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Product Description
Review
"Compulsive reading, a one-sitting sprint... a triumph." --maxdunbar.wordpress.com, March 2009
`...absolutely riveting.' -- Daily Express
A bleak, scabrous and over-the-top satire on the excesses of the Cool Britannia period of the 1990s. --Independent
`...absolutely riveting.' -- Daily Express
A bleak, scabrous and over-the-top satire on the excesses of the Cool Britannia period of the 1990s. --Independent
Review
"Dark, twisted... and also laugh-out-loud funny"
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm not sure I should be spending time actually reviewing this, as getting down on my knees and praying for the salvation of humanity might be a better use of my time. Don't get me wrong, in my opinion, it was a very good novel. However, I thought the protagonist was simply the worst humanity has to offer, the personification of Satan on earth. The depths that "Steven Stelfox" sinks to make you feel violated in a way that only a shower with brillo pads could expunge. Truly a character to sully the soul.
Paradoxically, I couldn't put the damn thing down. It is incredibly well written, as is any novel with a character that has a strong emotional effect. The author is talented, and hilarious.
Nivens depictions of Stelfox's thought process are side-splitting as well as repellent. He seems to have turned the curse ridden one-liner into an art form. Which is a relief because without the exquisite humour, the novel wouldn't work, as it would be so debauched that I would have thrown in on the fire. The humour keeps it just light enough to engage with a very real, if evil, character, the likes of which I have never seen before - and hope I never have any close dealings with.
The story covers one year in the music business, and in much the same way as "City Boy" by Geraint Anderson reveals the dark underbelly of the finance industry, this does the same for record labels. The difference being that it is hard to see any upside, or how anyone could stand up to so much alcohol and drug abuse, while still being able to utter a coherent sentence.
Murder, drugs, pornography, booze and more booze are the staple diet of Stelfox. The dark humoured look into his twisted mind lifts the lid on the ruinous side to this industry and the intoxicating lure of fame and adoration. Finally evolving itself to a basic drive to be intoxicated with almost anything that destroys brain cells and morality
It was recommended to me that I read "American psycho" as a follow up, but I'm not sure I could take it at the moment; the torment from this novel has addled my brain.
Stelfox is horrible, but it is rubbernecked fiction at its best. As I said before, Niven's style of written humour is simply exceptional. If you're easily offended don't bother. If you enjoy being offended maybe you should be in the book. If you're curious and don't mind being slightly sickened, in exchange for being made to laugh then read it. I'm confused now so I'm going to stop.
Paradoxically, I couldn't put the damn thing down. It is incredibly well written, as is any novel with a character that has a strong emotional effect. The author is talented, and hilarious.
Nivens depictions of Stelfox's thought process are side-splitting as well as repellent. He seems to have turned the curse ridden one-liner into an art form. Which is a relief because without the exquisite humour, the novel wouldn't work, as it would be so debauched that I would have thrown in on the fire. The humour keeps it just light enough to engage with a very real, if evil, character, the likes of which I have never seen before - and hope I never have any close dealings with.
The story covers one year in the music business, and in much the same way as "City Boy" by Geraint Anderson reveals the dark underbelly of the finance industry, this does the same for record labels. The difference being that it is hard to see any upside, or how anyone could stand up to so much alcohol and drug abuse, while still being able to utter a coherent sentence.
Murder, drugs, pornography, booze and more booze are the staple diet of Stelfox. The dark humoured look into his twisted mind lifts the lid on the ruinous side to this industry and the intoxicating lure of fame and adoration. Finally evolving itself to a basic drive to be intoxicated with almost anything that destroys brain cells and morality
It was recommended to me that I read "American psycho" as a follow up, but I'm not sure I could take it at the moment; the torment from this novel has addled my brain.
Stelfox is horrible, but it is rubbernecked fiction at its best. As I said before, Niven's style of written humour is simply exceptional. If you're easily offended don't bother. If you enjoy being offended maybe you should be in the book. If you're curious and don't mind being slightly sickened, in exchange for being made to laugh then read it. I'm confused now so I'm going to stop.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Kill Your Friends is a sharp, witty and disturbing read. The lead character Steven who works in the music industry is a quite horrible individual. He's sexist, racist, ageist, you name it, but most of the time he's only guilty of admitting openly to thoughts that a lot of people have but don't admit to. He's then even more guilty of actually acting upon those thoughts.
This is to put it politely a "re-imagining" of American Psycho, but where I found AP quite heavy going KYF is funny and it's loaded up with great pop culture references from its setting in the mid 90's.
I enjoyed the fact that the narrator was such an unpleasant individual. It makes a refreshing change to have a lead character who isn't heroic and isn't looking to become a better person.
A good read, but not for the easily offended.
This is to put it politely a "re-imagining" of American Psycho, but where I found AP quite heavy going KYF is funny and it's loaded up with great pop culture references from its setting in the mid 90's.
I enjoyed the fact that the narrator was such an unpleasant individual. It makes a refreshing change to have a lead character who isn't heroic and isn't looking to become a better person.
A good read, but not for the easily offended.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The first thing that inevitably comes to mind when reading this book is how similar it is to American Psycho. From the nihilistic, style-over-substance views of the narrator, right down to the actual style of writing. It's even set in the decade before its time of writing, hoping to have us believe that ten years ago, the world was a cesspool of greed and depravity - hadn't we noticed? But there's more going on here. Once you look past all the similarities (which may take you a while) you'll notice this book is actually a fun read, with all the little details that Niven throws into his description working both beautifully and effortlessly, without becoming repetitive. The attention to detail is astonishing and riveting, and I found myself picking the book up time and again for another quick read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not for the faint-hearted
A lot of comparisons have been made between this book and Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, which is one of my all-time favourites. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Marie
Funny, dark realism
Hilarious insight to the music industry. If you thought it was a glamorous lifestyle, think again; it's every man for themselves - and I chose the word man deliberately.
Published 17 days ago by wendy
Very funny
Took this on a recent holiday and read it in a few days. It reminded me of early Martin Amis, particularly Success. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Pad
dark, fantastic Scottish humour at its finest
In lesser hands the hateful protagonist of this novel would be unreadable. Not so in Niven's capable grasp. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mark WIlson
Fantastic read
One of the funniest books I've ever read. If you have a dark sense of humour you will love it. Not for the PC brigade.
Published 2 months ago by DJ Sanz
Very quick and efficient. was there on time for xmas! Great!
Very quick and efficient. was there on time for xmas! Great! nice to have a solid deal and a quick response
Published 4 months ago by Miss_Parker
So wrong it's right...
Hilarious and caustic review of the music "industry".
Having attended the Miami Winter Music Conference several times myself, I can certainly identify with John Niven's... Read more
Having attended the Miami Winter Music Conference several times myself, I can certainly identify with John Niven's... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Thomas Mason
dancing with the devil
Just had the pleasure of reading "Kill Your Friends" and I'm going to have to put it down as one of my favourite reads ever. Read more
Published 9 months ago by D. J. J. Lavin
Don't read this book if you're in an unsigned band!
I thought this book was very well crafted and cleverly written. John Niven has used his time working in the music industry to great effect here and this makes it all the more... Read more
Published 9 months ago by ultimatebattlerampager
The Golden Years of 90's Brit-Music couldn't be more sinister
John Niven's first novel is close to being a masterpiece of dark and cynical character based writing with an expose of the music industry as a vicious and shallow place to be... Read more
Published 9 months ago by KingMunkee
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