- Hardcover: 480 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday; 1st Edition edition (1 May 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0385605234
- ISBN-13: 978-0385605236
- Product Dimensions: 22.1 x 13.7 x 4.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,444,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
The List
'Absurd, hilarious...MAKING LOVE is incredibly clever without showing off, self-referential without being self-congratulatory, and a damn good read. Fantastic.'
Time Out
'A smorgasbord of romantic romp, pseudo-scholarship, urban melodrama and metafictional mystery.'
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I don't normally buy new books, especially hardback ones, but I got this after going to a reading by the author and haven't regretted it. Maybe it's just that I haven't read much funny or romantic fiction for a while, but I had a wonderful time with it. I can't remember the last time I looked forward to coming home from work to a book (rather than a TV programme, or even a person!) in the same way (didn't take it with me during the day as it's quite heavy, and besides, there's that attention-seeking title).
You can look elsewhere on this site for the plot, which is completely mad, and probably as a result fantastically entertaining. There are loads of giggles to be had, especially if you're into silly word puns. If you're a cynic about love like me, a lot of the conspiracy part is scarily convincing. If you're a deep-down softie, also like me, then the love story is pretty gorgeous too. And the whole thing has the same effect on the way you see books as the film Toy Story had on dolls. Loved it, what more can I say?
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Did you ever feel inadequate because you couldn't get past Page 1 of Ulysses by James Joyce? Fear not - Making Love has all the same fantastic use and abuse of the English language while being eminently readable! Brill manages to insert some type of humour in every line, whether it is irony, wit, punning or pure slapstick. His command of the English language is extraordinary and his ability to manipulate it astounding. An amazing-ly enjoyable book!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really, really wanted to like this, as it's such an interesting and fun idea - but I just didn't. So many other reviewers loved it that I am reluctant to put anyone who is thinking of buying it off in case it's just my personal taste.
I can tell you why I did not like it: I agree with the other negative reviewer - this book is not really kind to it's central characters. It mocks them quite a bit, and they are all stereotypical and two-dimensional. I didn't feel we really got close to them, as we were buffered from them by the quite 'heavy' voice of the narrator, which overshadows everything.
In fact, I think the 'book' narrator was a big part of the problem for me. I found it really pretentious and overly verbose in places. Its ramblings often take you away from the action of the story, and not really in a good way, unless you like congratulating yourself about your ability to appreciate endless puns. The writer is very creative, I'll give him that, and comes up with some great analogies - but sometimes you wish he would stop showing off and get on with the story. I would have preferred a switched narrator - i.e. sometimes the book, sometimes the characters. That would have made it more enjoyable for me.
I liked the old book itself, the one by the fictional author, and I thought it made some interesting and though-provoking points...but you only get the odd page now and then in a slightly jarring way, and it's an odd combination of different styles.
Most of all, I did not like the toilet humour in this book. I am very squeamish about reading horrible things in graphic detail and some of it literally made me so nauseous that I had to scan pages to get the end of the scene.
So, if you are squeamish like me, don't read this book! If, however, you don't really care about getting close to the characters, find toilet humour hilarious and you like the idea of endless puns and some genuinely creative analogies - then you might really like it.
I can tell you why I did not like it: I agree with the other negative reviewer - this book is not really kind to it's central characters. It mocks them quite a bit, and they are all stereotypical and two-dimensional. I didn't feel we really got close to them, as we were buffered from them by the quite 'heavy' voice of the narrator, which overshadows everything.
In fact, I think the 'book' narrator was a big part of the problem for me. I found it really pretentious and overly verbose in places. Its ramblings often take you away from the action of the story, and not really in a good way, unless you like congratulating yourself about your ability to appreciate endless puns. The writer is very creative, I'll give him that, and comes up with some great analogies - but sometimes you wish he would stop showing off and get on with the story. I would have preferred a switched narrator - i.e. sometimes the book, sometimes the characters. That would have made it more enjoyable for me.
I liked the old book itself, the one by the fictional author, and I thought it made some interesting and though-provoking points...but you only get the odd page now and then in a slightly jarring way, and it's an odd combination of different styles.
Most of all, I did not like the toilet humour in this book. I am very squeamish about reading horrible things in graphic detail and some of it literally made me so nauseous that I had to scan pages to get the end of the scene.
So, if you are squeamish like me, don't read this book! If, however, you don't really care about getting close to the characters, find toilet humour hilarious and you like the idea of endless puns and some genuinely creative analogies - then you might really like it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Book about a book.
This book is a very witty read. It's about Miranda, who is looking for romance, and who discovers a dusty book hidden away on the back of a shelf in the library. Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2006 by kehs
Romantic Trash
I bought this booking thinking that it was a little different - along the lines of Jasper Fforde - full of wit and romance. This is one disillusuioned reader I can tell you. Read more
Published on 19 July 2005 by Flamazine
Modern, intelligent and funny, funny funny!
It took a few chapters to start to cook, but the sardonic wit of the book soon had me hooked. Miranda starts hapless and ends savvy and no longer single. Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2004 by "rachel6024"
witty, unique and refreshing - a novel romance
Romance addict Miranda Brown steals a seemingly innocuous old book called "Making Love" from the library, sparking off an immensely enjoyable farce featuring mysterious secret... Read more
Published on 19 May 2004 by "sofyap"
Yank Finds the Book a Great Read!!
Marius Brill did a great job with this book. His creativity shows in how he gets the reader "involved" in the retelling of the story. Read more
Published on 15 July 2003
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