Incendiary: Amazon.co.uk: Chris Cleave: Books

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Product Description

Katie Owen, Sunday Telegraph, 9 April 06
Compelling fiction.

Matt Warman, The Daily Telegraph
"a novel to race through".

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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

Average Customer Review

3.2 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sad, terrifying, funny and completely gripping, 26 Jul 2005

By	Barton Keyes "barton keyes" (England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Incendiary (Paperback)

Even without the dreadful coincidence lent by its publication day and the London atrocities occurring together, Incendiary is a truly powerful book.

Using jauntily naive language from a female central character Cleaver has written a book that is both laugh-out-loud funny, deeply unsettling and terribly sad. The book takes the form of a long letter to Osama Bin Laden written by a woman whose "chaps" -- her policeman husband and four year old son -- were incinerated in a terrorist attack on a London football stadium. The letter recounts her experiences after the deaths and her descent into the madness brought about by her grief. Without her chaps she has no real reason to live -- and certainly no reason to remain sane in a world going steadily mad all by itself.

The terrifying, sad story is woven around with a descant of humour, some sharp one-liners, bitingly accurate perceptions and gripping story-telling. Using the device of an uneducated but very intelligent woman as his narrator allows Cleave to write some wonderful descriptions of people that use simile and metaphor to great effect, producing really great writing that delights with its accuracy and perceptiveness. Very, very clever; very very good.

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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile, 14 Feb 2006

By	John McNab "John" (London, U.K.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Incendiary (Paperback)

I dont necessarily agree that this is the compelling, touching masterpiece that some believe, but I certainly think thats its a good first novel.
To address one other reviewer's comments first , I think its a little 1950's to assume that because a writer went to Oxford and wrote for a broadsheet he cant possibly have come from a council estate. I believe that in Cleaves case he didnt - he was in fact brought up in Africa - but I feel I should defend the principle that not all writers of 'working class' stories have to spend time down a pit to prove their authenticity. As it happens I dont find it patronising or tacky that Cleave has attempted to write this as a working class woman, but that doesnt mean I think he's done it particularly well.
The story is a deeply emotional one and at points, is touching, but the language used is too often conflicted and forced. There were too many occasions on which the monologue seemed unrealistic and I think this has more to do with the gender discrepancy than the class one.
A good novel but, not , I believe, a wonderful one.

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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerising, 9 Feb 2006

By A Customer

This review is from: Incendiary (Paperback)

Incendiary is one of the most extraordinary books I have ever read. Daring, provocative and sometimes heartbreaking, Cleave's narrator had me gripped from beginning to end. Cleverly told and often uproariously funny, this multi-layered story reveals itself as an impassioned denouncement of terrorism, and a warning that our emotional responses to terrorism risk destroying our own way of life. Like the issue of terrorism itself, this is a complex and divisive book, and people will either love it or hate it. Some people won't get it at all. Read it, and decide for yourself. You won't be wasting your time. I was up till the small hours reading Incendiary - it's that compelling.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars One of those Marmite books....
Having read The Other Hand and almost liked it, I picked this up from the library, coincidentally with Falling Man by Don DeLillo. Read more

Published 6 days ago by Love Books

5.0 out of 5 stars Really good
I have just finished reading this book having grabbed it from the library's "quick picks" section and I really, really enjoyed it. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Tallbird

1.0 out of 5 stars comically bad
I smell a rat here... all reviews giving this book than 1 star have to be by the writer's friends. A colleague and I had a competition to find the worst published novel in... Read more

Published 18 months ago by A. Moore

5.0 out of 5 stars stunning
This was the first book in a long time that I read in two sittings. It was, literally, un-put-downable. Read more

Published 21 months ago by A. R. Rothwell

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding multilayered drama
I am surprised to find that the reviews are largely either one star or five stars. This book moved me and I couldn't put it down. Read more

Published on 4 Jun 2007 by W. Gilly

1.0 out of 5 stars what a waste of money!!!!!
It is actually the first time I write a customer review but i feel I have to, I think this is actually the worst book i have ever read!!!!!!!! Read more

Published on 20 Jan 2007 by maud

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtakingly Fabulous Book
A great first novel. Gripping, raw, daring and darkly hilarious. A very well put-together story. I can't think what the rest of you are moaning about!

Published on 2 Aug 2006 by Book Fiend

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing and a little confused
Incendiary for me was a bit of a mixed bag. I read it thinking it was going to be a gripping thriller based around a fictional terror attack on London (bizarrely originally due... Read more

Published on 7 Jul 2006 by Chancellor Valorum

1.0 out of 5 stars One of the worst books ever written
Do not be taken in by the reviews on the front and back covers of this hopeless book. If you are over the age of nine, turn your back on Incendiary and its cliched,... Read more

Published on 31 May 2006 by frank boleyn

1.0 out of 5 stars How did this get published?
Cleave's two-dimensional characters might still be worth a couple of hours of your time if the story held up, but it doesn't. Read more

Published on 12 May 2006 by Top Cat

› See all 18 customer reviews...

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	75% buy the item featured on this page: Incendiary 3.2 out of 5 stars (18)
	19% buy The Other Hand 3.4 out of 5 stars (46) �3.86
	3% buy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 4.1 out of 5 stars (157) �3.99
	2% buy The Secret Scripture 3.6 out of 5 stars (52) �3.84


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Incendiary (Paperback)

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