- Hardcover: 432 pages
- Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd (5 July 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 184195957X
- ISBN-13: 978-1841959573
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 13.6 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (172 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 195,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The End of Mr Y
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Ingenious and original... A cracking good yarn fizzing with intelligence." Philip Pullman "Scarlett Thomas has one of the rarest of novelist's gifts - the ability to put flesh and blood onto intellectual ideas and bring them to thrilling life. Which means that not only will you have a great time reading this book, but you will finish it a cleverer person than when you started." Jonathan Coe "Mindboggling brainy and playful The End of Mr Y deserves to make [Scarlett Thomas] better known at last." Independent on Sunday "Smart, stylish and dizzying... with a breakneck thriller of a plot... should appeal to a wide popular audience" New York Times Book Review"
Philip Pullman
`Ingenious and original . . . A cracking good yarn fizzing with
intelligence.'
intelligence.'
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the best books I have ever read. Thomas is like a new Atwood for me, melding the ability to create a dark new world with something so intrinsically human that it never seems that far from home.
Do I like this because I am a female university lecturer and research student with more than a passing interest in philosophy, quantum physics and the paranormal? It can't be discounted. But I also love the mystery and magic in this book which lies somewhere between Harry Potter and The Illusionist, the ability of the main protagonist to keep striving through adversity by creating new ideas and possibilities, and the raw filth which appears periodically to distance this book from a fluffy teen adventure.
It is fair to say that some of the descriptions of scientific and philosophical ideas are either too long or too simplistic, something difficult to gauge for an unlimited audience. Also the story when told from what appears to be embellished personal experience feels richer than that told from other positions, for example that of a non-human (to avoid spoilers).
However, these things by no mean detract from the overall feeling in the book and it was one of the very few book endings which felt satisfying to me, and was a multi-layered, paradoxical and wonderful idea.
I have read other reviews which say that the ideas within are so fanciful that it spoils the book as it is neither fantasy nor reality- I would argue that this is exactly the point- a thought experiment takes us to the limits of experience and encourages us to question what it is to be alive. Other books which may support this edge of awareness thinking are 'The Sense of Being Stared At' by Sheldrake, 'The Holographic Universe by Talbot' and 'The Field' by McTaggart.
A fantastic find for the curious.
Do I like this because I am a female university lecturer and research student with more than a passing interest in philosophy, quantum physics and the paranormal? It can't be discounted. But I also love the mystery and magic in this book which lies somewhere between Harry Potter and The Illusionist, the ability of the main protagonist to keep striving through adversity by creating new ideas and possibilities, and the raw filth which appears periodically to distance this book from a fluffy teen adventure.
It is fair to say that some of the descriptions of scientific and philosophical ideas are either too long or too simplistic, something difficult to gauge for an unlimited audience. Also the story when told from what appears to be embellished personal experience feels richer than that told from other positions, for example that of a non-human (to avoid spoilers).
However, these things by no mean detract from the overall feeling in the book and it was one of the very few book endings which felt satisfying to me, and was a multi-layered, paradoxical and wonderful idea.
I have read other reviews which say that the ideas within are so fanciful that it spoils the book as it is neither fantasy nor reality- I would argue that this is exactly the point- a thought experiment takes us to the limits of experience and encourages us to question what it is to be alive. Other books which may support this edge of awareness thinking are 'The Sense of Being Stared At' by Sheldrake, 'The Holographic Universe by Talbot' and 'The Field' by McTaggart.
A fantastic find for the curious.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Lots of other people have reviewed this book so I'm not going to do that . All I will say for all those who have read this book + for those reading it at the moment is that when you have finished it go back and read the first few lines again....a whole new world of possibilities opens up .
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really loved this book. I don't want to say too much about it because when I'm reading I prefer not to have to many preconceptions. What I will say is that it's genuinely a good read, as well as being a bit 'thinky' (but not overly so). It starts quite random and jumps about, then everything is pulled together so it's quite different by the end (so if you find the start frustrating persevere). I hear what one of the earlier reviewers was saying about the way the other characters are constructed, but I think the main character is so perfect that this is cancelled out. Anyway, give it a go.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Intriguing
I stumbled across this book by pure chance in a library in sudbury, Essex whilst staying overnight in a pub called the Black Boy. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Hobbz
Intriguing
I was recommended this book to read by a friend who loved it however I also had two friends who could not get on with it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Justhavingfun
Seriously awesome
So long as you don't mind suspending your belief, this book is for you - an absolutely spectacular feat of imagination. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ms. Rbj Knight
Inconsistant
This book started out well, with the interesting Ariel Manto discovering 'The End of Mr Y' in a second hand book shop and discovering the secrets of the troposphere. Read more
Published 2 months ago by CatrionaMayJ
Serious contender for my favourite book!
Just finished this book yesterday and the ending was a huge surprise that made me cry tears of joy. However, I cannot discount the journey getting there as it was amazing! Read more
Published 3 months ago by TLChurcher
Ariel in Wonderland
On an Xmas eve pub crawl I told a friend how much I enjoyed Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" - she asked if I'd read "Mister Y" and reccommended it. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Brian
Fantastic
This is on par with Stone Junction for being sheer genius. From the first page, I was captured and took on a mental ride through the mind of Scarlett Thomas, which is vivid to say... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lerky
Brilliant, lively intelligent and thought-provoking
This is a brilliant book make no mistake, melding a cracking yarn around deep philosophic and scientific debate. Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. Quirk
The End of Mr Y
Obviously this is a great read - most of the other reviews have said that. The was book is gripping, fun and clever. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Eve
A book about a book
This book was recommended to me, with the caveat that I should "ignore the homeopathy". That did sort of make me wonder what I was letting myself in for, but once I started... Read more
Published 6 months ago by R Cotterill
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