- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd; First British Edition edition (7 Feb 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 043401799X
- ISBN-13: 978-0434017997
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 13.5 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 118,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Kill Your Friends
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More About the Author
Product Description
Niall Griffiths
`Kill Your Friends gladly hammers the final and needed nail into the coffin of self-serving and undignified spin that was "Cool Britannia". It exposes a world that seethes alongside us and in which we all collude but whose nasty little machinery is rarely glimpsed. The novel is furiously, filthily funny, and, I imagine, tragically true.'
James Brown
`Anyone working in or trying to get into the music industry should read this book. Niven grotesquely portrays the short term disposability of this world with a great eye for detail and a stockpile of hilarious insults. Throw in some murder and major brand obsession and you have an indie American Psycho.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I feel broken...,
By Hardeep (wolverhampton) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kill Your Friends (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.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kill Your Friends,
By
This review is from: Kill Your Friends (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.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Unexpectedly cool,
This review is from: Kill Your Friends (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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