- Hardcover: 302 pages
- Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd; First edition (7 Feb 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 184195988X
- ISBN-13: 978-1841959887
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 594,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
We Are Now Beginning Our Descent
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Review
"* 'The People's Act of Love is the best and most original book that I have read for years.' - Louis de Bernieres * 'Spellbinding.' - Irvine Welsh * 'Startlingly original.' - Mail on Sunday (The People's Act of Love) * 'One of the best novels published for years.' - Independent (The People's Act of Love)"
Mail on Sunday
... A brilliantly constructed contemporary novel, written with considerable style and illuminated with wit and intelligence on almost every page.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
James Meek's latest book, We Are Now Beginning Our Descent is a more contemporary narrative than that of his previous novel, The People's Act of Love. Adam Kellas, a British journalist reporting from Afghanistan, falls in love with the enigmatic Astrid, only to be separated from her. His love for her and other doubts lead him to abandon his old friends and set off in search of Astrid. At the same time, Kellas is attempting to push through a glossy war-thriller novel for publication, but questions its artistic credibility.
This latter narrative strand, along with Meek's own journalistic past, means that it is tempting to view We Are Now Beginning Our Descent as autobiographical to a certain extent, or at least addresses issues directly relevant to Meek's own experiences in writing. One passage in particular suggests as much, when Kellas' friend M'Gurgan contemplates how and why people write. He suggests that there are two kinds of writers - bards, who write principally to entertain people ("He remembers the people he meets and makes history out of things that have only just happened") and priests, who search for higher meanings and ideas ("The way the priest sees it, truth is more important than happiness").
From the evidence here however it seems Meek is comfortable with both approaches. The book is a fast paced, entertaining read, but also raises big questions about the modern world - such as how can a war-time journalist ever be detached from the conflict he is reporting on? Or how can love survive in a world of such huge distances? (A point emphasised by the many different locations.) However, whilst accomplished and at times thought-provoking, I believe Meek capable of better. None of the characters inspire much sympathy or interest (Kellas in particular has little likeable about him) and few sections linger long in the mind after you have put the book down. Having said that, if you read and enjoyed The People's Act of Love then We Are Now Beginning Our Descent is well worth checking out - it illustrates Meek's imaginative breadth and his thoughts on the written word as a tool for entertainment and enlightenment. I would certainly recommend you read The People's Act of Love first however.
This latter narrative strand, along with Meek's own journalistic past, means that it is tempting to view We Are Now Beginning Our Descent as autobiographical to a certain extent, or at least addresses issues directly relevant to Meek's own experiences in writing. One passage in particular suggests as much, when Kellas' friend M'Gurgan contemplates how and why people write. He suggests that there are two kinds of writers - bards, who write principally to entertain people ("He remembers the people he meets and makes history out of things that have only just happened") and priests, who search for higher meanings and ideas ("The way the priest sees it, truth is more important than happiness").
From the evidence here however it seems Meek is comfortable with both approaches. The book is a fast paced, entertaining read, but also raises big questions about the modern world - such as how can a war-time journalist ever be detached from the conflict he is reporting on? Or how can love survive in a world of such huge distances? (A point emphasised by the many different locations.) However, whilst accomplished and at times thought-provoking, I believe Meek capable of better. None of the characters inspire much sympathy or interest (Kellas in particular has little likeable about him) and few sections linger long in the mind after you have put the book down. Having said that, if you read and enjoyed The People's Act of Love then We Are Now Beginning Our Descent is well worth checking out - it illustrates Meek's imaginative breadth and his thoughts on the written word as a tool for entertainment and enlightenment. I would certainly recommend you read The People's Act of Love first however.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
James Meek's reading in Blackwell's, Edinburgh last night showed his audience that the only thing more exciting than reading his books is listening to him be so articulate about them. We Are Now Beginning Our Descent (one of my favourite title choices in ages) is completely different from The People's Act of Love, but likewise says something original and true about how people operate now, in a war-fatigued, globalised world. It was great to see the range of readers the book has attracted, judging from the other audience members at Meek's gig yesterday - everyone from retired Edinburgh literati to young immigrants (and his sister, artist Joanna Kane).
Yet it isn't only a political novel or a war novel - it describes what it's like for a disillusioned man to alienate himself from his friends (spectacularly), become convinced he's in love, allow his emotions to fly him to rural America and then have his expectations thrown for a loop by the strange, complicated woman he elected to fall for. The book asks fascinating questions: how many different ways are there to sell out? When we feel things most strongly, is it because we're deceiving ourselves more than usual? This fairly miserable character, Adam Kellas, has a strange pull on the reader, and it all rings weirdly true.
Yet it isn't only a political novel or a war novel - it describes what it's like for a disillusioned man to alienate himself from his friends (spectacularly), become convinced he's in love, allow his emotions to fly him to rural America and then have his expectations thrown for a loop by the strange, complicated woman he elected to fall for. The book asks fascinating questions: how many different ways are there to sell out? When we feel things most strongly, is it because we're deceiving ourselves more than usual? This fairly miserable character, Adam Kellas, has a strange pull on the reader, and it all rings weirdly true.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I must be one of the few people reading this new book by Meek who HAVEN'T read 2006's favourite "The People's Act of Love". I bought "We Are Now Beginning..." because I loved Meek's short story about the devil trying to tempt a woman who has given up material goods; the devil almost falls in love with her he gets so obsessed with her lack of interest in him... In a way I can see how this (AMAZING) book relates to that story. Although on the surface this is a book about a war reporter, "embedded" in Afghanistan, it's really about love and how that works.
Let me tell you just some of the good things about this book:
1) there is some absolutely beautiful writing: "Big broken Soviet helicopter gunships sat in the mulberry groves like worn-out hounds slumped in the shade".
2) there are some of those thoughts that you ponder over for hours afterwards: "Now he wondered if the meeting of eyes, even lovers' eyes, was nothing but a more refined form of blindness."
or: "Here it was almost impossile to distinguish between constancy to a cause and madness. If you wanted to be virtuous, you had to accept that virtue would have a crooked shape."
3) it has the genuine tang of a book written by someone who's actually been there, who is confident in writing about a place and telling you things about it you might never have imagined. The moment that Kellas (the main character) realises that his translator, Mohammed, might not be all that glad to have exchanged shalwar kameez for a suit - says it all.
The bits of the book I liked least were the bits set in Camden! Amongst media folk! they were the least believable bit for me!! And there's also a great section (I don't want to spoil any of it) set in America.
Really, really read this book. It's enjoyable, it's not heavy, but it's something completely different to anything else you might see. I think it would appeal to Ian McEwan readers, but it's much more poetically written. And it has a kind of love story too - a gorgeous ambiguous version of a love story.
A real cut above.
Let me tell you just some of the good things about this book:
1) there is some absolutely beautiful writing: "Big broken Soviet helicopter gunships sat in the mulberry groves like worn-out hounds slumped in the shade".
2) there are some of those thoughts that you ponder over for hours afterwards: "Now he wondered if the meeting of eyes, even lovers' eyes, was nothing but a more refined form of blindness."
or: "Here it was almost impossile to distinguish between constancy to a cause and madness. If you wanted to be virtuous, you had to accept that virtue would have a crooked shape."
3) it has the genuine tang of a book written by someone who's actually been there, who is confident in writing about a place and telling you things about it you might never have imagined. The moment that Kellas (the main character) realises that his translator, Mohammed, might not be all that glad to have exchanged shalwar kameez for a suit - says it all.
The bits of the book I liked least were the bits set in Camden! Amongst media folk! they were the least believable bit for me!! And there's also a great section (I don't want to spoil any of it) set in America.
Really, really read this book. It's enjoyable, it's not heavy, but it's something completely different to anything else you might see. I think it would appeal to Ian McEwan readers, but it's much more poetically written. And it has a kind of love story too - a gorgeous ambiguous version of a love story.
A real cut above.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Superb and thoughtful book
We Are Now Beginning Our Descent is the story of Adam Kellas, a left leaning journalist we first see reporting for an British (Scottish? Read more
Published 3 months ago by Bacchus
mixed feelings
Like many reviewers I have mixed feelings about this book. The language is at times dazzling and though Adam is not a wholly likeable character I felt sympathetic towards him and... Read more
Published 19 months ago by meg keir
relationships
Adam Kellas, English journalist, meets Astrid Walsh, American journalist, when they are covering Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. They become close. Read more
Published on 17 May 2010 by SusieH
Let down by a book I was looking forward to
I was really looking forward to this; 'The People's Act of Love' was a quite outstanding achievement and the blurb for this sounded great, but overall I feel let down. Read more
Published on 27 Sep 2009 by Asmar Chaudhry, Manchester, UK
Simply Overrated
I decided to read "The People's Act of Love" because although it was not the subject of a review programme, nonetheless one of the reviewers mentioned it in passing with glowing,... Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2009 by Herman Norford
we are now beginning our descent
Certainly not as good as his last book, it somehow lacks direction, I am not sure quite what he wants to say. Read more
Published on 29 May 2009 by Mrs. J. Griffiths
Disappointing
It is most unusual for me not to finish a book. In this case I read as far as page 80 which I felt gave the author a reasonable opportunity to capture my attention, excite my... Read more
Published on 14 May 2009 by Dr. David Griffiths
Second novel syndrome
As a fan of Meek's debut novel, I might applaud his veering off in a completely different style and direction for the follow up, had it not smacked of being horribly rushed for... Read more
Published on 21 July 2008 by Gary Swing
Ghosts of Intimacy within the Violent Touch of War
"I want to see you now. I want you to come to me."
We Are Now Beginning Our Descent is a well crafted and constructed novel that gets inside the head of Adam Kellas as... Read more
We Are Now Beginning Our Descent is a well crafted and constructed novel that gets inside the head of Adam Kellas as... Read more
Published on 22 May 2008 by Emma French
Forced Landing
Anyone expecting a great follow up to James Meek's brilliant The People's Act of Love is in for a disappointment. Read more
Published on 9 May 2008 by Oliver Redfern
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