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Little Green Man [Hardcover]

Simon Armitage
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

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Book Description

2 Aug 2001
A funny, touching, sometimes alarming account of male friendship and the rivalries that drive men apart. Separated from his wife, Barney reunites his childhood friends for a game of dare - at stake, a jade statuette worth 750,000 pounds according to Barney. As the game goes on, weaknesses are exposed and childhood traumas relived. Suspenseful, gripping and intelligently crafted, LITTLE GREEN MAN explores the darker side of men and their relationships.


Product details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Viking; 1st Edition edition (2 Aug 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0670894427
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670894420
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.2 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 915,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon Review

Little Green Man, Simon Armitage's first novel, draws on the author's gritty Yorkshire upbringing to produce a vivid story of childhood nostalgia and adult disillusionment. Armitage's protagonist is the feckless Barney, thirtysomething, divorced, and alienated from his autistic son. His only passion are his mates, "the old friends, the ones you were brought up with, who go further back than you remember, who've been there since the beginning. You didn't choose them--they're like family. Like blood." When Barney unearths what turns out to be a priceless relic from his childhood days--the "little green man" of the novel's title--he gets back in touch with his old gang: Winkie, Pompus, Stubbs and Tony Football. Desperate to "turn back the clock" and relive their childhood escapades, Barney proposes a game of truth or dare. Each member of the gang "dares" another. Failure to complete a dare leads to disqualification. The winner walks away with the priceless little green man. As the stakes get higher, friendships begin to dissolve as hairy women are seduced, sheep are slaughtered and excrement eaten. In the process the gang reveal some of their deepest secrets, from abuse to impotence, and as the game begins to get out of hand, Barney himself has to confront the responsibilities of adulthood. The problem is that the novel's brutally frank portrayal of both Barney and his gang is so convincing that it becomes difficult to feel any sympathy for anyone. Little Green Man is a tough, uncompromising debut novel, but many fans of Armitage may feel it lacks the originality of his highly acclaimed poetry. --Jerry Brotton

Review

'Sensitive not sentimental... real humour, horror, tension and tenderness' Mirror --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Playful Poet and the Nonreliable Narrator 5 Feb 2003
Format:Paperback
It was bad news for admirers of Armitage's poetry when he broke the news that he wasn't going to be writing a poetic first novel. Even more distressing, for women at any rate, was when we discovered that we're not talking about just the one little green man here, but a full cast of immature, sour and downright decaying male characters. And the cover picture is a blatant hazard warning of embarrassing nineteen seventies childhood nostalgia ahead. How could that nice Simon Armitage do this to us?

I'd say give it a go. The novel opens with an exquisitely atmospheric prologue, worth the cover price alone for any poetry fan, before we come down from the attic straight into prosy blokeland. Armitage then quickly starts to draw his audience into a risky game of his own to parallel that in the plot.

The man telling the story, Barney, seems like a nice enough guy, thirty-odd, Northern, a bit like Armitage himself really. Ha. One by one, our assumptions about Barney are deftly slid from under our feet. Maybe he's not quite so nice after all, his laddishness more destructive than charming. Maybe his ex-wife can give us more insight in a casual remark than Barney can muster in a whole book. (And maybe we would be wise not to take Barney's word for it on her iciness . . .) But then, maybe he's had a harder time of it than we first realised. Maybe he's starting to learn from his mistakes and grow up at last. It's when we find out that the git hasn't only been lying to his mates, he's been lying to us too, and yet we're still hoping for his redemption, that we grasp the subtlety of Armitage's achievement.

I could still have done with a bit less of the spangles and curly wurlies though . . .

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding 20 Sep 2001
By Gary VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a book about childhood and memory -- about the loneliness and meaninglessness of life and the solace we seek in memory. The main character devises a way of reuniting his childhood friends and getting them to take part in a series of ever-scarier dares. The prize is a valuable jade model -- the little green man.

That's all there is to the plot really, and the dares aren't hugely interesting. The interest lies not in the plot but in the life, or rather non-life, of the empty and unendearing central character. It's made the more interesting, when one realises that he is not unusual: he is you and me.

It's about emptiness and anomie -- and one's search for meaning, as an adult, both in memory and in material things. It's about the fragility of relationships and feeling like an alien in one's own land. Behind the trinkets and bangles we console ourselves with -- a motorbike, drink, money, the sun -- underneath there's not much else: only disappointment. Every character's life is squalid and meaningless -- yet they are ordinary people. Neither can solace be gained from the ostensibly big things, like parenthood or friendship: in the end they are all empty. The central character's parenting of his autistic son is an extended metaphor for the routine, ritual futility of parenthood, and of life.

It's immaculately well written -- direct, uncliched and with a voice authentic to the central character. It's a touch derivative in concept and in style, though -- Dennis Potter in Blue Remembered Hills meets Nick Hornby in Fever Pitch. Having said that, it has neither the verve of Potter nor the belly laughs of Hornby (though there are some smiles). But In a market where rubbish is routinely hyped, this is an outstanding book.

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly, lacking warmth 2 Oct 2002
Format:Paperback
The other reviews here are very fair. It is nicely plotted and full of sharp observation and delightful images, but ultimately the hollow at the heart of the main characters leaves you feeling pretty bleak. This isn't per se bad, but I guess "All Points North" had such warmth that I was hoping for more of the same. You won't find it here.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Marry me Simon!!!
This book was fantastic. The best book I've read this year. Armitage may have said his prose wouldn't be poetic. Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2007 by G. Saunders
5.0 out of 5 stars Friendships at a cost
An interesting book which I wasn't sure about from the start as I thought it may have been more of a 'boy's' book. However I quickly got into it. Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2007 by SJSmith
4.0 out of 5 stars Zoom, zoom
The prize-winning poet of the north, Simon Armitage has written a truly intelligent gem in 'Little Green Man'. Read more
Published on 20 July 2006 by MadamJMo
5.0 out of 5 stars Grim Oop North
Funny and caring at times, yet dark and gritty at the same time. Armitage proves to be just as talented with prose as he does with his poetry, as the first chapter in which Barney... Read more
Published on 26 Jun 2006 by Hunchback
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all time favourites..
I was a little disappointed the first time I read this with the ending. If I'm honest it left me feeling depressed. Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2005 by Mark A. English
3.0 out of 5 stars A little disappointing but worth the read!
I finished this book last night, and was a little disappointed with the end, however it is definatly worth the read. Read more
Published on 24 July 2004
3.0 out of 5 stars All Points Back
I read this book in quick succession with Nick Hornby's About a Boy - which surpassed my expectations - and this, it has to be said, is not as satisfying - but we're comparing... Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2002 by John Self
4.0 out of 5 stars Another foray into the mysteries of the male psyche!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book---the style is brilliant, and the plot engrossing, with a conclusion of unexpected piognancy. Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2002
4.0 out of 5 stars Barney's Mid Life Crisis
This is a well written , imaginative but ultimately depressing book about the likeable , but distant and unfocussed , Barney and his reaction to the collapse of his marriage and... Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2002 by L. Davidson
4.0 out of 5 stars deadadultssongs
Armitage's novel brings a touch of Luke Rhinehart's 'The Dice Man ' to a new century by adding more than a touch of both Coe's 'The Rotters Club ' and Litt's 'Deadkidssongs ' to... Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2002 by "jerryrio29"
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