Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazingly confident and accomplished first novel., 22 April 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: One Hand Clapping (Paperback)
I find it hard to believe this is a first novel. Its scale is ambitious. The plot is surrealistic. But the characters are entirely believable, despite the eccentric events that surround them. The author builds an intriguing mosaic and the total picture is incredibly memorable. I defy anyone who has read this book to travel on London Underground again without sparing a thought for "the scrapers". Other images are similarly vivid, Colton's hug box - an autistic boy's defence mechanism, and Luca's prison hole are especially haunting. We learn about each character in turn and as we do the mosaic take shape. The surrealistic plot becomes almost commonplace. The vividness of the characters and their fundamental humanity persuaded me to suspend disbelief early on. This is a world quite like ours, but not quite ours. Strange things happen but are woven in with the mundane...if you find Transport strikes routine! I found the images so strong I hated some of the characters. By the end I had come to understand them. The book shows that none of us is entirely black or white, even the evil characters have reasons for seeing the world as they do. One other element of the book deserves mention. The author precedes each section with one of her own illustrations and these powerful images give the story an extra dimension. I could go on...but it would be much better for you to read it yourself. You'll have to wait quite a time to find a more accomplished and absorbing first novel.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Ms Leroux is almost a prophet., 27 Jan 2007
This review is from: One Hand Clapping (Paperback)
I just finnished reading the book and am now watching a programme on Discovery about a man who's having an ear implanted on his arm. Ms Leroux understands current happenings and carries them into the surreal. Her ability to see how humans might adapt to scientific advances into their everyday life is uncanny.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Lise Leroux- weirdest book ive ever read!!!, 16 Jan 2004
This review is from: One Hand Clapping (Paperback)
I must say, I nearly had to take notes to keep tabs on all the characters and their relationships. What can I say? Its brilliant, although surreal beyond belief. Marinas family are the strangest folk you are ever bound to meet- her sister has to wear grounding wires to stop herself from electrocuting everyone she touches, her brother in law lives in a hug box, her aunt has her violent husband imprisioned inside her hand, desparate to get out... And Doctor Hurtigger, researcher into the delicate science of grafting and implanting body parts, is the weirdest one of all.... Every chapter twists the characters closer together as a new character is introduced, and the book comes together like an intricate puzzle, keeping you guessing right to the very last page. Genius.
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