- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Penguin; New Ed edition (25 Feb 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140075968
- ISBN-13: 978-0140075960
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 10.4 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 233,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
All Henderson Dores dreams of is fitting in. But America, land of the loony millionaire and the subway poet, down-home Bible-basher and sharp-suited hood, of paralysing personal frankness and surreally fantasized facilities, is hard enough for an Englishman to fit in to. Henderson could never shed enough inhibitions to become just another weirdo. Or could he?
This hilarious fish-out-of-water comedy, which Boyd also adapted for screen for the 1980s film starring Daniel Day Lewis, was described in the Guardian as, ‘Splittingly shrewd and engaging … with an extra and uneasy little something fretting away at the ribald content’.
About the Author
William Boyd was born in Ghana in 1952. He was brought up there and in Nigeria. He was educated at the universities of Nice, Glasgow and Oxford. He is the author of a number of acclaimed and hugely popular novels and three volumes of short stories, and the recipient of many prizes, including the Whitbread First Novel Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Sunday Express Book of the Year Award. He is married and lives in London
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This witty analysis of the foibles of both the English and American characters sees art dealer (and Zen fencing student) Henderson Dores stranded in nowheres-ville USA.
Much cultural misunderstading ensues, whilst the plot increasingly contrives to lead our hero into ever deeper trouble.
As is often mentioned in connection with Boyd's novels, this is an easy read, and a real page-turner. 'Stars & Bars' won't change your life, but it's sure to make you smile.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a strange one, and very different to other novels by William Boyd. It's laugh-out-loud funny in some places, but I couldn't help feeling some of the jokes were just obvious cheap shots that I would have thought were below a writer of Boyd's calibre. For once I really didn't care what happened to the main character, and the "laughs" were hardly more than cringes by the end.
May be worth reading out of interest if you're a Boyd fan, as its style is completely different from that found in e.g. Brazzaville Beach, The New Confessions, or The Blue Afternoon - all of which I loved - but unfortunately this one doesn't really engage, entertain, or move the reader... fortunately he returned to form after this novel.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This novel starts off slow but soon picks up speed. A great Brit in the US comedy which ends up being a real page turner.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
STARS AND BARS
The cover conveys little of what is in the book ; although we have the oh-so-English boater against a backdrop of US yellow cabs as a prompt, it is all a bit subtle. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Readdoc
Irritating and unfunny
Picked this up for a £1 - I've read many Boyds and loved them so was well pleased. The blurb says "...will be hailed as a comic classic". I don't think so and, indeed, it isn't. Read more
Published 5 months ago by tipperary
Three Stars (and Bars)
Stars and Bars is not as good as Boyd's later work. It's an ambitious book, with a lot in it, but as a satire it never quite works. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Dave Gilmour's cat
Funny, funny funny!
I have just caught up with this black comedy from WB's back catalogue. Written in the mid 80s but as fresh today as it was the day that it was written and many many laugh out loud... Read more
Published 9 months ago by pantodame
Vintage early Boyd - thoroughly engaging
Re-reading "Stars and Bars" reminds me of just what a great comic writer William Boyd was in his early novels. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Jl Adcock
Escapism at it's best
This book is one of the odder ones I've read by William Boyd but the characters are incredibly realistic. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Angela
Light Comic Romp into Reagan-era America
Years ago, I was assigned to interview Boyd for a film magazine on the topic of adapting books into screenplays, and dutifully picked up A Good Man in Africa to try and come up... Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2010 by A. Ross
A weak man in America
If you liked Morgan Leafy (A Good Man in Africa), then you won't think much of Henderson Dores, the - I was going to say 'hero', but let's stick with 'principal character' of Stars... Read more
Published on 22 Sep 2005 by Keith Mitchell
A brilliant and hysterical read
A great book that was not only enthralling but increadibly funny and well observed, it will have you laughing outloud and want to read more. One of the best of Boyd's books
Published on 29 Jun 2000
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