- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Sceptre; New Ed edition (6 Jan 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340821477
- ISBN-13: 978-0340821473
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 794,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Funny and inventive, a superbly written and immensely enjoyable read from a
supremely confident authorial voice. A book to be read at one sitting.' (Whitbread judging panel 20021229)
'Goddard's triumph is the combination of philosophical enquiry with earthy, gory action; and the creation of an absurdist drama whose characters are suffused with humanity' (Independent on Sunday 20021229)
'Goddard's highly impressive first novel mixes a blackly comic tone reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino with the kind of moral probing found in Graham Greene's thrillers... A cracking good read.' (Mail on Sunday 20021229)
'Goddard has an eye for irony, and disaster ... ( a) potent thriller...driven by unravelling the neuroses of his characters as much as by uncovering the politics behind their predicament' (Observer (Paperback of the Week) 20021229)
'Goddard's account of a picaresque mission in the final days of the Spanish Civil War is replete with this droll and deeply sympathetic view of the impulses driving human conflict; it's a cerebral, powerful and accomplished debut' (The Face 20021229)
'An impressive debut ... each character is drawn with humour and subtlety ...a fine balance between comedy and tragedy, pathos and slapstick' (Times 20021229)
'A polished debut novel ... While bullets whistle through the air, knives flash silver in the moonlight and the body count creeps ever upwards, the real action takes place in the minds of the protagonists. There the drama of sibling rivalries, unrequited love and marital feuds is played out to surreal and often comic effect.' (Daily Mail 20021229)
'A clever mix of humour and sadness and life and death ... a surreal book that juggles humour with horror as it journeys deep into the night.' (John King 20021101)
'Avoiding overly serious history, frank sex scenes rub shoulders with bloody and farcical violence to form a surreal, fable-like backdrop to the unfolding drama ... Readable and unpredictable, this is more enjoyable than the title would suggest.' (Big Issue in the North 20021101)
Homage to the Firing Squad, in the grand tradition of 'Closely Observed Trains' and 'Good Soldier Svejk' comes on as a barely concealed satire on the banality of war ... This is a superb book, a solid descendant of great European literature and surely the next bestseller to be added to the Sceptre canon. (Finn Lawrence, Borders, Oxford Street, London )
'An intricately plotted and highly intelligent novel balanced perfectly between tragedy and farce. An amazing achievement for such a young writer.' (Sam Oliver, Waterstones Newcastle )
'The atmosphere of Spain as shown by Lorca or Buñuel - cracking stuff.' (Steve Birt, Ottakar's, Gloucester )
'Hypnotic. Brilliant. A modern tragedy that you just can't stop reading.' (Sabre Khan, Harrods )
'Humorous, with a bullet-ridden finale.' (OK Magazine )
'Refreshingly witty, a sharp and original talent.' (Lisa Ashley, Ottakar's, Sunderland )
'Tariq Goddard is hot literary property . . . HOMAGE TO A FIRING SQUAD . . . has a Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ending that's got film companies clamouring for the rights' (London Magazine )
'A pacy, poised and undeniably exciting debut ... a taut, bleakly humorous (and well written) adventure' (Boyd Tonkin, Independent )
supremely confident authorial voice. A book to be read at one sitting.' (Whitbread judging panel 20021229)
'Goddard's triumph is the combination of philosophical enquiry with earthy, gory action; and the creation of an absurdist drama whose characters are suffused with humanity' (Independent on Sunday 20021229)
'Goddard's highly impressive first novel mixes a blackly comic tone reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino with the kind of moral probing found in Graham Greene's thrillers... A cracking good read.' (Mail on Sunday 20021229)
'Goddard has an eye for irony, and disaster ... ( a) potent thriller...driven by unravelling the neuroses of his characters as much as by uncovering the politics behind their predicament' (Observer (Paperback of the Week) 20021229)
'Goddard's account of a picaresque mission in the final days of the Spanish Civil War is replete with this droll and deeply sympathetic view of the impulses driving human conflict; it's a cerebral, powerful and accomplished debut' (The Face 20021229)
'An impressive debut ... each character is drawn with humour and subtlety ...a fine balance between comedy and tragedy, pathos and slapstick' (Times 20021229)
'A polished debut novel ... While bullets whistle through the air, knives flash silver in the moonlight and the body count creeps ever upwards, the real action takes place in the minds of the protagonists. There the drama of sibling rivalries, unrequited love and marital feuds is played out to surreal and often comic effect.' (Daily Mail 20021229)
'A clever mix of humour and sadness and life and death ... a surreal book that juggles humour with horror as it journeys deep into the night.' (John King 20021101)
'Avoiding overly serious history, frank sex scenes rub shoulders with bloody and farcical violence to form a surreal, fable-like backdrop to the unfolding drama ... Readable and unpredictable, this is more enjoyable than the title would suggest.' (Big Issue in the North 20021101)
Homage to the Firing Squad, in the grand tradition of 'Closely Observed Trains' and 'Good Soldier Svejk' comes on as a barely concealed satire on the banality of war ... This is a superb book, a solid descendant of great European literature and surely the next bestseller to be added to the Sceptre canon. (Finn Lawrence, Borders, Oxford Street, London )
'An intricately plotted and highly intelligent novel balanced perfectly between tragedy and farce. An amazing achievement for such a young writer.' (Sam Oliver, Waterstones Newcastle )
'The atmosphere of Spain as shown by Lorca or Buñuel - cracking stuff.' (Steve Birt, Ottakar's, Gloucester )
'Hypnotic. Brilliant. A modern tragedy that you just can't stop reading.' (Sabre Khan, Harrods )
'Humorous, with a bullet-ridden finale.' (OK Magazine )
'Refreshingly witty, a sharp and original talent.' (Lisa Ashley, Ottakar's, Sunderland )
'Tariq Goddard is hot literary property . . . HOMAGE TO A FIRING SQUAD . . . has a Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ending that's got film companies clamouring for the rights' (London Magazine )
'A pacy, poised and undeniably exciting debut ... a taut, bleakly humorous (and well written) adventure' (Boyd Tonkin, Independent )
OK Magazine
'Humorous, with a bullet-ridden finale.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
`Homage to a Firing Squad’ is an exciting, and, dare I say it, important novel, not merely for the high level of maturity, competence and basic story-telling skill exhibited by its author (of a kind rarely seen in contemporary young novelists, especially in their debut novel), but also - and perhaps just as significantly - for the type of novel Tariq Goddard has actually chosen to write. In a market saturated by books publishers think we want to read, or even worse, what they suppose we ought to be reading – which these days rarely extends beyond what is dictated by the ephemeral whims and fads of an impatient contemporary pop culture – one writer (and credit must go to his publisher too) has seemingly had the courage to stand up and write the novel he actually wanted to write.
One can look on `Homage' as presiding in that unfashionable genre of the historical novel, but to see it as simply being that would be to unfairly categorise it (and to the guardians of popular culture, a failure to categorise is sometimes equivalent to an act of mortal sin), as well as simplify what it is that actually makes this writer and his book so special. Namely, an exceptional insight into the diverse and contradictory, and, more often than we like to admit, absurd motivations which drive relationships between people, and which essentially and ultimately drive society. Goddard uses the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War as a mere vehicle for his darkly funny yet sympathetic take on the carnival of pain, uncertainty and wonder which characterises our lives.
Four idiosyncratic, yet extremely likeable, first-time assassins are on a journey to kill the ageing politician, Don Rojo, who blissfully unaware of the plot against his life, is wracked by his own existential crisis. Complicating matters further, three of the would-be killers are in love with the Don’s beautiful yet feisty and independent daughter, Lucille. Along the way, we are introduced to a host of other expertly portrayed central protagonists providing unexpected twists and depths to a heady brew of fierce pitched battles, devious political intrigue and chaotic and conflicting romantic interests, culminating in a stunning and memorable climax. What is particularly notable about Goddard’s style is his ability not to allow a hint of his author’s voice to interfere with or colour our appreciation of his acutely objective, but nevertheless highly astute and perspicacious, insights into his characters. Unlike the wonderful Czech novelist Milan Kundera, whose characters more often than not exist as mere extensions of their creator’s authorial voice, or other great writers in the continental tradition (Hesse, Camus, Sartre), whose characters seemingly act as free agents but are nevertheless vehicles for their authors’ philosophical obsessions, Goddard never lets us forget that the people in his novel are first and foremost exactly that, people. Even with the worst of his characters (and there are some very nasty ones), a great compassion is evident in their authors relationship with them, making each and every one of them that bit more compelling and identifiable. In this way, `Homage' has perhaps just as much in common with the work of an F. Scott Fitzgerald or John Steinbeck as with the European tradition of modern fiction to which it has already been compared. It is this awareness of and refreshing respect for great literary traditions and the promise of an uncompromising and independent voice in an artistic medium crying out for the emergence of just such a thing which make Tariq Goddard such an exciting author and fully justifies the lavish praise critics have heaped on his first novel.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In 'Homage to a Firing Squad' Tariq Goddard has produced an exceptional character centered, multi-layered narrative that has pace, humour and thrills, with the unsettling chaos of the Spanish Civil War as its setting. However, the historical setting is merely the background onto which the events of this tale are expertly painted. Amongst the relatively short time frame, a collection of misfits travel through the rain soaked environs towards a deadly denouement at the Hacienda of an ageing politician, Don Rojo. Along the way we are privy to the internal thoughts, anguishes and wry humour of the would-be assassins. That many reviews already in the media unnecessarily concentrate on the bloody finale does not do justice to the craftmanship, rounded character development and the evident eye and ear Goddard holds for the foibles, failings and deceptions of man. The characters suffer throughout the book with problems of externalising their true selves and it appears that the difficulty of true communication between individuals can only, in some small way, be overrided by love. All this, coupled with possibly the best opening of a novel I have read in a long time, makes Tariq Goddard one to watch, not only in the future, but now. In a literary world dominated by chick and lad lit that makes one wonder for the values of certain publishers, other than those of a monetary nature, purchasing this book will lead to an insightful and thrilling read by an author who can actually write.
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