20 used & new from £0.01

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Tourist
 
 

Tourist (Paperback)

by Matt Thorne (Author) "It takes five steps to get into the light ..." (more)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


3 new from £0.87 16 used from £0.01 1 collectible from £0.98

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Cherry

Cherry

by Matt Thorne
Eight Minutes Idle

Eight Minutes Idle

by Matt Thorne
Wetlands

Wetlands

by Charlotte Roche
2.6 out of 5 stars (87)  £5.57
Something to Tell You

Something to Tell You

by Hanif Kureishi
2.7 out of 5 stars (12)  £4.79
The Black Album

The Black Album

by Hanif Kureishi
3.5 out of 5 stars (11)  £4.79
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Phoenix; New edition edition (5 April 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0753811375
  • ISBN-13: 978-0753811375
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,282,132 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Product Description

'Thorne's clear, deep, slightly sardonic style is a real find and eschews youthful show-offery to create a story with many levels, and characters whose frayed edges cast them in sharp relief against a background of a decaying tourist town. Tourist, the story of an attempt to shrug off all-town boredom by creating a futuristic nightclub, is an understated triumph' The Big Issue 'In clear and intelligent prose, Thorne portrays the sad sickliness of those who try to make a lifestyle out of a place that should only be visited. The subculture of this seaside town will hang around like the aroma of old chips' Gill Hornby, Times


From the Author

Tourist
I wrote Tourist between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-three, while living in St. Andrews in Scotland. The story is set in Weston-Super-Mare, a seaside town near Bristol, and it's about a woman called Sarah who is involved with three men (her boss, a fourtysomething man called Paul, a wealthy seventy year old called Henry, and later, a student called Neil.) The book has been described as 'as sad as a Sunday and as sexy as a scar' by Julie Burchill, and an amoral comedy everywhere else. It is sad and it is funny too, and is told in the first person from Sarah's perspective. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
It takes five steps to get into the light. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

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
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Cherry
53% buy
Cherry 3.9 out of 5 stars (8)
Tourist
32% buy the item featured on this page:
Tourist 3.7 out of 5 stars (6)
Eight Minutes Idle
15% buy
Eight Minutes Idle 3.7 out of 5 stars (15)

 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, 29 Nov 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Tourist (Paperback)
Achingly slow, oddly erotic. One of my favourite books ever
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Good atmosphere, at least, 8 May 2003
This review is from: Tourist (Paperback)
This is the first Matt Thorne book I've read. At first I loved it, the atmosphere of the dead seaside town is dead spot on, the the emptiness of the character's lives is reflected in their town, and the town's emptiness in them. I also though Matt was incredibly ambitious to write his first book in the first person of a female character, but he seems to have succeeded in making her believable. But then I'm not a woman, so I'm not sure.

I quickly got bored though, once I'd gotten over being impressed by atmospherics. The book didn't go anywhere, it just trod water for half the time, muddy, sewage filled, cold sea water.

And then there was the sex scenes. I know many people applaud Matt for his ability to write them, but they're just ugly and pointless. At first I thought they fitted well, as a demonstration of the characters trying to fill their lives with something, but halfway through I'd start thinking "oh, yet another sex scene" and start skimming forwards. Why be against describing your characters' appearances, or their locations, but be all for detailed descriptions of them doing it with each other, again and again and again?

Still, I was impressed with much of his writing, and Matt Thorne certainly has an ability to evoke powerful images when he tries to.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars where's the plot?, 26 Sep 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Tourist (Paperback)
Matt Thorne's first novel is okay on atmosphere, but it doesn't really go anywhere and he never gets inside the head of his female narrator. It reads like he just sat down and wrote it, without really stopping to plan where it was going to go. Yet another example of someone being hyped up solely because of their age. Sometimes there's no substitute for experience. I was also puzzled by the author photo on the back, apparently showing young Matt standing in front of a urinal. Surely not the image he was intending to send out!!!
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

3.0 out of 5 stars Not his best
I've been a fan of Matt Thorne's books for a couple of years now and have read them all. Athough I enjoyed this novel, which is written in Matt's usual, amazingly atmospheric... Read more
Published on 13 Jul 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars Hottest Young Novelist Around...
Weston Super Mare has everything a British seaside town should have: a bleak, transient feel; kitsch arcades and oddly impotent nightclubs. Read more
Published on 24 May 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent first novel from this author - buy it!
A gripping read from first time novelist, Matt Thorne based around a British seaside town. The characters come alive as this novel evolves. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 1999

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

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


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

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