See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Zigzag Way
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Zigzag Way (Paperback)

by Anita Desai (Author)
2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


17 used from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 41 used & new from £0.01
Paperback (Reprint) 20 used & new from £1.50

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Animal's People

Animal's People

by Indra Sinha
4.7 out of 5 stars (23)  £8.39
The Village by the Sea

The Village by the Sea

by Anita Desai
3.7 out of 5 stars (7)  £4.49
The Death of Mr.Love

The Death of Mr.Love

by Indra Sinha
4.8 out of 5 stars (4)  £5.99
The White Tiger

The White Tiger

by Aravind Adiga
3.7 out of 5 stars (103)  £3.84
A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns

by Khaled Hosseini
4.7 out of 5 stars (299)  £3.86
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 182 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; Export/airport Ed edition (7 April 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099484943
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099484943
  • Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 126,878 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #11 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > D > Desai, Anita
    #41 in  Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction: 1970 Onwards > Women's Popular Fiction

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review
"She is one of the best English language novelists of modern times."
--"Daily Telegraph"
"Desai has a gift of opening up a closed world and making it clearly visible."
--"Sunday Times" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Daily Telegraph
'She is one of the best English language novelists of modern times' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Product Description

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Zigzag Way
38% buy the item featured on this page:
The Zigzag Way 2.5 out of 5 stars (4)
Animal's People
30% buy
Animal's People 4.7 out of 5 stars (23)
£8.39
The Village by the Sea
18% buy
The Village by the Sea 3.7 out of 5 stars (7)
£4.49
The Death of Mr.Love
14% buy
The Death of Mr.Love 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A luminous novel set in Mexico, 3 Nov 2006
By Philippe Horak (Zug, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Zigzag Way (Hardcover)
Eric O'Brien is an uncertain and awkward young man, a would-be writer and a traveller in spite of himself. Happy to follow his more confident girlfriend Em to Mexico, he is overwhelmed with sensory overload and gradually seduced by the strangeness, the colour, the mysteries of an older world and its celebrations of the Dia de los Muertos. He finds himself in a curious quest for his own family in a ghost mining town, now barely inhabited, where almost a hundred years earlier young Cornish miners worked the rich seams in the earth. Until Pancho Villa and revolution came to Mexico.
A recording of this novel is available from BBC Audiobooks and Eleanor Bron's reading is truly breathtaking. Highly recommended.
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing really, 31 Dec 2008
By E. Smith (U.K.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Zigzag Way (Paperback)
Having not read any of Desai's books before, but having heard good things about Desai, this book was a major disappointment.

The writing was predictable, the characters one dimensional and 'formulaic', the use of the Mexican setting and 'day of the dead' did nothing for the storyline and did not do the vibrant country and culture justice.

I may give other books of Desai's a go, but this one was not very good sadly.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2.0 out of 5 stars A skeleton of a book, 7 Nov 2008
By Sonia (Delft, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Zigzag Way (Paperback)
The Zigzag Way is a short novel about a young man who follows his scientist girl friend to Mexico, in order to get inspiration for his writing. When in Mexico, he comes across Dona Vera, a haughty European woman, that runs a anthropological research centre in Mexico and holds a grudge against the past mining companies and workers in the region. This encounter prompts Eric to search for his family's mining past, particularly his paternal grandmother.

After finishing this book I was confused. It seems like the story had only just begun. I was expecting to learn more about Eric and his choices, and particularly why he was reaching out to the past, but the author did not elaborate. Also, no explanation was given for Dona Vera's behaviour, there are only some references to ghosts from the past, but it all goes by so quickly, that it's almost as if the author got fed up with writing the book and decided to cut it short, a point one of my fellow reviewers also made.
I could not identify with any of the characters, because I don't feel I was given the opportunity in so short a novel. Also, I found the prose unnecessarily complex and lyrical.

I think this could have a been a great novel if the author had put more life into it. Unfortunately, it reads like a skeleton of a book, a framework that needs to be reworked and expanded.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars disappointing
im happy i didnt buy this book and only got it from the libary because what i waste of money it would have been. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Karen

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

  

Let Olay Amaze You

Olay Total Effects Day Moisturiser SPF15 50ml
Amazon.co.uk sells all your favourite ranges from Olay, including Regenerist and Total Effects.

›Discover Olay at Amazon.co.uk

  

Up to 53% off Braun Series Shavers

Braun Series 3 390cc Clean & Renew System Rechargeable Foil Electric Shaver
Get in touch with your smooth side with Braun Series shavers, now with Gillette blade technology.

›Discover Braun Series at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (73)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (462)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (164)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (80)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates