- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Sceptre; First Edition edition (24 Jan 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340834676
- ISBN-13: 978-0340834671
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 720,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
'Suffused with desire and regret, this beautiful, understated novel is a moving meditation on change and compromise' (Guardian on GHOST PORTRAIT )
'Anything by Gregory Norminton is a pleasure to read - the pages skip by in his light, cadenced style' (Time Out on GHOST PORTRAIT )
'Sardonic, carnal, intellectual, violent, urbane, ARTS AND WONDERS delves straight back to the origins of the novel...classic picaresque' ( Guardian on ARTS AND WONDERS )
'Clever and energetic and sly and funny and full of inventiveness. I wish there was more fiction like this being published in Britain.' (Kate Atkinson on SHIP OF FOOLS )
'A remarkable achievement' ( Times Literary Supplement on SHIP OF FOOLS )
'Anything by Gregory Norminton is a pleasure to read - the pages skip by in his light, cadenced style' (Time Out on GHOST PORTRAIT )
'Sardonic, carnal, intellectual, violent, urbane, ARTS AND WONDERS delves straight back to the origins of the novel...classic picaresque' ( Guardian on ARTS AND WONDERS )
'Clever and energetic and sly and funny and full of inventiveness. I wish there was more fiction like this being published in Britain.' (Kate Atkinson on SHIP OF FOOLS )
'A remarkable achievement' ( Times Literary Supplement on SHIP OF FOOLS )
'impeccably written... It is rare enough to find a successful conflation of the personal and the political but to articulate immense issues such as environmental depredation, the culture of narrow self-interest and the mendacity of power within a story that stays anchored to its plot and characters without falling into tub-thumping is astonishing. Norminton's measured, elegant prose makes beauty and menace sing in perfect harmony. The book is worth reading for his writing on teh English countryside alone, while his scaling of the treacherous cliffs of the human heart will take your breath away."
Allan Massie, Scotsman
'One of the strengths of this engrossing novel [is] that it invites the reader to ask questions...and leaves the answers uncertain'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
I am almost at the end of this book and I have enjoyed it so much I don't want to finish it!
It's definately one I will recommend to people. It's beautifully written, intelligent and funny in places.
I'm about to see what else Mr Norminton has written :)
It's definately one I will recommend to people. It's beautifully written, intelligent and funny in places.
I'm about to see what else Mr Norminton has written :)
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this work very much. It is well written and lures the reader into speculation about the outcome - an unexpected ending. A triumph for Greg Norminton.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book pulled me in with the first chapter from which point onwards I had to know what the secret was which had ruled the life of the main character. As the situations in the Now and Then are set up there are more questions than answers which kept me reading.
The description is fabulous, particularly of the grubby boarding school with its unsavoury pupils and teachers.
The hints gradually build up towards the climax of the story and I then realised that there was still a fair way to go with the book. The ending was very sad and summed up the rest of the book quite successfully.
I found lots of places where I felt sympathy towards Bruno but I also despised him for his helplessness.
This was a very sad book to read but a very interesting comment on his society.
The description is fabulous, particularly of the grubby boarding school with its unsavoury pupils and teachers.
The hints gradually build up towards the climax of the story and I then realised that there was still a fair way to go with the book. The ending was very sad and summed up the rest of the book quite successfully.
I found lots of places where I felt sympathy towards Bruno but I also despised him for his helplessness.
This was a very sad book to read but a very interesting comment on his society.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Rich, complex and interesting
I can't see it being made into a hollywood blockbuster, but can see it being made into a Monday night TV drama - with David Tennant as the over-enthusiastic young teacher and David... Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2009 by giraffe23
Heavy going and unbelievable
I just managed to finish this, but it was hard to trudge through the heavily pointless wordiness (Mr. Normington could have written a phrase like that).
"... Read more
"... Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2008 by Ransen Owen
When is a thriller not a thriller?
When it's an absorbing study of identity, guilt and responsibility. Structured like a thriller - and it *is* a thriller, although not much of a whodunnit - Serious Things also... Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2008 by L. Webster
Fantastic read - absolutely un-put-downable
I absolutely loved this book, reading it from cover to cover in no time at all given such a compelling narrative and intriguing and complex characters. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2008 by K. Griffith
A gripping read
This is a book not to be missed. It is beautifully written and you will not be able to put it down until you have reached the last page. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2008 by A reader
Gripping drama beautifully written
Wow, I've just finished one of the best books I've read in ages....be prepared Serious Things grasps the reader and does not let go until the unexpected end. Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2008 by N. Lindsay
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