Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gentle existentialism, or a novel about a normal bloke, 8 Aug 2005
Glass's debut novel covers the well-trodden ground of the man who finds himself without meaning, purpose or occupation, but in covering this ground Glass safely navigates between the extremes that often gives such novels an air of unreality.I'm not spoiling the plot by saying that Glass's characters live neither happily nor miserably after. Glass somehow manages to capture that slightly underwhelming, messy, sometimes-disappointing-but-you-can't-put-your-finger-on-it aspect of living. Gentle existentialism you might say. Abe, the main character, is thrown into the world and is faced with its absurdities, but No Fireworks doesn't jump up and down on your head with angst. Like all of us, Abe glimpses these absurdities (when seeing his daughter-in-law run out on her family leaving only a list of demands, speaking to his rabbi in the middle of the night, or having the world explained to him by earnest teenage Christians in a charity shop), before they fall from his grasp as they become part of the indistinguishable morass of things that are normal. Glass's hero does little more than bumble along, generally failing to escape habits of thought and action that characters in lesser novels infuriatingly throw off in moments of unrealistic epiphany. In other words, Glass has Abe do what we do: try to impose meaning in an up-and-down world, and largely fail. The book isn't perfect- some phrases feel constructed (whereas truly great writing makes you wonder how one could ever write the particular content in any other way) but the style is still fresh enough to surprise and even delight at times. Indeed, and not only because it touches on Jewishness but for its feel as well, No Fireworks reminds me of Mordecai Richler's work. Anyway, it went down very well indeed in an armchair in the sun on a summer's day.
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6 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like chewing gum, only without the sore jaws afterwards., 23 Mar 2006
By A Customer
I can only assume that this is Rodge Glass' first novel, simply due to the fact that his main character's first name begins with the letter 'A' - how else would you explain this? Furthermore, first novels are usually noticeable from their existentialism and this novel is rife with existentialism. But not in a bad way.I can only assume that Rodge Glass is himself a jew; this wonderful novel discusses the religion and gives the reader a futilitation of its parts. The fact that he seems to know what he is talking about is, of course, a blessing. There's nothing worse than an author trying to talk about something they know nothing about. In terms of characters, I liked Boaby the megalomaniac cat. However, Rodge Glass fails to mention this character at all in the novel; something he should have thought about before sending it to the printing press. The story itself is funny, sad and purple. The only real criticism I can offer is that Rodge Glass didn't make his novel more like a Maeve Binchy novel; there are no incidents of a woman overcoming her fear of computers or dusting off cakes in time for dinner. I feel this novel would have benifited much from being a bit more like a Maeve Binchy story. All in all, however, this is a rather splendid book despite no mention of Carol Decker or T'Pau whatsoever. I reccommend it to anyone who likes to read. It smells nice, too.
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1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A happy customer writes a review with his hands..., 16 Mar 2008
Having never read a book before, I wasn't sure I really knew how. "Where better to start?" I thought (althought when I thought it, I did not have the quotation marks. I believed this to be suspicious until I realised that I wasn't quoting - I was thinking).
Now, the first thing you need to know about this book is that you should not get confused by the title. It is not a protest against explosion-based leisure activities. It is a work of fiction.
This book begins at a funeral. I spotted the irony directly, as most people do not begin at a funeral. The added soupçon of mirth is that the protagonist does not begin at the funeral either. He is a man who was born. Ah yes, this Glass is a wit.
I found the best way to enjoy this book is to start at the left side and leaf through the pages (keep in mind that you must also read the print) until you reach the very right side of the book. At this point you will have read it. You can then put it down.
BUT NOT BEFORE THEN!!!
Notes from the dead, airport child-violence, Judaism... which other book
combines these elements? This is not a rhetorical question. It's the first book I've ever read.
Now that I know how to read a book I think I might give the bible a go. I do love a good romp. Fictionally speaking, of course.
Well done Mr Glass.
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by Rodge Glass
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DVD ~ Martina Gedeck
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