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Absolute Beginners (Absolute Classics)
 
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Absolute Beginners (Absolute Classics) (Paperback)

by Colin MacInnes (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 203 pages
  • Publisher: Allison & Busby; New edition edition (14 Mar 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0749005408
  • ISBN-13: 978-0749005405
  • Product Dimensions: 19.9 x 13.2 x 1.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 656,450 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'Mr MacInnes is a lyrical celebrator of contemporary London, and above all, a writer with a purpose' Angus Wilson


Product Description

In a world of smoky jazz clubs, coffee bars and hip hang-outs in the centre of London's emerging youth culture, the young and restless - the Absolute Beginners - were creating a world as different as they dared from the traditional image of England's green and pleasant land.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute Beginners - An Absolute Winner, 10 Jun 2001
By A Customer
First published in the late 1950's, 'Absolute Beginners' effectively provides a blue-print for the "Swinging Sixties" before that decade had even begun! Through the eyes of our hero, an 'absolute beginner' in his final year as a teenager, MacInnes explores the new phenomenon of the teenager (MacInnes refers to this period as the'teenage ball') and in doing so provides a remarkable insight not just into the beliefs and social mores of late 50's Britain but also the beginnings of a youth culture that has endured to this day - that of the mod. However, the novel is more than just an exploration of teenage angst and rebellion, with MacInnes challenging the reader throughout the novel and illustrating the difficulty of crossing the 'shadow line' into adulthood when often it seems as if society itself is against you.

The novel therefore remains as 'fresh' and as relevant now as the day it was written and provides essential reading for anyone who enjoys literature that is both fast-paced, exciting and thought-provoking. 'Absolute Beginners' is all of these things and more.

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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolut Beginners, 10 Mar 2004
By Mr SC Norman (Orpington, Kent United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
Life changing, inspirational. A most amazing book. Full of the most amzing characters. Ed the Ted, in my opinion being the most wonderful character in English literature of the 20th century. reading this book will make you feel truly alive, and grasp at what is around you, almost 60 years since the scenes this book describes. Read it whether you are a mod, rocker, ted, rockabilly, suede or skin head.
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1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars All That Jazz., 19 Feb 2008
`Absolute Beginners' is the first novel about the then new phenomenon of the teenager. The teenager, or absolute beginner, central to the narrative doesn't make his name known to us but leads us through his world or Jazz Clubs and Coffee Houses in the company of his friends, or cats, Crepe Suzette, The Wizard and Mr Cool.

With its first person narrative in the teenage tongue of his generation it doesn't make for a comfortable read and tends to trivialise the race riots it describes. Famous for been a Mod Bible it works more as a bible for the marketing men of the sixties and the langue makes it reminiscent of George Harrison's solo scene in `Hard Days Night'.

MacInnes treatment of the race issue is not as profound as it was in his earlier book `City of Spades' and `Absolute Beginners' suffers from been an example of style over content next to it. Do you want to know what I miss most about being a teenager? Nothing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing.
Decided to read this book because one of the DJ's on Radio London said it was one of his all time favourite books, and as I normally enjoy his show I decided to give it a go. Read more
Published 1 month ago by K. J. Dean

2.0 out of 5 stars Crudely written
I found a copy of this book in a junk shop last week, and picked it up out of curiosity. I recalled that it had the status of a cult classic, and remembered the film adaption of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jeremy Walton

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