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Gents (Paperback)

by Warwick Collins (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Customers buy this book with Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Gents + Purple Hibiscus
Price For Both: £10.70

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  • This item: Gents by Warwick Collins

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

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Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: The Friday Project Limited (1 Sep 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1905548761
  • ISBN-13: 978-1905548767
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 383,202 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Synopsis
Ezekial Murphy, a West Indian immigrant, takes up a new job as an attendant at a large London lavatory. The supervisor, Josiah Reynolds, and Jason, a third West Indian, explain that their main problem is the casual sex which takes place in the cubicles. Under pressure from the council authorities to reduce such behaviour, they expect Ez to help them in 'cleaning out the swamp'. Each of the protagonists brings his own moral assumptions to the question. Ez, a devout Adventist, is shocked by such revelations. Jason, a Rastafarian, believes that this kind of sex occurs because 'Whitey' is inherently corrupt. Reynolds, who takes more pragmatic view, is concerned to prevent further illicit encounters in case the council attempts to close the establishment down. Subtly influenced by the women in their lives, Ez, Reynolds and Jason - their future employment prospects in jeopardy -- must take a fresh look at their work and at themselves!

About the Author
Warwick Collins is the author of a number of previously acclaimed novels, including the two other works in the trilogy, The Marriage Of Souls and The Rationalist, Computer One and the international best-seller, Gents. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

124 Reviews
5 star:
 (25)
4 star:
 (46)
3 star:
 (35)
2 star:
 (15)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (124 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, lightweight read, 8 Mar 2008
By G. J. Oxley "Gaz" (Tyne & Wear, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
So, this short novel (it's not long enough to be a novel in point of fact, it's actually a novelette) is a parable, and a fairly simple one at that. But there's nothing wrong with simplicity in the right hands.

The relationship between the main characters - three West Indians responsible for running a Gents' public toilet - is nicely captured and full of humour. They refer to the numerous cottagers who frequent the place as 'reptiles', and take action to deter them, by 'draining the swamp'. However, such is the popularity of the place with homosexuals that this leads to a loss of income, meaning keeping the place open becomes uneconomic.

Near the end, one of the West Indians - Jason - eventually leaves to return to Jamaica with his two women in tow. He's disillusioned with 'whitey', considering us to be cold - just like the reptiles who visit the toilets.

The final solution to keeping the place open involves a volte-face from the two remaining men running the 'establishment'.

I was actually enjoying the book immensely until the ending - which let it down somewhat. In fact I was vaguely uncomfortable with it. But some scenes resonate in the mind and occasionally take the book to a higher level.

The claims about this being a 'masterpiece' and a 'startling, wonderful book' are nonsense; it's nothing of the kind. It is however an engaging read for the most part, but too throwaway to be considered a classic.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars High expectations not quite realised, 20 Dec 2007
By joc66 (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
This is a short book - I read the whole thing in just a few hours - set in a Gents toilet in London. Now this isn't the sort of novel I usually pick up, but as many people have recommended this to me as an overlooked gem, I thought I would give it a go. The three main characters work in the Gents toilets, and there are also appearances by their spouses, the son of one, the minister, and a lady from the council. They are told by the council that they have got to 'clean up' the conveniences of the activities of 'reptiles' in the cubicles or else they may lose their jobs if the Gents is closed down. There are some comic moments as they strive to achieve their objective (getting the lady from the council to sniff a broom handle - you need to read the book to get the joke!), and the ultimate message of the book seems to be that you should be careful what you wish for because things may not turn out as you expect, and also that you may end up doing things you wouldn't expect either. Another review has observed that there don't appear to be big messages about race or sexual orientation, and I think that's probably true and this may have been an opportunity missed.
The prose style felt somewhat awkward to me at times, but this was nevertheless an enjoyable and different read, although I don't think it quite realised the high expectations I had of it. Definitely worth a look, although not one of my favourite reads.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and minimal, 30 Dec 2007
By Mr. A. L. Johnson "ajo99" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
This short book tackles issues of homophobia and racism in a non-judgemental way, treating the reader as an observing adult.

I read it in under two hours and felt nourished by the experience. If only more novelists wrote so well - not a word wasted, and every word chosen carefully. The author conjures images, sounds, and smells from sparsely written descriptions. The characters are described by the actions and their reactions to each other, rather than by the author telling us what each character feels.

I would heartily recommend this book - it is set in a world we occasionally visit, but know little about.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Is a book set in men's toilets in London worth a read?
Well this is a topic I'd not have considered but it's a short read and can easily be read in one sitting. Read more
Published 5 months ago by D. Curwen

4.0 out of 5 stars Gentle and touching but lacks substance
A really gentle and warming picture of the relationship between coworkers in a London loo, touching on some very important themes -- racism, immigration and homosexuality -- but... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Ms. J. Anne Lees

5.0 out of 5 stars Wryly funny
A public convenience is a strange workplace, there's something quite Dickensian about them, who wants to linger in one? Read more
Published 9 months ago by Neil Lewis

3.0 out of 5 stars Quite amusing
This is quite an amusing yet interesting book. I didn't think I would find the subject matter all that engaging but this book is more than it appears and makes us look at... Read more
Published 9 months ago by J. Page

4.0 out of 5 stars Gentle, funny parable about tolerance
Note: I received my copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme.

This is a short tale in what might seem an unsalubrious setting, but it's a... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Jules Jones

3.0 out of 5 stars Readable
This is a quite forgettable book, I read it without really thinking about it. Good for passing the time, but not particularly interesting funny or memorable
Published 14 months ago by Jimbo

4.0 out of 5 stars A convenience truth

Three West Indian men working as toilet attendants in a local council run public convenience in London which is frequented by homosexual men doesn't soumd too promising a... Read more
Published 14 months ago by J. Lynam

3.0 out of 5 stars Lacks the depth to be engrossing...
Gents is interesting. There isn't much to it - in terms of plot, or in terms of characters. The themes it touches on - homosexuality, racism and the general cold-ness of life in... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Robbie Swale

5.0 out of 5 stars Gentle plea for toleration
I really enjoyed this, it's a very short read, I finished it in two commutes .


The main character Ez learns through the book about himself and why tolerating... Read more
Published 15 months ago by A. I. Mackenzie

3.0 out of 5 stars An unusual novella - but not unusual enough
This is a short and very well observed little story. The writing is sparse and clipped and because of that it catches the reader's attention. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Araluen

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