- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Picador (9 Jun 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0330392689
- ISBN-13: 978-0330392686
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.6 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,861,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
James Delingpole's first novel, Fish Show, was an archly funny story about a Fleet Street restaurant reviewer who finds life more surreal than he ever imagined. Given that Delingpole himself is a Fleet Street freelancer known for music and TV criticism, it's possible to suggest that he likes to write autobiographically--an intriguing trait when you consider some of the scenes and subject matter in this, his second book.
The hero of Fin is one Joe Davenport (AKA James Delingpole). A thirtysomething London-based journalist (and wannabe novelist), Davenport/Delingpole is into girls, porn, drink, coke, computer games, hashish, Radiohead and money. What Davenport is not into, is sharks: he has a profound and unaccountable shark-phobia which keeps intruding into his life even though he spends most of it in such theoretically shark-free arenas as Docklands flats, Hoxton discos, and trendy Soho drinking clubs.
The style is briskly first-person, breezily present-tense, and refreshingly candid: "I AM DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO HAVE A WANK! Definitely not. Not at all. Never. Well not never, obviously, but not right now." The dialogue is sharp, well-observed, and funny: "How are we supposed to stay calm when we've just gone and lost half a frigging ounce of red-bearded skunk?" "We'll have a spliff".
Delingpole eschews traditional characterisation and a plotting plot, but somehow this doesn't matter. After various encounters with various heartbreaking, heartbroken babes, the novel speeds to its gory, amusing, shark-infested denouement with such verve, good humour, and puppyish likeability, the reader feels constrained to forgive the infelicities. This light-hearted accessibility makes Fin an ideal holiday read--especially if you want to liven up that afternoon on the beach... Sean Thomas
Review
"'Here's a rare thing, a contemporary novel that's genuinely funny, cleverly conceived and written with a great deal of skill and dexterity... Fin is slick, pacy and easy to read. Above all, though, it's funny. Much to my annoyance. I laughed out loud several times - and in public too' John Preston, Sunday Telegraph"
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
...Why did I hate this book? Let me count the ways.
The hero (JD) is a public school educated journalist of reactionary views (no connection here obviously with the James Delingpole who writes for The Spectator). In JD's world women are "babes", the working class are "oiks", and computer games are cool. Not as cool though as drugs which are consumed at tiresome length throughout the novel.
Halfway through I thought I might have missed the point of this book and that perhaps it was intended as some sort of parody of the Bloke-Lit genre. If this is the case then Delingpole does just not signal his intentions clearly enough. Taken straight this book is simply offensive and cringe making. For example in one passage the hero refuses to buy drugs at Glastonbury from a dealer because he is Black (hilarious, no?). A character is put down at a dinner party because she disapproves of fox hunting, is Scottish and (it is implied) lower middle class or worse.
Other passages are simply bizarre: an extended description of spot-squeezing and toe-clipping in nauseating detail fills several pages in the style of a bad and totally unfunny observational comedy routine.
Characterisation is non-existent. In a touching homage to Chick-Lit the hero's best friend is gay. Unfortunately Delingpole's masterly hand produces the most unsuccessful sexual impersonation since Peter Wyngarde played Jason King. Think Julian Clary, think Stephen Fry, think the worst thing you have ever read in your entire life.
Being charitable it may be that this book was cynically written by a clever man to appeal to a boorish audience...
As they say on the blurbs, if you are afraid of laughter in public places don't read this book on the tube: people will laugh at you.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A deeply frustrating and actually rather annoying book this. I have read James Delingpole's journalism for some time - especially in the Daily Mail - and have always enjoyed it but I was wrong to thing that a good journalist = a good author.
What we have here is one long monologue to the main character's fear and anxiety of everything shark-related interspersed with his views on drugs, sex, relationships etc etc. The main problems with the book are that the sharks are more 'human' and believable than any of the wooden characters and the ending is as poor as it is predictable.
Delingpole also wants to show how 'cool' he is far too often and his drugs references and sexual exploits would sound good as short snippets of stand-up but seem a bit embarrassing here.
A good writer yes, but a good author and story teller? Not on this evidence.
What we have here is one long monologue to the main character's fear and anxiety of everything shark-related interspersed with his views on drugs, sex, relationships etc etc. The main problems with the book are that the sharks are more 'human' and believable than any of the wooden characters and the ending is as poor as it is predictable.
Delingpole also wants to show how 'cool' he is far too often and his drugs references and sexual exploits would sound good as short snippets of stand-up but seem a bit embarrassing here.
A good writer yes, but a good author and story teller? Not on this evidence.
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Fin is one of the funniest books written in the past year. In Fin we learn all about Joe and his relationship with his girlfriend Sam as well as friends Repton and Tom. There is a great deal to like in this book. I especially enjoyed the annual 'trip' to Glastonbury, superbly written. The trip to the Red sea and ordering dinner, another gem. There is so much to enjoy in this book, from the various versions of Bob, or not as the case may be, to the final pages which exhausted me.
I too did not like Joe much, but I suspect we all know someone very much like him.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fin Is Fun
After reading "How To Be Right" by James Delingpole and thoroughly enjoying it (see my rather excitable review! Read more
Published on 3 April 2007 by M. A. Nicholson
Better than the rest
Very good. One of the better books I have read in recent months. At first I thought the underlying shark theme was unecessary and slightly annoying but it develops extremely well... Read more
Published on 26 July 2001 by paddyrichardson@hotmail.com
Funny book, fishy ending
A good trip through a 30 something brain - and some great one liners. I enjoyed it a lot, but found the end slightly weak. Shame really. Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2000 by J. Foxwell-Moss
terrific comic novel
Aside from being a laugh out loud page turner, this very funny novel makes some penetrating observations about the mental maps of a metropolitan just-about-thirty-something male... Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2000
Get a sense of humour
I couldn't believe the last reviewer of this book; who made out that Delingpole was some kind of reactionary who couldn't crack jokes. Read more
Published on 3 July 2000
Some-Fin special
Contempory, laugh out funny novel with some oh-so-common views on relationships,drugs, paranoia, music, friends and - oh, sharks. Read more
Published on 26 Jun 2000 by simon@whitehouse41.freeserve.co.uk
An awesome shark, drug and paranoia frenzy!
Having been initially attracted by the sharky theme I was overjoyed to find the inept hero, Joe to be a more paranoid version of myself: shark-obsessed and Radiohead-loving, he... Read more
Published on 19 Jun 2000
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