Overtaken: Amazon.co.uk: Alexei Sayle: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

When TV comedians announce that they're about to produce their first novel, the pulse doesn't always race faster. But perhaps some excitement is in order, as Alexei Sayle's first novel, Overtaken triumphantly demonstrates what wonderful results can be produced when the comedian is as skilled with words as Sayle is.

That acerbic Liverpool accent we know so well is always at the service of some sharp and surrealistic scripts when the hefty Sayle is on stage in those two-sizes-too-small suits, but his writing has already demonstrated that his skills don't just rely on that in-your-face personality. His inventiveness, his wildly surprising turn of phrase made Barcelona Plates and The Dog Catcher hilarious and bitterly entertaining. However, writing a full-length novel is a different ball game, and within a couple of pages, it's clear that we're in the hands of a real novelist, surprisingly closer to the fiction of David Lodge and Malcom Bradbury than the self-conscious wordplay of Ben Elton.

Sayle's hero, Kelvin, has slipped imperceptibly into his 30s, coping with an unexciting life in an insignificant Lancashire town. His greatest pleasure is the time he spends with his close friends. He joins them on artistic excursions, lapping up theatre, concerts and anything else that comes along. But relationships remain a problem for him, and Kelvin finds his life taking a sharp turn for the worst. And instead of enjoying various diversions with his friends, he finds himself grappling with some pretty thorny philosophical issues: the value of art, the redemption of the soul and the nature of happiness.

Sayle's particular achievement here is his wonderfully wry and quirky take on some demanding subject matter--this is a real novel, but the surface has all the corrosive wit and observation of the author's standup act. Kelvin is a marvellous creation: sad, funny, always human. If Sayle never treads the boards again, he's demonstrated pretty comprehensively that he can cut it in the literary field with the best. --Barry Forshaw

Review

'An excellent collection of dark, funny and bizarre short stories... brutally, cynically and honestly written... all in all a lot better than anything David Baddiel could ever manage.' - Loaded - '14 bleak funny pitiless tales... This is life looked at through the wrong end of a telescope, the vision of Nathaniel West in Miss Lonelyhearts, and to my mind just as good... Inside every fat git there's a poet trying to get out. Well, he's out.' - Observer - 'Sayle is a funny man, and these tales of pensioners-turned-hitmen, mysterious white Fiat Unos, and inveterate hypochondriacs defy you not to smile at the incremental absurdity of ordinary life.' - The Sunday Times - 'A cracking read.. dense with smart ideas, sour observations and loony rants' - Independent on Sunday - 'Barcelona Plates will put a smile on your face and a chill down your spine' - Time Out - 'Alexei Sayle's manner on the page is the same as it is on screen and stage: arch, dessicated and menacing... 'The Last Woman Killed in the War' is a thrilling and sensitive meditation on history, race and identity; confirming Sayle as a brilliant chronicler of big stories set in small worlds.' - The Times

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

1 star

3.7 out of 5 stars

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

The best kept secret in British literature? 6 Oct 2003

By R. Grant

Format:Hardcover

First off, let me say that I am a huge Alexei Sayle fan, have been for years, and I would urge you to buy this book whatever I may say about it - 'Overtaken' makes for a wonderful read.

The narrative is beautifully put together, dark and at times hysterically funny and the story takes a number of Sayles trademark twists and turns so that you never fully know what's going to happen next, right up to the final reveal. The commentary on 21st century living is wonderfully observed, if sometimes a tad predictable, but the little details in the characters make even those with the briefest of appearances well rounded and believable.

If you haven't yet sampled Alexei Sayle, the writer as opposed to Alexei Sayle, the comedian, you might want to start out with the short stories of 'Barcelona Plates' or 'The Dog Catcher' to get a flavour for his style, but if you have, rest assured 'Overtaken' gives you intellect, wit, satire and out-loud laughs in equal measure as he continues to go from strength to strength. The best kept secret in British literature? Not for much longer, surely.

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

Surprisingly wonderful 21 Jan 2006

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I bought this because I found Alexei Sayle's work entertaining, but I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as rewarding as it is. I was so impressed I lent it around to friends and it received universal praise. It's far more sophisticated and thought-provoking than one would expect from Alxei Sayle's other material. I can only ascribe the poor reviews I read on this page to fans who thought he'd give them mindless left-wing ranting and didn't like being forced to think through far more complex and challenging ideas. This is an entertaining, thought-provoking, and surprising story of blame and redemption, with well-drawn characters whose unexpected complexities give the story much of its momentum. Its one downside is the end - with lots of complex strands to be drawn together, Sayle suddenly lurches into an abrupt and unconvincing resolution that mars what would otherwise be a truly remarkable first novel. Nevertheless, I'd thoroughly recommend it - it was an unexpected delight.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Woof woof 25 Dec 2003

By K. P. Quinn

Sayle knows how to string a story together. The narrative is littered with jokes and Liverpool references and I wonder if Sayle should not be appointed the city's own and first poet laureate. It's a rollicking good read and a great introduction to the writer and the place.