- Hardcover: 544 pages
- Publisher: William Heinemann; 1st Edition edition (5 Jun 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0434018422
- ISBN-13: 978-0434018420
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.4 x 5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 33,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Gone-Away World
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Product Description
Scotland on Sunday
`A stunning debut ... By turns thrilling, silly, gripping, crazy, daring and outrageous. I loved every minute ... The Gone-Away World is brakes-off fiction'
Observer
`Breathtakingly ambitious ... A bubbling cosmic stew of a book, written with such exuberant imagination that you are left breathless by its sheer ingenuity'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I find it hard to start this review because there are so many facets to this book. I could say it's the story of some people and how they survive an apocalypse and describes the part they play in forming a new existence. I could say this story is about relationships; growing up; home; family; coming of age; self-knowledge; loyalty; right and wrong; endurance; war; globalisation; big business; yuppies; the little guy; the big guy; friendship; love; pig-powered electricity generators; ninjas and fun.
It is all these things, and more.
There are parts of this story where I saw layer upon layer of meaning. There was the straight story being told; there was the parallel with the gulf wars; there was the parallel with the war on Terror; there was the parallel with big business taking over the world; there was the parallel with the global economic crash and recession; there was the parallel with the individual struggling with personal trauma and loss. I could go on.
Of course, Nick Harkaway would simply say, "What have you been smoking? I just wrote a story."
I don't know how much of what I found in the novel was put there deliberately, and how much is due to my imagination, but I do know that Nick Harkaway has created a wonderful reading experience that is thought provoking, humorous, and just a wonderful read.
Some reviewers have said it can be a tough read. I would say it's not so much a tough read, as a fast paced tale that covers a lot of ground and doesn't let you rest for a minute. It ducks and weaves across various threads of story and doesn't waste a single element in its whole telling.
I will be getting and reading Nick's next book as soon as it is available; and hey, it's got elephants.
It is all these things, and more.
There are parts of this story where I saw layer upon layer of meaning. There was the straight story being told; there was the parallel with the gulf wars; there was the parallel with the war on Terror; there was the parallel with big business taking over the world; there was the parallel with the global economic crash and recession; there was the parallel with the individual struggling with personal trauma and loss. I could go on.
Of course, Nick Harkaway would simply say, "What have you been smoking? I just wrote a story."
I don't know how much of what I found in the novel was put there deliberately, and how much is due to my imagination, but I do know that Nick Harkaway has created a wonderful reading experience that is thought provoking, humorous, and just a wonderful read.
Some reviewers have said it can be a tough read. I would say it's not so much a tough read, as a fast paced tale that covers a lot of ground and doesn't let you rest for a minute. It ducks and weaves across various threads of story and doesn't waste a single element in its whole telling.
I will be getting and reading Nick's next book as soon as it is available; and hey, it's got elephants.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mixing a range of styles - from Joseph Heller's "Catch 22", through the wacky world of "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, to the attention to detail and plot complexity of "Cryptonomicon" by Neil Stephenson - this is a superb book.
A post apocalyptic vision of the Earth, with most of the planet contaminated by an Information Bomb that makes Matter "Gone Away", and populated by refugees from the "Mad Max" films - I thoroughly enjoyed the book, even the various flash backs into a kung fu childhood.
If you have enjoyed any of the above authors - give this a go.
A post apocalyptic vision of the Earth, with most of the planet contaminated by an Information Bomb that makes Matter "Gone Away", and populated by refugees from the "Mad Max" films - I thoroughly enjoyed the book, even the various flash backs into a kung fu childhood.
If you have enjoyed any of the above authors - give this a go.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In this book the nuclear weapon has been upgraded to Go Away Bombs. These bombs don't leave behind scenes of mass destruction and chaos but simply make everything disappear. The consequence of the Go Away War (its side effect) is that in place of nothingness are the creation of beings neither human or animal but simply known as 'New.' In response to this a company called Jorgmund has erected a defence pipe (which encircles what is left of humanity) to keep the 'New' out. When the Jorgmund Pipe catches fire a special team of workers - which includes the narrator - are sent out to repair it before it's too late.
This all sounds very interesting and original, however, this book is 200 pages + too long and readers may well give up before the end. This is because too often Harkaway decides to describe something to the point of death or to go off on a tangent in order to say something clever. He certainly has a flair with words and the book is written very well - reminded me slightly of Vernon God Little but it's not as brass or blocky - but is as punchy and to the point. The twist is not wholly original though it works very well in the context of this novel and took me by surprise. It is a book that may well have you flittering through again after its conclusion. If this book was to go under a major re-edit it could be a classic - as it stands it's rather cumbersome and self-indulgent.
This all sounds very interesting and original, however, this book is 200 pages + too long and readers may well give up before the end. This is because too often Harkaway decides to describe something to the point of death or to go off on a tangent in order to say something clever. He certainly has a flair with words and the book is written very well - reminded me slightly of Vernon God Little but it's not as brass or blocky - but is as punchy and to the point. The twist is not wholly original though it works very well in the context of this novel and took me by surprise. It is a book that may well have you flittering through again after its conclusion. If this book was to go under a major re-edit it could be a classic - as it stands it's rather cumbersome and self-indulgent.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
What did I miss?
This was a difficult piece to read... The problem may be that English is not my mother tongue? I find this book ambitious, bordering on pretentious. Sadly not in a good sense. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Mats Nilsson
Very Foxy
I read (and reviewed) Harkaway's latest novel before this one and loved it so I wanted to read his previous novel (The Gone-Away World'). Read more
Published 1 month ago by Scot
Best story in a long while.
I was attracted by the cover and the blurb, not sure what to expect. Its now one of my top ten novels (and I've had over 30 years of adult reading to reflect on here). Read more
Published 1 month ago by Steve Page
Not great. Sorry.
I don't review often - but here I think I'm probably in disagreement with the majority of reviews that this book has had, including the great and good of the press (at least if the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ruzz
Magnificent epic debut
There an awful lot of reasons to love Gone Away World, and to cite the presence of ninjas, mimes, monsters and apocalypse in the same sentence without any sort of cynicism or... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kiray007
Lord, I want to come home.
He studied at Clare College, Cambridge, and, before becoming an author, wrote screenplays. "The Gone Away World" was his first novel, and was first published in 2008. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Craobh Rua
The apocalypse has never been funnier
What I love about post-apocalyptic novels is that pretty much anything can happen in it. And it happens in John le Carre's Son's first novel. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Frank Wetzig
Deeply glorious book
Whenever I use review sites for anything, I tend to start out reviewing something that I found simply Staggeringly Good, which tends to create an impression that I'm just easily... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Kevin Veale
Nicely done
I read a lot of sci fi and fantasy - this is a nicely done longish book - more near future / dystopia with some good characterisation - it's funny, clever and an enjoyable read. Read more
Published 15 months ago by K. Carroll
exuberant roller-coaster
The sheer exuberance and imagination of this book is overwhelming.
Set in a not too distant future, the story follows the Haulage and HazMat Emergency Civil Freebooting... Read more
Set in a not too distant future, the story follows the Haulage and HazMat Emergency Civil Freebooting... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Clive A. H. Still
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