- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Viking; paperback / softback edition (3 Sep 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0670870161
- ISBN-13: 978-0670870165
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.4 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 920,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
A single evening in Manila hints at shared consciousness and the circular nature of time and experience. More ambitious than his successful debut, The Beach, Alex Garland's second novel follows three seemingly disparate stories that converge just this side of possible. Opening pages are reminiscent of a Raymond Chandler detective story: the dirty hotel room that "didn't know it was a hotel, or had forgotten"; the flinty, deep thinking protagonist; a meeting with rough-cut thugs. But just when we expect the arrival of the stock sultry woman, the cast of characters begins to assume the more recognisable aspects of ordinary life--to eerie effect.
Garland shows a talent for finely crafted phrases that emboss an image and encapsulate a moment. One minor character's brief sensory flashback provides more human insight than the pages of descriptive overload in the usual thriller. The Tesseract is an exciting tale that never stoops to the level of popcorn storytelling. --Samantha Starmer
Product Description
Set over three hours during one night in Manilla, this novel intertwines three stories: the shady dealings of gangsters; the emotional tale of a Phillipino family and the family lives of a gang of street kids.
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First Sentence
There was no bright colour in the room. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
There was no bright colour in the room. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Close to the gripping read that was 'The Beach', Garland's second bestseller shares the originality and deepness portrayed beforehand.
From the beginning of this book comes an air of curiosity, as the reader is sent spiralling into a web of episodes, leading to the inevitable marring of violence.
From the beginning of this book comes an air of curiosity, as the reader is sent spiralling into a web of episodes, leading to the inevitable marring of violence.
The story begins in (the highly appropriate) 'roach infested hotel' as Sean awaits the arrival of Gangster Don Pepe. Rising is the immediate cloud of mystery, all but setting the pace, tone and estranged excitement that remains throughout.
Acknowledged is the difficulty the young author faced as he aimed to reiterate the sheer quality of 'The Beach'. Although somewhat disorderly and at times slow paced, in grasping the cultural background and social landscape of one country, Garland has put together a touching, compassionate, yet no less satisfactory novel.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Tesseract begins in surroundings closely comparable to that of "the beach", yet as you become immersed within this brilliantly structured novel, it couldn't be more different. The flare of Alex Garland's writing remains, as seperate stories emerge containing uniquely vivid and interesting characters. I found myself so hooked to this paperback that I locked my self away, and completed the novel in just around twenty four hours. Then, on the arrival of the last chapter, I couldn't have been more content, as the stories of each character are shown to intertwine in one final scene, viewed from all possible perspectives, though cleverly, not repeating itself.
In places, the narative can seem to drag on, but those points are few and far between. As a whole, this book is wonderfully refreshing, reaching the same level of perfection as the beach. Even if you didn't enjoy the beach however, there is nothing to stop you from enjoying this as much as I.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read Alex Garland's "The Beach" and the "28 Days Later" film script I was looking forward to reading "The Tesseract". Garland's dark, descriptive and gripping writing makes his books so hard to put down, so I was expecting more of the same.
Basically the book tells the story of three scenarios which, although at first seem separate in their own way, are ultimately brought together through a series of events and circumstances. Firstly we have Sean, waiting for mob gangster Don Pepe in the most run down forgotten hotel in Manila fighting with his thoughts and emotions. Next we have a Filipino family living out in the suburbs in Manila and lastly we have some street kids.
So, first the good points. Garland manages to provide sound descriptions of all the characters personalities and backgrounds through a series of flashbacks, memories and thoughts. I was sometimes confused as to why Garland was describing certain incidents from some of the characters pasts, however when reading on further things became a lot clearer and you realise how cleverly written this book really is. Also, although "The Tesseract" is not as graphic as some parts of "The Beach" there are still moments of shocking brutality and dark twisted humour to keep the most sceptical of Garland readers entertained.
Bad points? Well, if you're not committed to reading this book when it starts veering off the track slightly then this will definitely be a hard read for you. I have read this book twice and fully understood and enjoyed it better the second time, getting to grip more with the characters and their individual situations. On the first read I found that I could not empathize with many of the characters and this made the final act of the book fall short of my expectations.
"The Tesseract" is a good read if you are committed to follow the twists and turns and flashbacks the story throws at you. The book is very cleverly written and has some dark underlying humour throughout. My advice is that the book is worth buying; however a second read is most probably required to get your head around some of its more confusing aspects and to also appreciate the way in which Garland has moulded the different stories into one.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
shouldn't be compared to the beach....
the book tells three separate stories around a flurry of violence in manila. having traveled through the philippines, the author has done his homework (he has aobviously... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Gcrikey
A good stand-alone read.
I have just finished this book this morning and I, like many others, picked up this book after thoroughly enjoying his previous novel The Beach. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mrs. S. Payne
Fragmented mess
The whole backdrop to the story is simple enough, but it goes backwards into flashback and irrelevant little side subplots which add nothing to the plot and at times is confusing... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Paul M
Pretentious Garbage
I bought this book on the strength of favourable critical comment. The front cover boasts a quote from the Mail on Sunday "Astonishing - A brilliantly structured, surprisingly... Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2010 by RoverP
Lacks body
The story starts intriguingly enough, and then fragments into a number of seemingly unrelated subplots. Read more
Published on 24 Feb 2009 by Sosh
The Guy Richie book
A cleverly written story of three stories within. Its a bit like watching lock stock and two smoking barrels where individual stories smoothly come to a head (except set in the... Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2009 by Mr. J. E. Reynolds
Not the Beach, still worth a read.
By the writer of The Beach, a book set in the underbelly of Manila. I recently read Brownout on Breadfruit Boulevard by Timothy Mo, and was keen to read more set in the... Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2008 by soffitta1
Extremely disappointing
Having read and loved 'The Beach' perhaps my expectations were too high for this novel. On the plus side Garland paints an excellent picture of life in Manilla, on the minus side,... Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2008 by 8-Ball
Very very poor
Do not expect this to be good because you've read the beach, that book is brilliant, this is incredibly dull, a real mission to keep yourself reading and personally I wouldn't... Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2006 by Londoner
Utter Dissapointment
After reading the beach and enjoying it thoroughly, I was excited to plunge into another Alex Garland novel. How disappointed I was. Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2006 by Simon Duke-low
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