- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown & Company (5 April 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0316856991
- ISBN-13: 978-0316856997
- Product Dimensions: 22.1 x 14.2 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,894,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Three pages into Charles Webb's New Cardiff the hero Colin Ware observes that there is:
a tradition in Nineteenth Century American fiction ... where you have love gone wrong, then off the person gets packed to Europe ... to put their relationship behind them. ... I thought I'd see if it would work for me a hundred years or so later, the other way around.
Thus indicating that Charles The Graduate Webb's novel (the first for 25 years), is to be situated in a tradition spanning Henry James to Notting Hill: the clash of these two cultures separated by the same language.
Colin, an English artist, has been cruelly tricked by his life-long love, and goes to repair his broken heart in New Cardiff, Vermont, following in the footsteps of the original settlers from Wales who came in search of coal. Colin is the Jamesian innocent in reverse, finding wisdom, ethical solidity and artistic inspiration in the straightforward American values of the friends he makes and in the woman with whom he falls in love. There is a pared-down simplicity to this novel (of which perhaps 80 per cent is dialogue), that gives it the quality of a fairy tale, or perhaps a modern morality play.
But, true to the Jamesian original, satire is never far from the surface. Having recently undergone a transatlantic transplantation himself, Webb is eminently qualified to pull the rug from under the stereotypical beliefs each culture has about the other. In essence it is about the tricks life plays on us, and the crueller ones we play on each other. This is a warm, occasionally very funny book, with some glimmers of the talent that made The Graduate a timely masterpiece, but hardly worth the quarter-century wait.--Robert Mighall
Review
It is rare to come across something done with so light a touch but such precision...it's spot on (LITERARY REVIEW )
Delightful...Webb writes with...suppressed joy in his creations and this joy quickly transfers itself to the reader. (SUNDAY TIMES )
Rewarding for those who appreciate subtlety and wit. (TIME OUT )
A masterpiece of poignancy and bittersweet romance. Let's hope we don't have to wait another 25 years for its successor. (DAILY MAIL ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Delightful...Webb writes with...suppressed joy in his creations and this joy quickly transfers itself to the reader. (SUNDAY TIMES )
Rewarding for those who appreciate subtlety and wit. (TIME OUT )
A masterpiece of poignancy and bittersweet romance. Let's hope we don't have to wait another 25 years for its successor. (DAILY MAIL ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Colin was standing in front of the art supply store when it opened at nine o'clock, and raised his hand slightly in greeting as a woman walked toward him on the other side of its glass door. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Colin was standing in front of the art supply store when it opened at nine o'clock, and raised his hand slightly in greeting as a woman walked toward him on the other side of its glass door. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In that something like 80% of this book is dialogue, and there is very little description (we don't really know what Colin or Mandy look like, for example), it is quite quirky, and at times not all that clear to read. However, it is curiously engaging in that 2 or 3 days after reading it, you catch yourself thinking about the characters. There are, as Nick Hornby points out, some cracking one liners, but it isn't really a laugh-out-loud book, more a creeps-up-on-you-quietly story. There's an interesting twist, and Colin in particular is portrayed quite well; the female characters are weaker, and some threads could do with a little more development rather than leaving it up to the dialogue to carry everything. According to the dust jacket, its already been optioned for a film - probably would make the transition quite well.
Overall, then, enticing enough to keep you reading to the end, but perhaps a little lacking in narrative. It'll need another reading before I really make up my mind!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this as light holiday reading and that's what it is. Ultimately not really enough to get your teeth into - simple predictable plot and shallow and frankly unbelieveable characters, but amusing narrative and quirky dialogue. Easy to read at one sitting and almost instantly forgettable but passes the time pleasantly. Should make a nice "feelgood" film comedy with the right casting of the cameo roles.
Format:Hardcover
You know when you get hold of one of those books thats you kinda don't want to read because its not your usual type, but you give it a go because theres nothing else around to read at the time... and then by the time you've got hooked on it, read it from start to finish in a couple of days & you think "ahh, I learnt a lesson there because I really enjoyed this book" - well that was this book. Throughly enjoyable. Funny, simple but challenging enough to get you hooked. Give it a go, even if you're a boy who doesn't normally read the slushys, this one will give you something to smile about!
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