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Review
"a winning and often very funny odd-couple caper" (Andrew Holgate SUNDAY TIMES )
"This is a novel bursting with incident, humour, humanity and literary promise" (SUNDAY TIMES )
"Foulds has a fine turn of phrase" (JEWISH CHRONICLE )
"A stylish debut novel of bittersweet humour" (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )
"This is a novel bursting with incident, humour, humanity and literary promise" (SUNDAY TIMES )
"Foulds has a fine turn of phrase" (JEWISH CHRONICLE )
"A stylish debut novel of bittersweet humour" (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )
Rosemary Goring, The Herald
An unusual debut novel about a road trip that defies all expectations"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
At a time when the book market seems to be overwhelmed with teenage trivia, the search for something new and interesting can be frustrating. But here we have a first novel by a young author, which is not merely promising or good, but bloody marvellous. If a publisher with the reputation of Weidenfeld and Nicholson, are willing to launch a writer, then I think that one should investigate further.
Through the circumstance of an elderly woman's death, two characters, who under normal circumstances would never meet, are brought together, for Saul and Howard are very different from each other. Saul, an eleven year old, who can perform phenomenal memory tricks, and Howard, a lonely dropout, in his late twenties, someone whom society would rather forget about, embark on a runaway trip. As their journey progresses, Saul discovers much, which his parents over zealous protection has screened him from, whilst for Howard, it is a journey which brings him face to face which unresolved problems from his childhood. Adam Foulds writes with great sympathy and understand of his two main characters, but also brings the subsidiary characters to life. He often uses an almost telegraphic method of description, Saul's father is described as having a "billiard ball bottom" or "sheathing his buttocks" which conjure up an image of the whole man, and the description when some Russian friends get him drunk on vodka, had me reeling . But it is mainly the vividly told narrative, which drives this novel forward, and the great variety of characters whom they meet on their way, the man from the fish and chip shop, the lorry driver, the wino, and even a pederast who totally mistakes Howard's motives in his protection of young Saul, and finally the abject figure of Howard's father.
Adam Foulds writes with great perception and sympathy, and his prose has great variety and richness, and according to the jacket he is also a poet. An internet search has revealed that a narrative poem is to be published next year; judging by the quality of this first novel, that will be something to look forward to.
Through the circumstance of an elderly woman's death, two characters, who under normal circumstances would never meet, are brought together, for Saul and Howard are very different from each other. Saul, an eleven year old, who can perform phenomenal memory tricks, and Howard, a lonely dropout, in his late twenties, someone whom society would rather forget about, embark on a runaway trip. As their journey progresses, Saul discovers much, which his parents over zealous protection has screened him from, whilst for Howard, it is a journey which brings him face to face which unresolved problems from his childhood. Adam Foulds writes with great sympathy and understand of his two main characters, but also brings the subsidiary characters to life. He often uses an almost telegraphic method of description, Saul's father is described as having a "billiard ball bottom" or "sheathing his buttocks" which conjure up an image of the whole man, and the description when some Russian friends get him drunk on vodka, had me reeling . But it is mainly the vividly told narrative, which drives this novel forward, and the great variety of characters whom they meet on their way, the man from the fish and chip shop, the lorry driver, the wino, and even a pederast who totally mistakes Howard's motives in his protection of young Saul, and finally the abject figure of Howard's father.
Adam Foulds writes with great perception and sympathy, and his prose has great variety and richness, and according to the jacket he is also a poet. An internet search has revealed that a narrative poem is to be published next year; judging by the quality of this first novel, that will be something to look forward to.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What a great novel. I looked forward to Howard's each step with the kind of cringing anticipation one gets when hearing the first few stutters of a painfully awkward wedding toast. I was compelled to turn the page, but often times with one finger while remaining tightly coiled in expectation of what was ahead! I enjoyed being pulled along through Howard & Saul's odd, haphazardly therapeutic road trip - and at times responded audibly to the stunning descriptions. I saw the expressions of the "surprised" splatters of rain and the pulse of Saul's delicate skin along his world weary temple: it was a pleasure to read. And what of this big, greasy man dreaming of love and his beautiful little companion yearning to live? I enjoyed the contrast between this unlikely pair, and spending time in a world where a slightly bizarre and at times crusty version of redemption - of events at best unattractive and at worst sinister - is what bubbled up through the chip shop oil.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mid-way through this debut novel, I thought it would deserve a five-star review. The central characters, Howard and Saul, are well-drawn and likeable, and you really feel for them (some lovely stuff about parents achieving vicariously, through their children); the story is enjoyable, despite some plot improbabilities, and there are lots of laughs; and the quality of the writing is very high. (Although, as is so often the case, there are some truly awful sentences, which the editor hasn't improved because he/she was spending too much time in the marketing department. Thank you, Phoenix.)
But in the second half it all started falling apart. The plot became increasingly silly; Howard's confrontation with his father, which was being flagged up as a pivotal scene, was a very damp squib indeed; and the Russian immigrant sub-plot, which had until then been building to a potentially powerful conclusion, also fizzled out and (for me) failed to achieve the poignancy intended at its conclusion. It felt like the author hadn't thought it through adequately, and was running out of steam, and I was left with a sense of having been let down.
Adam Foulds undoubtedly has a great gift for comic writing and characterization, and I'm sure he'll write better novels than this. Much to enjoy, but if momentum fading away really annoys you, perhaps you should avoid this one.
But in the second half it all started falling apart. The plot became increasingly silly; Howard's confrontation with his father, which was being flagged up as a pivotal scene, was a very damp squib indeed; and the Russian immigrant sub-plot, which had until then been building to a potentially powerful conclusion, also fizzled out and (for me) failed to achieve the poignancy intended at its conclusion. It felt like the author hadn't thought it through adequately, and was running out of steam, and I was left with a sense of having been let down.
Adam Foulds undoubtedly has a great gift for comic writing and characterization, and I'm sure he'll write better novels than this. Much to enjoy, but if momentum fading away really annoys you, perhaps you should avoid this one.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Strange times - strange ending
Superbly minimal descriptive passages and poetic but not flowery language differentiate this novel from the rest. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. JG Brodie
Sadly disappointed.
I wanted so much to enjoy this novel. I do with any piece of literature, particularly when it is the work of a new and much lauded writer. Read more
Published on 17 July 2008 by rennej
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