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Incendiary (Paperback)

by Chris Cleave (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Sceptre (13 Aug 2009)
  • ISBN-10: 0340998482
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340998489
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,920 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'Stunning... a haunting work of art.' -- Newsweek 20051101 'Chris Cleave has the ability to create moving and beautiful scenes within a terrifying backdrop. I couldn't put it down; it's subversive, thought-provoking and well-written.' -- Observer, Books of the Year 20051101 'Richly sardonic and often disarmingly poignant... How can one fail to be impressed and moved?' -- Guardian 20050720 'Cleave's heroine is by turns funny, sad, flawed, sympathetic, both damaged and indomitable, and triumphantly convincing.' -- Sunday Telegraph 20050901 'Stunning' -- New York Times AND International Herald Tribune AND Bookmarks Magazine 20050801 'This is a compulsive read, sure to stir the dust' -- CITY AM 20050801 'Searing. poignant and compelling. Utterly believable and mesmerizing' -- Newsday 20050801 'Dark, tense and undeniably provocative' -- Metro 20050801 'Hilariously sympathetic and convincing' -- San Francisco Chronicle 20050801 'Mesmerizing' -- Washington Post 20050801

Review

'Stunning... a haunting work of art.' (Newsweek 20050801)

'Chris Cleave has the ability to create moving and beautiful scenes within a terrifying backdrop. I couldn't put it down; it's subversive, thought-provoking and well-written.' (Observer, Books of the Year 20050801)

'Richly sardonic and often disarmingly poignant... How can one fail to be impressed and moved?' (Guardian )

'Cleave's heroine is by turns funny, sad, flawed, sympathetic, both damaged and indomitable, and triumphantly convincing.' (Sunday Telegraph )

'Stunning' (New York Times AND International Herald Tribune AND Bookmarks Magazine )

‘This is a compulsive read, sure to stir the dust’ (CITY AM )

'Searing.. poignant and compelling.. Utterly believable and mesmerizing' (Newsday )

'Dark, tense and undeniably provocative' (Metro )

'Hilariously sympathetic and convincing' (San Francisco Chronicle )

'Mesmerizing' (Washington Post )
See all Product Description

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Customer Reviews

30 Reviews
5 star:
 (15)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Sad, terrifying, funny and completely gripping, 26 July 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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16 of 19 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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16 of 20 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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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Marmite
Having read The Other Hand in two sittings I thought it a 'must' to order his first novel, Incendiary, and only hoped i would enjoy it as much. Read more
Published 3 days ago by K. V. Hammans

2.0 out of 5 stars an uncomfortable read
Having read 'the other hand' by chris cleave, which I found a very thought provoking and fascinating read, I thought I would give 'incendiary' a go. Read more
Published 8 days ago by K. Hill

3.0 out of 5 stars A very different style of writing to The Other Hand
Incendiary by Chris Cleave

Recently I enjoyed The Other HandThe Other Hand so I was pleased to find Incendiary - not realising that this was actually his first novel... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Katharine Kirby

5.0 out of 5 stars Original, entertaining, authentic and believable
An East End [of London] woman decides to write a letter to Osama bin Laden after a team of his suicide bombers wreck her life by indiscriminately blowing up the crowd at a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lance Mitchell

5.0 out of 5 stars must read
I loved this book-a completely new way to look at the world we live in post 9/11 it was page turning and thought provoking
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Michele O. E. Beesley

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and totally compelling
Incendiary

Father and son go off to watch a local Arsenal football match. Feckless mother bumps into Jasper Black, a wealthier neighbour, and suggests he come back... Read more
Published 3 months ago by SusieH

5.0 out of 5 stars Differently stunning
This is the story of a woman who looses her husband and son in a bombing. The story is told in the narratiev of a letter she writes to Osma Bin Laden, as she feels that it is he... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Matilda Wormwood

4.0 out of 5 stars Incendiary- pretty clever stuff
Yes, this is an unusual book, in as much as I am sure Lynne Truss just wouldn't approve; however,do give it a read- variety is the spice of life! Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kate Wood

4.0 out of 5 stars Books better than their adaptations every time!
The novel is much better than the film they later made.

A very interesting, and heartbreaking story. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ben Francis

5.0 out of 5 stars quite brilliant
i have never bought or received as a present a 'bad' book but certain books i start and just cannot put down until i finish them. this is one such book. Read more
Published 4 months ago by R. Newman

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