- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (2 Jan 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747579849
- ISBN-13: 978-0747579847
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.4 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,066,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'Hoban's writing is always a delight - exhilarating and inventive a treat to read' Daily Mail 'Russell Hoban is a maverick voice like no other. He can take themes that seem too devastating for contemplation and turn them into allegories in which wry, sad humour is married to quite extraordinary powers of imagery and linguistic fertility' Sunday Telegraph 'Russell Hoban is the most original novelist that we have' The Times 'Hoban remains a magnificently angry, unashamedly dirty old man, whose surreal vigour shows no signs of giving out yet. Trust him, he's a weirdo' Guardian
Review
'By far the most imaginative novelist in Britain' Independent 'Hoban is the best sort of genius ... Long indeed may he linger' Guardian 'The primary pleasure of this book and of Hoban's writing in general is the unsullied joy at the strange great coincidence of life that breathes through every sentence. "I find it impossible to stop writing," states the author in his afterword. And thank heavens for that' Independent 'Fiercely comic and darkly moving. The real London that underpins the book has rarely seemed so alive with possibility ... Linger Awhile reasserts the novel's subversive and transgressive power but also restores its ability to sustain and entertain Scottish Sunday Herald
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Irving Goldman, who's old enough to know better but too young to resist, falls in love. The lady of his desires is a 1950s Western film actress Justine Trimble. She's also dead. Neither of these impairments stops Goldman, who has talented friends. With a bit of applied science, Goldman feels, Justine can be "resurrected" from her film images. He has a video - in fact, he has several. Carting his collection to his technical friend Istvan Fallok, Goldman panders to Istvan's pride in his technical skills. Urging him to "Reconstitute the woman I love", Goldman leaves the video and awaits results.
Hoban's mastery of innovation and plot twists is fully displayed in this bizarre tale. Nearly every character is at or past retirement age. The scenes play with each character confronted with the reality of the calendar's dictates. Goodman is within a couple of years of Hoban himself, and there are certain to be comments about Hoban trying to fulfill impossible dreams himself. Perhaps so, but if such fantasies keep Hoban writing, and producing works of such quality, let's root for geriatric dreams.
Justine, of course, dutifully appears, and launches Fallok and his circle of friends on an outlandish enterprise. Emerging from the digitised image of a half-century old Western, she lacks colour. A monochrome human, even a lovely one, lacks certain appeal. There's only one means to bring colour to her cheeks - and the rest of her. Fallok makes the first donation, but Justine needs frequent topping up. After an unexpected opening scene, Justine hits the street for needed sustenance. The result brings the attention of the police. Inspector Hunter is a resourceful copper, but the challenges of this case are beyond his ken. There's nothing in the manual nor his experience that provides any insight to solving the case.
One thing about Justine, she's no 1950s wallflower. She knows what she needs and how to get it. However, she's conscious of who she is and realises she's out of place as well as time. Her thoughts on being alive again bring mixed emotions and self-reflection. How long can she last? What should she make of her new "life"? Can it mean anything? Hoban is deft in dealing with this character. The only thing unreal about her is her current situation. It's a difficult task to undertake, but Hoban pulls it off wonderfully. He not only creates excellent characters, but rings in more than one cultural icon. "If we build it, she will come" incorporates the wonderful line from Kinsella's "Shoeless Joe". Hoban's science is effective, and we are even given the recipe for the "primordial soup". Start with twenty gallons of chicken noodle and add some Oxo cubes. The toad is unexplained, but any biologist can fill you in. He further ties in the Biblical Prophet Elijah whose cameo appearance will have you howling. "Some of my best friends are goyim". Mine, too.
Hoban's mastery of innovation and plot twists is fully displayed in this bizarre tale. Nearly every character is at or past retirement age. The scenes play with each character confronted with the reality of the calendar's dictates. Goodman is within a couple of years of Hoban himself, and there are certain to be comments about Hoban trying to fulfill impossible dreams himself. Perhaps so, but if such fantasies keep Hoban writing, and producing works of such quality, let's root for geriatric dreams.
Justine, of course, dutifully appears, and launches Fallok and his circle of friends on an outlandish enterprise. Emerging from the digitised image of a half-century old Western, she lacks colour. A monochrome human, even a lovely one, lacks certain appeal. There's only one means to bring colour to her cheeks - and the rest of her. Fallok makes the first donation, but Justine needs frequent topping up. After an unexpected opening scene, Justine hits the street for needed sustenance. The result brings the attention of the police. Inspector Hunter is a resourceful copper, but the challenges of this case are beyond his ken. There's nothing in the manual nor his experience that provides any insight to solving the case.
One thing about Justine, she's no 1950s wallflower. She knows what she needs and how to get it. However, she's conscious of who she is and realises she's out of place as well as time. Her thoughts on being alive again bring mixed emotions and self-reflection. How long can she last? What should she make of her new "life"? Can it mean anything? Hoban is deft in dealing with this character. The only thing unreal about her is her current situation. It's a difficult task to undertake, but Hoban pulls it off wonderfully. He not only creates excellent characters, but rings in more than one cultural icon. "If we build it, she will come" incorporates the wonderful line from Kinsella's "Shoeless Joe". Hoban's science is effective, and we are even given the recipe for the "primordial soup". Start with twenty gallons of chicken noodle and add some Oxo cubes. The toad is unexplained, but any biologist can fill you in. He further ties in the Biblical Prophet Elijah whose cameo appearance will have you howling. "Some of my best friends are goyim". Mine, too.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This should, I think, be considered an addendum to Hoban's recent series of London novels. It features characters from at least two earlier books (Grace from "Her Name was Lola" and Istvaan Fallok from "The Medusa Frequency" - and I may have missed others) but, as other reviewers point out, the central idea cannot really be taken very far. I can see that this would be disappointing if it was the only Hoban book you had read, or if you picked it up expecting a straightforward horror story - my advice is to read the others in the sequence (starting with "Medusa Frequency" but especially "Amaryllis Night and Day" and "The Bat Tattoo") and then return to this.
Finally (and trivially) it's a shame that the cover is in quite a different style from Hoban's other recent books, whose overall design is, I think, very good. It's going to stick out on my bookshelf! But perhaps that underlines its place slightly outside the main sequence.
Finally (and trivially) it's a shame that the cover is in quite a different style from Hoban's other recent books, whose overall design is, I think, very good. It's going to stick out on my bookshelf! But perhaps that underlines its place slightly outside the main sequence.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Now, I'm a big fan of Hoban's stuff. His early books had a density of imagery and linguistic abandon that marked him as an original. His later books, the 'London novels', are lighter in tone and substance, featuring recurrent characters. Suspiciously often they also feature old men fulfilling their sexual fantasies (RH is no spring chicken...). Nonetheless, they are usually very funny, sometimes affecting, and have anarchic and playful gimmicks by which they earn their keep.
In this case, Irving Goodman (an old man...) becomes infatuated with a long-dead 1950s Western starlet, and gets a technically-skilled acquaintance to bring her back to life (by means of some amiable hokum involving capturing her particles in a "suspension of disbelief"). Of course, she is reborn in black and white, and to fill herself with colour and life she must drink blood. Vampire cowgirl in London: all very Hoban.
Fun as this setup is, with a half-dozen narrative viewpoints, a pinball plot and a short text (160 pages with lots of white space), there isn't the depth here to work up any emotional involvement. There are perhaps notions of the tragedy of our animal condition, which leaves us prey to humiliating infatuations and indignities, diverting us from bettering our lives, or even accepting our lot. But these themes are hardly more than sketched out.
There's always much to enjoy in Hoban's books, but they are not all masterpieces like "Riddley Walker", and "Linger Awhile" is pretty slight. (And the cover price of £10.99 on this slender paperback is taking the piss...)
In this case, Irving Goodman (an old man...) becomes infatuated with a long-dead 1950s Western starlet, and gets a technically-skilled acquaintance to bring her back to life (by means of some amiable hokum involving capturing her particles in a "suspension of disbelief"). Of course, she is reborn in black and white, and to fill herself with colour and life she must drink blood. Vampire cowgirl in London: all very Hoban.
Fun as this setup is, with a half-dozen narrative viewpoints, a pinball plot and a short text (160 pages with lots of white space), there isn't the depth here to work up any emotional involvement. There are perhaps notions of the tragedy of our animal condition, which leaves us prey to humiliating infatuations and indignities, diverting us from bettering our lives, or even accepting our lot. But these themes are hardly more than sketched out.
There's always much to enjoy in Hoban's books, but they are not all masterpieces like "Riddley Walker", and "Linger Awhile" is pretty slight. (And the cover price of £10.99 on this slender paperback is taking the piss...)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Little Gem of a Pulp Novella
Trawling through my local independent bookshop (yes! they still exist) amongst the chick-lit and historical sagas my eyes glanced upon a book jacket reminiscent of those dime... Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2009 by Ms. Isabel L. Atherton
great but not his best
I really enjoyed this book. It is light hearted with Hoban's idiosyncratic style and a playful storyline. Read more
Published on 26 Oct 2007 by R. Fulton
A stretched short story
Initially I was attracted to this book becasue of the Hammer Horror/Pulp Fiction type cover. I've never read any Russell Hoban books before. Read more
Published on 15 May 2006 by Sarah Durston
Empty Fun
I love Russel Hoban's books. But not this one. His style is there, his charm, his idiosyncratic perception, but no substance!
It is a bit of fun, but it is empty. Read more
It is a bit of fun, but it is empty. Read more
Published on 22 April 2006 by Mr. George Farkas
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