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Review
'It is written with lovely, controlled precision. His descriptions deliver little aesthetic shock-charges of pleasure...There are delights of simple recognition...but there are also deeper emotional depth-charges' Sunday Telegraph 'Striking...The Book Against God is a gifted and winning first novel, neatly knotted at the end' Guardian 'Thought-provoking and full of sharp-eyed observations of characters and places' Daily Mail 'A work of skilful craftsmanship, which teasingly engages and disengages one's sympathies' The Economist 'The novel simply thrums with an intellectual passion rarely seen in fiction these days' Spectator 'At once hilarious and haunting...It keeps your attention in every sentence' Bernard O'Donoghue, Irish Times 'Spry and confident...by turns gravely comic and hilariously tragic' Sunday Herald
Book Description
'Highly intelligent- This is a book that I shall certainly re-read, for its comic realism, its warm intelligence, its lack of pretension' A. N. Wilson, Daily Telegraph
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The emerging high priest of the the new "old" school of literary criticism has put his reputation on the line with a novel of his own. And his reputation is intact. Wood tells the story of Tom Bunting, a shambolic, feckless, disorganised wannabe philosopher/writer/academic - something. A man so used to lying, that his inner musings about his own lying are quite possibly self delusional in themselves. The reader is rendered helpless to accept anything he says as any kind of truth. Except that he is in very real turmoil about his Father, and the moral and spiritual legacy of his upbringing at the hands of such a clearly "good" man. This turmoil, which is at the heart of Bunting's moral paralysis in the face of completing his PhD, squaring up to the responsibilities of his (now failed) marriage to Jane and his constant musings about religion, provide Bunting with a beating human heart. There is also a touch of "Lucky Jim" in Bunting's wry observations, his haplessness and charm inspite himself. Wood mixes a set of writing techniques that are a neatly controlled blend of the old and new - the post-modernism of the oh so unreliable narrator, and the closely observed portraiture of Eliot (Silas Marner springs to mind) or even Jane Austen. Wood is an excellent crafsman and has produced a satisfying, thoughtful and thought provoking work of fiction - even if you want to shake Bunting by the shoulders from time to time and tell him to "move on for God's sake" - but he doesn't believe in God, of course...or does he?
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'The Book Against God' is a particularly satisfying read on two levels: first, in considering arguments both for and against the existence of God, and secondly as a funny, perceptive and intelligent analysis of the relationships of a contemporary man with his wife and ageing parents. The narrator, Thomas Bunting, is a philosophy lecturer (of sorts) who manages to be endearing despite a number of character flaws including compulsive lying and suspect personal hygiene! Thomas is experiencing writer's block on the PhD thesis that he is supposed to be labouring on - but has no such problem writing secretly on his pet project, his BAG - Book Against God. (This novel is an absolute must for anybody who has ever dreaded asking or responding to the question 'How is the thesis going?')
'The Book Against God' is extremely well written with totally convincing characterisation and dialogue. A number of the central characters have a strong interest in philosophical and theological issues that Woods consequently weaves seamlessly into the narrative. The main plotline charts the souring in relations between Thomas and his pianist wife, Jane Sheridan. As an added bonus, characters such as Jane and musical know-it-all Roger Trelawnay facilitate interesting discussions regarding the nexus between music and spirituality/god. The secondary plotline concerns Thomas's relations with his loving parents Peter and Sarah, and particularly Thomas's inability to profess outright atheism to his parish priest father despite the latter's willingness to question accepted church teaching. All in all, 'The Book Against God' is highly recommended as an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The relationship between an atheistic and rather seedy son and (principally) his attractive clergyman father. Superb, inventively and wittily phrased descriptions of a large cast of characters and of places; intelligent conversations about belief and non-belief; a moving coda (not quite at the end of the book). Because the chronology is all mixed up, it really needs to be read twice.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Light touch writing handles deep themes
This is a satisfying, thought provoking book, dealing with religious faith and atheism, the difficult and tender relationships between parents and children (even when these are... Read more
Published on 14 April 2010 by Lady Fancifull
Do characters in novels exist?
I felt I had to read this novel having read Wood's The Broken Estate, which I found thrilling and frustrating by turns. (Are Iris Murdoch's novels like this one? Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2008 by Jonathan Wooding
Intelligent and entertaining
An atheistic and rather seedy son and his relationship with (principally) his attractive clergyman father. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2005 by Ralph Blumenau
Good, but still disappointing
James Wood is a brilliant literary critic who has long shied away from writing a novel. But like every critic he secretly nurtured novelistic ambitions, and here, at last, they're... Read more
Published on 27 Feb 2005 by The Fisher Price King
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