat abandons her companions on the platform of her local station, and returns to the train to be with a mysterious drunk (Gavin) who had occupied the seat across the aisle. Gavin is a journalist recently returned from Iraq where he was held hostage. He believes he was responsible for the beheading of his accompanying photographer, Bertrand and has been asked by Bertrand's brother, GK, via email to collect `Bertrand's parcel' from a tattoo parlour in Cornwall. Kat borrows a friend's van and together they meander around the SW coast. As soon as their relationship is consummated, Gavin abandons her. Kat waits at the local library for Gavin, hoping he will come to use the internet. There she meets Aggie, Gavin's sister, who has tracked him via his emails.
FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS promises a lot more than it delivers. There is no doubt that as a writer Chilvers is a cut above the average, but there are a number of irritating flaws and faults in FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS which ultimately left me considerably less than satisfied. The mythological story telling by Gavin is weak, boring and out of place. It should have been cut long ago. Any tension which has been built up is allowed to blow off little by little and by the time we have reached the final third of the book, everyone knows what is going on. There are no twists or surprises, no denouement, just a tedious, slow unravelling.
Chilvers manages to pull off a two-voiced narrative: Kat's story is told in the first person and Gavin's in the third. Gavin's narrative is almost exclusively told in the present tense. These stylistic gambits are well executed, but the plot, pacing and dramatic arc are not equal to them. Chilvers is far too harsh on the kidnappers. They are more than bad enough without being made worse. The story lacks verisimilitude, principally on the basis of the shoddy treatment of the bad guys. Gavin's myth is dreary.
Chilvers is attempting to write a novel which owes a lot to Iris Murdoch, John Fowles and Ian McEwan: intellectual academics who have somehow lost their way become entangled in gothic horror - A Severed Head springs to mind. As an anti-war book, perhaps it is best compared with Saturday, as the `real' story is perhaps how the horrors of war can be visited on innocent bystanders in a different place and time. The problem is that Chilvers is nowhere near as skilled as any of these writers, even in their earliest incarnations. There is no tension, no theme. Murdoch, McEwan and Fowles are all theme. They have something to say beyond telling a mere story. Chilvers has no message.
What Chilvers has done, is succeed in producing a `women's book' about two men kidnapped in the Middle East, but the intense focus on the minutiae of the actions of the female characters left me cold. I really wanted to like FALLING THROUGH CLOUDS and, for the first half of the book - apart from the pointless Arthurian legend - I did.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Enjoyable read
I did enjoy reading this book, it was fast paced and I wanted to keep reading but I did wonder if it was intended for early teenage readers? Read more
Published 19 months ago by dinky
Editor needed
A mish mash of several themes none of which are clearly thought through.
The re-working the Sir Gawain theme was artificial and baffling. Read more
The re-working the Sir Gawain theme was artificial and baffling. Read more
Published 22 months ago by thebookpixie
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
