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A Fool's Alphabet
 
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A Fool's Alphabet (Paperback)

by Sebastian Faulks (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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A Fool's Alphabet + The Girl at the Lion d'Or + Engleby
Price For All Three: £16.47

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  • This item: A Fool's Alphabet by Sebastian Faulks

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  • The Girl at the Lion d'Or by Sebastian Faulks

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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (3 Jan 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 009922321X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099223214
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.4 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 31,197 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #12 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > F > Faulks, Sebastian
    #35 in  Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction: 1970 Onwards > Popular Fiction

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Product Description

Product Description
The events of Pietro Russell's life are told in 26 chapters. From A-Z, each chapter is set in a different place and reveals a fragment of his story. As his memories flicker back and forth through time in his search for a resolution to the conflicts of his life, his story gradually unfolds...

About the Author
Sebastian Faulks worked as a journalist for 14 years before taking up writing books full time in 1991. He is the author of A Trick of Light, The Girl at the Lion D'Or, A Fool's Alphabet, The Fatal Englishman, Birdsong, Charlotte Gray, On Green Dolphin Street and, most recently, Human Traces.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

A Fool's Alphabet
55% buy the item featured on this page:
A Fool's Alphabet 3.9 out of 5 stars (11)
£5.99
The Girl at the Lion d'Or
15% buy
The Girl at the Lion d'Or 3.5 out of 5 stars (26)
£5.59
Engleby
12% buy
Engleby 4.2 out of 5 stars (113)
£4.89
Charlotte Gray
10% buy
Charlotte Gray 3.6 out of 5 stars (76)
£5.99
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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Life as it is - plain, human, real - the finest kind of art, 6 Jun 2003
By nicjaytee (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
This is quite simply one of the most poignant and reflective books I've read, precisely because it lacks the "melodrama" or "plot" that are the pre-requisites of most novels and...which are totally absent in most peoples' lives. Shorn of these constraints it becomes a quite brilliant exploration of a "normal" person: so skilfully written that you are subtly and compelling drawn into it and, by the end, feel you know the central character (Pietro) inside out. Sequenced as a series of "random" snapshots (with each chapter moving backwards & forwards through time, with no obvious structure) its end effect is like looking at a good friend's photo album with the pages mixed-up in some sort of random order. Young to old/old to young; parents to children; hopes to reality, ecstatic infatuation to family life... it's all there: "life as it is - plain, human, real".

Clever, beautifully written and wholly effective this is "art" rather than popular fiction because, having read it, you'll feel that you'll know Pietro for the rest of your life. But... of course, he's not "real", you only want him to be. A rare feat of writing indeed!

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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful, well crafted piece of work, 22 May 2000
By A Customer
This was my second Sebastian Faulks novel (my first was Birdsong), however, I was not disappointed, quite the opposite. This is a book rich in depth - of prose, description and character. Each chapter peels back another layer to unfold the inner Pietro, and forces us to look back at the choices we have made during life and how they have shaped our future.. quite simply a good book.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars an engrossing and enthralling piece of work....., 7 Jan 2000
By A Customer
I simply adore this book....infact,I have read it again and again and everytime a new dimension, a new thought filters through,just like the sunlight from behind the clouds...yes,it demands concentration and as you ponder over the scattered life that Pietro spent and as you read about what, where and how he felt and thought,not only you discover Pietro but also your ownself!! As John Lennon put it,"Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans"...the desciption of all what happened around Pietro is even more interesting!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Irritating and Tiresome.
A real disappointment. 26 chapters entitled with a place name from A to Z. Clever but really just a gimic with little relevance. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mike707

3.0 out of 5 stars 26 set pieces
The 26 chapters of this book are named after places, one for each letter of the alphabet. Moving around in time as well as location, it reads rather like a collection of short... Read more
Published 19 months ago by BookWorm

4.0 out of 5 stars Short and sweet.
A Fool's Alphabet is essentially a biography of a half-Italian half-English male, called Pietro. I say 'male' because the biography is in no chronological order and instead, small... Read more
Published on 30 Jul 2006 by Mr. J. A. Holmes

1.0 out of 5 stars Is that it ??
I've just finished reading A Fool's Alphabet and feel completely let down. Having read Birdsong, Charlotte Gray and Girl at the Lion d'Or I was expecting a lot more than what I... Read more
Published on 10 April 2006 by C. M. Webb

5.0 out of 5 stars The Time Travellers Wife
This book kept me gripped from the first page. The way Niffeneger describes Henry's journey with Clare makes the book all the more interesting. Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2006

4.0 out of 5 stars an excellent read
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Birdsong - indeed, if you haven't read Birdsong, read this. Read more
Published on 4 Jun 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars an engrossing and enthralling piece of work.....
I simple adore this book....infact,I have read it again and again and everytime a new dimension, a new thought filters through,just like the sunlight from behind the... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-constructed, absorbing and touching read.
For some reason this book has never been as feted as Faulks' others - particularly the brilliant Birdsong. Read more
Published on 13 Dec 1999

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