Whatever It Is, I Don't Like It: The Best of Howard Jacobson
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Review
Praise for The Finkler Question: 'The depth of human understanding and lightness of touch combine in beautiful and compelling ways. It is all that it seems and always more than it seems: plangent, forthright but subtle, always melancholy and funny' Sir Andrew Motion 'A real giant, a great, great writer' Jonathan Safran Foer 'Another masterpiece ... How is it possible to read Howard Jacobson and not lose oneself in admiration for the music of his language, the power of his characterisation and the penetration of his insight?' The Times 'Brilliant ... The greatest novelist working in Britain today' Mail on Sunday
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Praise for The Finkler Question: 'The depth of human understanding and lightness of touch combine in beautiful and compelling ways. It is all that it seems and always more than it seems: plangent, forthright but subtle, always melancholy and funny' Sir Andrew Motion 'A real giant, a great, great writer' Jonathan Safran Foer 'Another masterpiece ... How is it possible to read Howard Jacobson and not lose oneself in admiration for the music of his language, the power of his characterisation and the penetration of his insight?' The Times 'Brilliant ... The greatest novelist working in Britain today' Mail on Sunday
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Firstly a warning: do not be put off by the title of this book. A reasonable inference would be to think that this book is the collected grumblings of a grumpy old man. Either that or Jeremy Clarkson's latest offering.
Not so. Although Jacobson is frequently angry and idignant in these selected newspaper pieces, and though he is now a gent of a certain vintage, this book as a whole covers a far wider emotional and intellectual range. Nor does he write about cars much. And it turns out he actually likes quite a lot, too.
Chief among his loves has got to be the english language and the good old fashioned essay. How many times have you read a column in a newspaper and thought "what a load of..." or "how much was this hack paid to dash this off?". You could never level these charges at Jacobson, since at his best he shapes and hones the language of his journalism as much as he does in his novels. As for the structure of his columns, they aren't rambling or inconsequential in the way of many another columnist I could mention (try some of Jacobson's lesser Independent colleagues for a start). In fact, you could give any one of these pieces to an A Level student as an object lesson in how to set out one's stall, elegantly develop a line of argument and come to a pithy conclusion. I think Jacobson would quite like that, since the state of education in modern day Britain is something he returns to more than once.
The best thing I can say about these pieces is that, just like his novels, they will make you laugh but they will also make you think. You may agree with him at times, just as you will disagree with him at others. But Jacobson never ever gives less than his best and never wastes his readers' time. Just as well, then, that his best newspaper pieces have been collected here, since they probably will be still read when The Independent and all the other print newspapers have gone the way of the dodo.
So rather than lump this book in with the ramblings of all the other grumpy old men, keep it instead with your collection of columns by writers like Kurt Vonnegut ("A Man Without a Country") and Primo Levi ("Other People's Trades"): good men and first-rate writers with something original to say, and a precise, elegant style in which to say it.
Not so. Although Jacobson is frequently angry and idignant in these selected newspaper pieces, and though he is now a gent of a certain vintage, this book as a whole covers a far wider emotional and intellectual range. Nor does he write about cars much. And it turns out he actually likes quite a lot, too.
Chief among his loves has got to be the english language and the good old fashioned essay. How many times have you read a column in a newspaper and thought "what a load of..." or "how much was this hack paid to dash this off?". You could never level these charges at Jacobson, since at his best he shapes and hones the language of his journalism as much as he does in his novels. As for the structure of his columns, they aren't rambling or inconsequential in the way of many another columnist I could mention (try some of Jacobson's lesser Independent colleagues for a start). In fact, you could give any one of these pieces to an A Level student as an object lesson in how to set out one's stall, elegantly develop a line of argument and come to a pithy conclusion. I think Jacobson would quite like that, since the state of education in modern day Britain is something he returns to more than once.
The best thing I can say about these pieces is that, just like his novels, they will make you laugh but they will also make you think. You may agree with him at times, just as you will disagree with him at others. But Jacobson never ever gives less than his best and never wastes his readers' time. Just as well, then, that his best newspaper pieces have been collected here, since they probably will be still read when The Independent and all the other print newspapers have gone the way of the dodo.
So rather than lump this book in with the ramblings of all the other grumpy old men, keep it instead with your collection of columns by writers like Kurt Vonnegut ("A Man Without a Country") and Primo Levi ("Other People's Trades"): good men and first-rate writers with something original to say, and a precise, elegant style in which to say it.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Howard Jacobson's articles in the Saturday edition of "The Independent" have been a source of joy and stimulation for many years. I never could understand why they were not published in book form. Well, here they are (or ar least some of them) and this book is a treasure. Its publication is a fitting end to a wonderful and joyous year for Howard.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a compendium well worth reading. Jacobson is characteristically precise, thought-provoking and witty throughout. Amongst his targets are both trivialisation and hyperbole, both hate and undue sympathising. He writes delightfully about diverse topics - love, compassion, sex, innocence, incompetence. Genial and balanced, whimsical but passionate, and funny throughout.
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