The Afterparty
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Shockingly accomplished... what really sets the fresh style, biting satire and the postmodern gymnastics ablaze is the brilliance of the writing. Few authors manage to make every sentence throb with verve, but Benedictus comes close... has the dexterity with tragic-comedy shown by the likes of William Boyd or the author of Skippy Dies, Paul Murray. Sardonic, sparkling, scathing: Benedictus is surely a cert for the Man Booker and Costa shortlists, and if he doesn't make them he'll be the controversial omission"--Independent on Sunday
"It's a blast: a pacy and amusing satire of celebrity shenanigans, wrapped in glittery postmodern sweetie-wrappers"--Observer
"clever, well paced and structured"--Times Literary Supplement
"a topsy-turvy postmodern tour de force"--New Statesman
"Intriguing first novel...the narrative voice flows with wit and vigour...his debut ties author and reader in engaging knots that echo the tangled webs connecting the gossipers and photographers and their privileged fodder"--The Guardian
"It's uncommonly well written, with a bountiful supply of manic energy... Would Paul Auster kill to write a book as playful, fast-paced and unashamedly populist as this? Doubtful, but somewhere there's a "Paul Auster" who might"--The Herald
"This is the well-written, intelligent satire on celebrity we've been waiting for."--Metro
"It's a blast: a pacy and amusing satire of celebrity shenanigans, wrapped in glittery postmodern sweetie-wrappers"--Observer
"clever, well paced and structured"--Times Literary Supplement
"a topsy-turvy postmodern tour de force"--New Statesman
"Intriguing first novel...the narrative voice flows with wit and vigour...his debut ties author and reader in engaging knots that echo the tangled webs connecting the gossipers and photographers and their privileged fodder"--The Guardian
"It's uncommonly well written, with a bountiful supply of manic energy... Would Paul Auster kill to write a book as playful, fast-paced and unashamedly populist as this? Doubtful, but somewhere there's a "Paul Auster" who might"--The Herald
"This is the well-written, intelligent satire on celebrity we've been waiting for."--Metro
Book Description
A brilliantly clever, truly mind-bending satire about truth, lies, and the dark underbelly of 21st century celebrity life...
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Even if The Afterparty hadn't included a plea to come online and post a review (which it does, very cleverly) I would have rushed to Amazon to shout about this brilliantly clever book. I will be amazed if a more entertaining, clever novel comes out this year. The story-within-a-story narrative works surprisingly well, the writing is smooth and consistently inventive, and the characters - a a mix of real and imagined celebs and citizens - leap off the page.
You will love The Afterparty if you interested in at least two of the following: The X Factor, Bret Easton Ellis, the literary scene, tabloid journalism, Heat magazine, ketamine, Michael Barrymore's private life, Celebrity Big Brother, Pete Doherty, supermodels, nervous breakdowns, our society's terrifying hurtle towards moral and spiritual oblivion, Rebekah Wade and human-canine sex.
That's just about everybody then.
Mark Edwards
Co-Author of Killing Cupid
You will love The Afterparty if you interested in at least two of the following: The X Factor, Bret Easton Ellis, the literary scene, tabloid journalism, Heat magazine, ketamine, Michael Barrymore's private life, Celebrity Big Brother, Pete Doherty, supermodels, nervous breakdowns, our society's terrifying hurtle towards moral and spiritual oblivion, Rebekah Wade and human-canine sex.
That's just about everybody then.
Mark Edwards
Co-Author of Killing Cupid
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Afterparty is a very clever novel. It's also great fun.
Its subject matter is the clash between celebrity, real people and the press and it deals with these areas with a strong dose of humour and is very well written. If that was all it was, then it would be a solid four star book - not the most original of subject matters, deftly handled. But it's much cleverer than that.
Each chapter is preceded by e-mails between the supposed author and his publisher and this adds a whole new level of complexity and twists to the book itself. It has more twists and turns than a twisty-turny thing and I'm certainly not about to reveal any of those here. Even if you work some of them out early on, there's a reason why you might have done and there are more twists after that. It's a compelling read and the less you know about the story, the better you will enjoy the unravelling of the book.
I must confess that when the first words of a book are "This book is different. You've really never read a book like this before", my thoughts were that that is either a very brave statement or a case of hyperbole. Around half way through the book I was leaning towards the latter, but by the end, I'll admit that it is a fully warranted statement. It's smart, clever, beautifully plotted and highly recommended.
If you are still not convinced, let me just throw in some of the characters: an X Factor finalist, a reclusive movie star, a drug taking ex-supermodel and a struggling journalist who is thrown into the celebrity world.
Its subject matter is the clash between celebrity, real people and the press and it deals with these areas with a strong dose of humour and is very well written. If that was all it was, then it would be a solid four star book - not the most original of subject matters, deftly handled. But it's much cleverer than that.
Each chapter is preceded by e-mails between the supposed author and his publisher and this adds a whole new level of complexity and twists to the book itself. It has more twists and turns than a twisty-turny thing and I'm certainly not about to reveal any of those here. Even if you work some of them out early on, there's a reason why you might have done and there are more twists after that. It's a compelling read and the less you know about the story, the better you will enjoy the unravelling of the book.
I must confess that when the first words of a book are "This book is different. You've really never read a book like this before", my thoughts were that that is either a very brave statement or a case of hyperbole. Around half way through the book I was leaning towards the latter, but by the end, I'll admit that it is a fully warranted statement. It's smart, clever, beautifully plotted and highly recommended.
If you are still not convinced, let me just throw in some of the characters: an X Factor finalist, a reclusive movie star, a drug taking ex-supermodel and a struggling journalist who is thrown into the celebrity world.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This may be an odd way to start a review but in order to get the most out of this book you should avoid reading any! With that in mind I will avoid giving anything away.
'The Afterparty' opens with an email from William Mendez to Valerie Morrell, a literary agent, enclosing the first chapter of his book 'Publicity'. Then we read the first chapter of the novel. 'Publicity' opens at an 'A' list celebrity party where fictional characters mingle with real life celebs. 'Afterpary' continues in this way with each chapter being punctuated with email correspondence which highlights the writing process of 'Publicity' including the changing of character names, formatting of text etc. The fictional aspect of 'Publicity' is therefore highlighted while the reader is encouraged to read the email correspondence as 'real life'. Then something happens at the afterparty (within 'Publicity') that changes everything.
Mendez is loath to provide a synopsis of his book for Morrell as he wants her to read the story as it develops and he definitely does not want her to know how it ends. He even wants to write the 'blurb' himself as he believes that far too often this gives away too much information. Therefore I have to bow to the 'authors' wishes and leave readers to 'discover' this novel for themselves.
It is a novel within a novel, a thriller that kept me reading as I wondered what twist in the plot was coming next, whether my suspicions of what was going on were justified. Definitely one of those books you should read before too many people start talking about it - and they will. In conclusion, I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a novel.
'The Afterparty' opens with an email from William Mendez to Valerie Morrell, a literary agent, enclosing the first chapter of his book 'Publicity'. Then we read the first chapter of the novel. 'Publicity' opens at an 'A' list celebrity party where fictional characters mingle with real life celebs. 'Afterpary' continues in this way with each chapter being punctuated with email correspondence which highlights the writing process of 'Publicity' including the changing of character names, formatting of text etc. The fictional aspect of 'Publicity' is therefore highlighted while the reader is encouraged to read the email correspondence as 'real life'. Then something happens at the afterparty (within 'Publicity') that changes everything.
Mendez is loath to provide a synopsis of his book for Morrell as he wants her to read the story as it develops and he definitely does not want her to know how it ends. He even wants to write the 'blurb' himself as he believes that far too often this gives away too much information. Therefore I have to bow to the 'authors' wishes and leave readers to 'discover' this novel for themselves.
It is a novel within a novel, a thriller that kept me reading as I wondered what twist in the plot was coming next, whether my suspicions of what was going on were justified. Definitely one of those books you should read before too many people start talking about it - and they will. In conclusion, I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a novel.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not fantastic but not terrible either
I picked this up in an airport and had nothing to go on but the cover blurb. Since finishing it I have read some of the reviews and this is my opinion. Read more
Published 1 month ago by I. Tunnacliffe
the Afterparty
This is a modern satire and a true reflection of the times we live in. This book is written in the form of email between characters which to me is a modern update on the letters... Read more
Published 1 month ago by dali
Clever concept
Literary agent Val receives an email containing the first chapter of a novel. After she displays her initial interest more chapters follow one by one. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Penny B
Unbelievably entertaining book
I read this book in October 2011, loved it and felt it had all the good viral techniques to make it a truly "live" book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kirsten
Postmodern Tricksy Over-Long Predictable Novel
This novel thinks it's clever. The publishing people also think its brilliantly clever, because they are obviously spending a 6 figure sum promoting it and this author. Read more
Published 9 months ago by EddieMan
Original, intriguing and rather gripping
I found this book really quite different, it is structured in a way I haven't come across before and it has lots of clever little touches and more than a few in-jokes which draw... Read more
Published 9 months ago by T. SMEDLEY
Good read, graphic sex scenes
This is a good read, let down only by the length of the graphic sexual encounters. At times you'll find yourself reading through two to three pages of "ugh" etc. Read more
Published 10 months ago by M. Hoy
Original, Unusual and Intelligent.
I am genuinely impressed with this book. Ever since the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books of my childhood, I've enjoyed books which do something different, either in the way... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. D. J. Brindle
Better than I'd expected
I was concerned that The Afterparty might be a blokey equivalent of those paralysed-from-the-neck-up chick lit sagas about PAs in media companies getting drunk and parties and... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Alan Hansen
Clever Experimentation Pulled Off With Style and Wit
I think I read somewhere that Leo Benedictus had described his novel as an exercise in post modern-post modernism which sums it up quite well, even if it does seem an almost... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Zip Domingo
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
