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"Wise, funny, and important...A book that is entirely worth a reader's time."
FHM
'Barking mad, but brilliant'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
First things first: not much actually happens in Voyage to the End of the Room. In fact the title suggests just that. It is, succinctly, a great novel for writers who aren't afraid to read something a little different. Once again this novel showcases Fischer's deft hand at writing witty, catching prose which is so ultimately his domain. No one else could possibly have been successful in a novel like this, and none could possibly have made it work either.
However Fischer does seem to get rather bogged down in the flashback to Oceane's experiences working in a sex-club in Barcelona for whatever reasons. I was rather more eager to get onto her tracking Dudley's globtrotting search to uncover whether her ex is actually alive, and if not, why she's receiving letters, the original reason I bought the novel. But then, this is a Tibor Fischer novel, and the whole novel works, but only because of Fischer's ability with his use of language.
Voyage to the End of the Room, like it's protagonist, is odd, but entirely charming. If you hadn't fallen in love with Fischer before, this might just ease you into his style. It's light entertainment which proves to be a little thought-provoking, if only he had stayed a little bit more interested on finding Ocean's ex, rather than her past.
However Fischer does seem to get rather bogged down in the flashback to Oceane's experiences working in a sex-club in Barcelona for whatever reasons. I was rather more eager to get onto her tracking Dudley's globtrotting search to uncover whether her ex is actually alive, and if not, why she's receiving letters, the original reason I bought the novel. But then, this is a Tibor Fischer novel, and the whole novel works, but only because of Fischer's ability with his use of language.
Voyage to the End of the Room, like it's protagonist, is odd, but entirely charming. If you hadn't fallen in love with Fischer before, this might just ease you into his style. It's light entertainment which proves to be a little thought-provoking, if only he had stayed a little bit more interested on finding Ocean's ex, rather than her past.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Voyage To The End Of The Room succeeds as a result of Tibor Fischer's incredibly creative use of language. On most pages there will be a phrase or sentence which has enough originality to suggest it couldn't have been written by anyone else. The use of language suggests a real playfulness and wit, an approach to words from some of their less frequented etymologies and shades of meaning. And this is done without the inventiveness being irritating. It suits the narrator and offered a griphandle on her identity and character.
The lack of much by way of a plot is completely unimportant. Rather than the novel being as incoherent or unstructured as that suggests, "Voyage" does have a story to tell and its told through a mosaic of individual histories set in a few particular places. Those are London, the Spanish sex club (which could have been anywhere), Yugoslavia and Chuuk. For a novel whose central character is an agoraphobic ex-dancer the novel's broad footprint is impressive and is another of the book's many jokes.
There is a conservative, misanthropic undercurrent to this novel but somehow despite this it does have a human message (if you like this kind of thing).
Finally, yes, congratulations to the art director for a very eye-hooking front cover. Too often this kind of pretty photography is cheesy bait on a mousetrap novel. In this instance the choice of photo was a good lure into a cleverly written take on the straggling mess of a certain approach to living.
This book probably won't change your life but it is miles better than four evenings watching television.
The lack of much by way of a plot is completely unimportant. Rather than the novel being as incoherent or unstructured as that suggests, "Voyage" does have a story to tell and its told through a mosaic of individual histories set in a few particular places. Those are London, the Spanish sex club (which could have been anywhere), Yugoslavia and Chuuk. For a novel whose central character is an agoraphobic ex-dancer the novel's broad footprint is impressive and is another of the book's many jokes.
There is a conservative, misanthropic undercurrent to this novel but somehow despite this it does have a human message (if you like this kind of thing).
Finally, yes, congratulations to the art director for a very eye-hooking front cover. Too often this kind of pretty photography is cheesy bait on a mousetrap novel. In this instance the choice of photo was a good lure into a cleverly written take on the straggling mess of a certain approach to living.
This book probably won't change your life but it is miles better than four evenings watching television.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Voyage to the end of the Room" was, as others have noted below, largely a collection of invented anecdotes that have no cohesion or unifying theme. More importantly, they are not amusing, interesting or plausible anecdotes. It takes more than this to make a novel.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Most readers who put down a newspaper certainly feel qualified to rule...
Tibor Fischer is an acquired taste and seems to divide reviewers equally along the lines of: `empty, meaningless, gabble', and `flashing witty prose'. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Eileen Shaw
Voyage to the end of the room - but not much further
I found it hard to know exactly what I thought of this book. I liked the set up a lot, we learn about a woman who never leaves her flat and has clearly had an intriguing life. Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2009 by starski
baffled by slating reviews
I was surprised to find such a brutal consensus on what I consider one of my all-time favourites.
This was my first Tibor Fischer, and I've never looked back. Read more
This was my first Tibor Fischer, and I've never looked back. Read more
Published on 14 Oct 2008 by keziah
A pretty lengthy 251-page book
I thought this was the type of book you pick up only because you needed another one to complete a "3 for 2" deal. Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2006 by h.j.
compared to his usual standards, a duffer
Fischer is usually a staggeringly inventive writer (see Thought Gang, Under the Frog, Collector Collector) so it comes as a bit of a surprise when this one is so mediocre. Read more
Published on 20 May 2005 by Jon Swan
Voyage to the end of the book
I'm not sure why I bought the book, I'm not sure what I liked about it, I'm not sure what it was about. Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2004
Voyage to the end of boredom
I bought this book as it apparently was of the same style as Platform. Unfortunately it has been a very disappointing read. Read more
Published on 16 July 2004
Come to my Bookcase
I bought this book because "people who ordered x, also ordered Voyage to the End of the Room". It was a whim. Thanks for the suggestion. I loved it. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2004
Not really very good
Tibor Fischer has written a couple of other amusing, intermittently clever novels (The Thought Gang, Under the Frog). Read more
Published on 16 Dec 2003
Voyage back to the bookshop
Like another reviewer, I bought this book because I saw it in FHM magazine and liked the cover. The cover remains my favourite part of the book. Read more
Published on 10 Dec 2003 by "huckfin"
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