Incredibly Honest, 23 Nov 2008
He takes the autobiography genre and makes it his own entirely. One of the newspaper quotes on the back says that he is one of the great originals - and this book shows that in it's content as much as the way that it's written.

The research, the physical, and mostly emotional effort and the amount of himself that he has poured into it is incredible.

Beyond the phenomenal honesty and integrity of his writing, the insight to his incredible life and unsurpassed brain is brilliant. Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has "We journey into Hawking's universe, while marveling at his mind" on the front. I agreed with that at the time - this book and author deserve the title more.

In negative news it is rushed at the end - very much so in fact. Part of me doesn't want to doubt this, since it's a long book already and I want to believe that there is good reason for cutting it short, but in reality hearing more about his depression and jail time would have been good. Perhaps he just couldn't bring himself to write it, who knows.

WOW! deary deary dear!, 25 Sep 2008
I have read many books from The Odyssey by Homer to Animal Farm by George Orwell and this, this is my favourite book of all time!

Genius, Genius, Genius!

At times intensly funny and at times almost unbearably sad.
All I can say is you need to beg, borrow or steal and get this book. It's just brilliant.

fantastic read, 11 Jul 2008
like all stephen fry's book this one was brilliant. a fantastic author. once i started reading i could hardly put it down. it's got me started on reading all of his others.

Brilliant, 08 Jul 2008
Like many of the other reviewers, I found I couldn't put this book down. True some of the language gets a bit complicated in places but Fry's amazing narrative style is so addictive that the few stumbling parts are easily forgiven. It's brilliantly funny, heart-breakingly sad and refreshingly honest, after reading it I would challenge anyone not to feel even slightly moved. Personally I felt a whole rainbow of emotions and I am so glad I read it. I would recommend this to anyone.

FUNNY-SAD, 05 Jul 2008
We love Stephen Fry, and this book was entertainingly written as you'd expect. However, there were elements of sadness too and some of our members found this jarred with the humourous parts. But overall we liked this book!

Readers who are entranced by sweeping historical sagas will devour Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks' drama set during the first world war. There's even a little high-toned erotica thrown into the mix to convince the doubtful. The book's hero, a 20-year-old Englishman named Stephen Wraysford, finds his true love on a trip to Amiens in 1910. Unfortunately, she's already married, the wife of a wealthy textile baron. Wrayford convinces her to leave a life of passionless comfort to be at his side, but things do not turn out according to plan. Wraysford is haunted by this doomed affair and carries it with him into the trenches of the war. Birdsong derives most of its power from its descriptions of mud and blood, and Wraysford's attempt to retain a scrap of humanity while surrounded by it. There is a simultaneous description of his present-day granddaughter's quest to read his diaries, which is designed to give some sense of perspective; this device is only somewhat successful. Nevertheless, Birdsong is a rewarding read, an unflinching war story and a touching romance.

Incredibly Honest, 23 Nov 2008
He takes the autobiography genre and makes it his own entirely. One of the newspaper quotes on the back says that he is one of the great originals - and this book shows that in it's content as much as the way that it's written.

The research, the physical, and mostly emotional effort and the amount of himself that he has poured into it is incredible.

Beyond the phenomenal honesty and integrity of his writing, the insight to his incredible life and unsurpassed brain is brilliant. Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has "We journey into Hawking's universe, while marveling at his mind" on the front. I agreed with that at the time - this book and author deserve the title more.

In negative news it is rushed at the end - very much so in fact. Part of me doesn't want to doubt this, since it's a long book already and I want to believe that there is good reason for cutting it short, but in reality hearing more about his depression and jail time would have been good. Perhaps he just couldn't bring himself to write it, who knows.

WOW! deary deary dear!, 25 Sep 2008
I have read many books from The Odyssey by Homer to Animal Farm by George Orwell and this, this is my favourite book of all time!

Genius, Genius, Genius!

At times intensly funny and at times almost unbearably sad.
All I can say is you need to beg, borrow or steal and get this book. It's just brilliant.

fantastic read, 11 Jul 2008
like all stephen fry's book this one was brilliant. a fantastic author. once i started reading i could hardly put it down. it's got me started on reading all of his others.

Brilliant, 08 Jul 2008
Like many of the other reviewers, I found I couldn't put this book down. True some of the language gets a bit complicated in places but Fry's amazing narrative style is so addictive that the few stumbling parts are easily forgiven. It's brilliantly funny, heart-breakingly sad and refreshingly honest, after reading it I would challenge anyone not to feel even slightly moved. Personally I felt a whole rainbow of emotions and I am so glad I read it. I would recommend this to anyone.

FUNNY-SAD, 05 Jul 2008
We love Stephen Fry, and this book was entertainingly written as you'd expect. However, there were elements of sadness too and some of our members found this jarred with the humourous parts. But overall we liked this book!

Under - welming, 11 Nov 2008
Took this book on a recent 7 day holiday - it looked my sort of stuff.
Read about 40% of it then tossed it onto the holiday home library shelf and selected the best of what had been left.
Birdsong is tedious and poorly written. The characters are not engaging - it's just not worth the eye power in reading it.
A bit like the movie "Atonement" - it's not unpleasant, you could watch it, it will do no harm but there are many far far better films.
Birdsong is touted as a modern classic - it is no such thing.


A slog, 06 Nov 2008
I tried but it just didn't work for me. The descriptive narrative was a lot of effort for little progress.

Brilliant, 12 Sep 2008
This book is amazing. I was so moved by the story, it is so well written it is like you are reliving the experineces of the characters and there with them through their ups and downs. I found it to be emotionally draining in places, but worth every second.

Amazing book. I simply could not put it down..., 04 Sep 2008
Amazing book. I simply could not put it down. It made me cry in places and now my husband is reading it and finding the book equally moving. Stick at it, as its a slightly slow starter, but its worth the wait!

A cracking good read......, 01 Sep 2008
500 pages as a paperback and been out since '94.. Quite meaty, but if you're in the mood for a compelling read I'd thoroughly recommend it. Read it about thrice now in the last ten years... The missus loves it as well, as it's not just the blood, guts, bombs, rotting flesh, rats and mud that was life on the front line during WW1. There's quite a bit of character building and relationship stuff thrown in for good measure. But if you stick with it, that bit fleshes out the story.

The claustrophobic knife edge existence the Sappers had in those days would have you a nervous wreck if it was 500 pages of that from start to finish. Thank God for mobile warfare I say and the fact that 'tunneller' is no longer a job in the British army.

A moving read, especially the Somme battles and you dispair for the callous way that thousands of lives were thrown away on a daily basis. Get yourself a copy and settle yourself down for a cracking good read....

Incredibly Honest, 23 Nov 2008
He takes the autobiography genre and makes it his own entirely. One of the newspaper quotes on the back says that he is one of the great originals - and this book shows that in it's content as much as the way that it's written.

The research, the physical, and mostly emotional effort and the amount of himself that he has poured into it is incredible.

Beyond the phenomenal honesty and integrity of his writing, the insight to his incredible life and unsurpassed brain is brilliant. Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has "We journey into Hawking's universe, while marveling at his mind" on the front. I agreed with that at the time - this book and author deserve the title more.

In negative news it is rushed at the end - very much so in fact. Part of me doesn't want to doubt this, since it's a long book already and I want to believe that there is good reason for cutting it short, but in reality hearing more about his depression and jail time would have been good. Perhaps he just couldn't bring himself to write it, who knows.

WOW! deary deary dear!, 25 Sep 2008
I have read many books from The Odyssey by Homer to Animal Farm by George Orwell and this, this is my favourite book of all time!

Genius, Genius, Genius!

At times intensly funny and at times almost unbearably sad.
All I can say is you need to beg, borrow or steal and get this book. It's just brilliant.

fantastic read, 11 Jul 2008
like all stephen fry's book this one was brilliant. a fantastic author. once i started reading i could hardly put it down. it's got me started on reading all of his others.

Brilliant, 08 Jul 2008
Like many of the other reviewers, I found I couldn't put this book down. True some of the language gets a bit complicated in places but Fry's amazing narrative style is so addictive that the few stumbling parts are easily forgiven. It's brilliantly funny, heart-breakingly sad and refreshingly honest, after reading it I would challenge anyone not to feel even slightly moved. Personally I felt a whole rainbow of emotions and I am so glad I read it. I would recommend this to anyone.

FUNNY-SAD, 05 Jul 2008
We love Stephen Fry, and this book was entertainingly written as you'd expect. However, there were elements of sadness too and some of our members found this jarred with the humourous parts. But overall we liked this book!

Under - welming, 11 Nov 2008
Took this book on a recent 7 day holiday - it looked my sort of stuff.
Read about 40% of it then tossed it onto the holiday home library shelf and selected the best of what had been left.
Birdsong is tedious and poorly written. The characters are not engaging - it's just not worth the eye power in reading it.
A bit like the movie "Atonement" - it's not unpleasant, you could watch it, it will do no harm but there are many far far better films.
Birdsong is touted as a modern classic - it is no such thing.


A slog, 06 Nov 2008
I tried but it just didn't work for me. The descriptive narrative was a lot of effort for little progress.

Brilliant, 12 Sep 2008
This book is amazing. I was so moved by the story, it is so well written it is like you are reliving the experineces of the characters and there with them through their ups and downs. I found it to be emotionally draining in places, but worth every second.

Amazing book. I simply could not put it down..., 04 Sep 2008
Amazing book. I simply could not put it down. It made me cry in places and now my husband is reading it and finding the book equally moving. Stick at it, as its a slightly slow starter, but its worth the wait!

A cracking good read......, 01 Sep 2008
500 pages as a paperback and been out since '94.. Quite meaty, but if you're in the mood for a compelling read I'd thoroughly recommend it. Read it about thrice now in the last ten years... The missus loves it as well, as it's not just the blood, guts, bombs, rotting flesh, rats and mud that was life on the front line during WW1. There's quite a bit of character building and relationship stuff thrown in for good measure. But if you stick with it, that bit fleshes out the story.

The claustrophobic knife edge existence the Sappers had in those days would have you a nervous wreck if it was 500 pages of that from start to finish. Thank God for mobile warfare I say and the fact that 'tunneller' is no longer a job in the British army.

A moving read, especially the Somme battles and you dispair for the callous way that thousands of lives were thrown away on a daily basis. Get yourself a copy and settle yourself down for a cracking good read....


Compelling and thought provoking story, 03 Nov 2008
An incredible story that is difficult to describe in a short few sentences. It was certainly a very thought provoking book and I really wanted to discuss it with someone else (excellent choice for a book club!). I was unsure about the ending but on reflection it fits well with the rest of the book and allows for the reader to ponder the story well after finishing reading. Dystopian fiction is not for everyone but if you are at all interested in this genre then this is a brilliant example. Once I'd finished this book I went straight out and bought "Oryx and Crake" - another dystopian story by Atwood.

It doesn't matter what you feel, it only matters how you behave, 23 Sep 2008
What a wonderful book, written in the style of 1984 and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never let me go. I find Margaret Atwood's books hard to put down once I have started them, and cannot believe I only discovered her this year. I didn't read the notes at the end, as I thought they would ruin the chilling atmosphere set by the rest of the book. Moira is one of the best characters for me; she brings a little humour to the situation which is sorely needed. A great read.

How to do theocratic dystopia..., 12 Aug 2008
A truly great book, particular for those who have cold feet about Speculative Fiction (aka Sci Fi). A post-apocalyptic take on loss, resistance, feminism and social order of the patriarchal kind, The Handmaid's Tale avoids both cliche and the pretensions that can often plague even the best of novels with political undertows. I can think of few books which so well capture the sense of radical transformation and dislocation that must come with what someone once called the 'orgasms of history', those decisive events that change utterly social structures and somehow drag individuals along with them, even though people remain dominated by much the same loves and hopes they always were. The evocations of ritual, ceremony and punishment are particularly disturbing and resonant, even viscerally so. And, despite creating a deeply believable metaphor both for those changes that have been and those yet to come, Atwood also accomplishes the 'page turner' quality usually reserved for shallow thrillers. Just shy of being a masterpiece.

A thoroughly satisfying read, 07 Aug 2008
Possibly inspired by Islamic revolutions of the late 1970's - Atwood re-imagines American society in the grip an ultra-conservative, theocracy.
Under this regime, biblical scripture is used to justify hierarchical polygamy. High-caste 'Wives' govern biologically-fertile 'handmaids'- kept purely for procreative breeding, these 'handmaids' are sober, pious and nun-like - but they retain the dangerous allure of 'scarlet women' ... being parodoxically both entrapped and yet empowered by their vital role as surrogate mothers.
This is a post-feminist and matriarchal, but rigidly controlled and totalitarian society. It is NOT a cliched 'post-apocalyptic' story,(as the last reviewer erroneously claimed.) It is, however, one possible direction into which modern western societies may be presently regressing. It is a gritty, multi-layered tale, but it is largely about religious ideology as a form of social control.
The story is told with such a sense of exquisite clarity. The sheer pace and mood had me enthralled! It is a vivid, lucid tale, yet richly shrewd and astute. I particularly love the way in which the plot is tantalisingly 'strip-teased' - by flowing back and forth between the present (future) and past (present) Convincingly realistic, profoundly haunting and richly stimulating ... a thoroughly satisfying read!!

Love this book!, 22 Jul 2008
I read this novel for the first time last week and I loved it!! I couldn't put it down!!

Incredibly Honest, 23 Nov 2008
He takes the autobiography genre and makes it his own entirely. One of the newspaper quotes on the back says that he is one of the great originals - and this book shows that in it's content as much as the way that it's written.

The research, the physical, and mostly emotional effort and the amount of himself that he has poured into it is incredible.

Beyond the phenomenal honesty and integrity of his writing, the insight to his incredible life and unsurpassed brain is brilliant. Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has "We journey into Hawking's universe, while marveling at his mind" on the front. I agreed with that at the time - this book and author deserve the title more.

In negative news it is rushed at the end - very much so in fact. Part of me doesn't want to doubt this, since it's a long book already and I want to believe that there is good reason for cutting it short, but in reality hearing more about his depression and jail time would have been good. Perhaps he just couldn't bring himself to write it, who knows.

WOW! deary deary dear!, 25 Sep 2008
I have read many books from The Odyssey by Homer to Animal Farm by George Orwell and this, this is my favourite book of all time!

Genius, Genius, Genius!

At times intensly funny and at times almost unbearably sad.
All I can say is you need to beg, borrow or steal and get this book. It's just brilliant.

fantastic read, 11 Jul 2008
like all stephen fry's book this one was brilliant. a fantastic author. once i started reading i could hardly put it down. it's got me started on reading all of his others.

Brilliant, 08 Jul 2008
Like many of the other reviewers, I found I couldn't put this book down. True some of the language gets a bit complicated in places but Fry's amazing narrative style is so addictive that the few stumbling parts are easily forgiven. It's brilliantly funny, heart-breakingly sad and refreshingly honest, after reading it I would challenge anyone not to feel even slightly moved. Personally I felt a whole rainbow of emotions and I am so glad I read it. I would recommend this to anyone.

FUNNY-SAD, 05 Jul 2008
We love Stephen Fry, and this book was entertainingly written as you'd expect. However, there were elements of sadness too and some of our members found this jarred with the humourous parts. But overall we liked this book!

Under - welming, 11 Nov 2008
Took this book on a recent 7 day holiday - it looked my sort of stuff.
Read about 40% of it then tossed it onto the holiday home library shelf and selected the best of what had been left.
Birdsong is tedious and poorly written. The characters are not engaging - it's just not worth the eye power in reading it.
A bit like the movie "Atonement" - it's not unpleasant, you could watch it, it will do no harm but there are many far far better films.
Birdsong is touted as a modern classic - it is no such thing.


A slog, 06 Nov 2008
I tried but it just didn't work for me. The descriptive narrative was a lot of effort for little progress.

Brilliant, 12 Sep 2008
This book is amazing. I was so moved by the story, it is so well written it is like you are reliving the experineces of the characters and there with them through their ups and downs. I found it to be emotionally draining in places, but worth every second.

Amazing book. I simply could not put it down..., 04 Sep 2008
Amazing book. I simply could not put it down. It made me cry in places and now my husband is reading it and finding the book equally moving. Stick at it, as its a slightly slow starter, but its worth the wait!

A cracking good read......, 01 Sep 2008
500 pages as a paperback and been out since '94.. Quite meaty, but if you're in the mood for a compelling read I'd thoroughly recommend it. Read it about thrice now in the last ten years... The missus loves it as well, as it's not just the blood, guts, bombs, rotting flesh, rats and mud that was life on the front line during WW1. There's quite a bit of character building and relationship stuff thrown in for good measure. But if you stick with it, that bit fleshes out the story.

The claustrophobic knife edge existence the Sappers had in those days would have you a nervous wreck if it was 500 pages of that from start to finish. Thank God for mobile warfare I say and the fact that 'tunneller' is no longer a job in the British army.

A moving read, especially the Somme battles and you dispair for the callous way that thousands of lives were thrown away on a daily basis. Get yourself a copy and settle yourself down for a cracking good read....


Compelling and thought provoking story, 03 Nov 2008
An incredible story that is difficult to describe in a short few sentences. It was certainly a very thought provoking book and I really wanted to discuss it with someone else (excellent choice for a book club!). I was unsure about the ending but on reflection it fits well with the rest of the book and allows for the reader to ponder the story well after finishing reading. Dystopian fiction is not for everyone but if you are at all interested in this genre then this is a brilliant example. Once I'd finished this book I went straight out and bought "Oryx and Crake" - another dystopian story by Atwood.

It doesn't matter what you feel, it only matters how you behave, 23 Sep 2008
What a wonderful book, written in the style of 1984 and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never let me go. I find Margaret Atwood's books hard to put down once I have started them, and cannot believe I only discovered her this year. I didn't read the notes at the end, as I thought they would ruin the chilling atmosphere set by the rest of the book. Moira is one of the best characters for me; she brings a little humour to the situation which is sorely needed. A great read.

How to do theocratic dystopia..., 12 Aug 2008
A truly great book, particular for those who have cold feet about Speculative Fiction (aka Sci Fi). A post-apocalyptic take on loss, resistance, feminism and social order of the patriarchal kind, The Handmaid's Tale avoids both cliche and the pretensions that can often plague even the best of novels with political undertows. I can think of few books which so well capture the sense of radical transformation and dislocation that must come with what someone once called the 'orgasms of history', those decisive events that change utterly social structures and somehow drag individuals along with them, even though people remain dominated by much the same loves and hopes they always were. The evocations of ritual, ceremony and punishment are particularly disturbing and resonant, even viscerally so. And, despite creating a deeply believable metaphor both for those changes that have been and those yet to come, Atwood also accomplishes the 'page turner' quality usually reserved for shallow thrillers. Just shy of being a masterpiece.

A thoroughly satisfying read, 07 Aug 2008
Possibly inspired by Islamic revolutions of the late 1970's - Atwood re-imagines American society in the grip an ultra-conservative, theocracy.
Under this regime, biblical scripture is used to justify hierarchical polygamy. High-caste 'Wives' govern biologically-fertile 'handmaids'- kept purely for procreative breeding, these 'handmaids' are sober, pious and nun-like - but they retain the dangerous allure of 'scarlet women' ... being parodoxically both entrapped and yet empowered by their vital role as surrogate mothers.
This is a post-feminist and matriarchal, but rigidly controlled and totalitarian society. It is NOT a cliched 'post-apocalyptic' story,(as the last reviewer erroneously claimed.) It is, however, one possible direction into which modern western societies may be presently regressing. It is a gritty, multi-layered tale, but it is largely about religious ideology as a form of social control.
The story is told with such a sense of exquisite clarity. The sheer pace and mood had me enthralled! It is a vivid, lucid tale, yet richly shrewd and astute. I particularly love the way in which the plot is tantalisingly 'strip-teased' - by flowing back and forth between the present (future) and past (present) Convincingly realistic, profoundly haunting and richly stimulating ... a thoroughly satisfying read!!

Love this book!, 22 Jul 2008
I read this novel for the first time last week and I loved it!! I couldn't put it down!!

The hippest hippo ever, 27 Oct 2008
Oh man, I miss Tedward already! Bring him back Fry! He is the best novel character ever...

Sublime Brilliance..., 25 Sep 2008
...but would you expect any less from the inordinately scintillating Mr Fry. Expect no more than to hold your sides from laughter, be deeply moved at the heartfelt sentiment of the characters, and be surprised at the unexpected curveballs throughout. Simply excellent. I'd give it 100 out of 10 - couldn't put it down!

PERFECTLY HARMLESS, 09 Apr 2008
Nips along at a fair old pace and keeps you distracted for long enough, which is worth three stars all on its own. So why four? Well, you're meandering along, just enjoying the characters and then you get to the end and that makes it just that little bit better.


Splendid darling!, 03 Jan 2008
Really, really enjoyed this book! It's the first Stephen Fry book I've read and I found it (not surprisingly) to be a lot like a Wodehouse novel: upper class characters, estate house with many guests, first person narrative, fantastic use of language etc. However the comedy comes from the language alone - in contrast with the situation for most of the characters which is in fact quite serious, providing an interesting plot that keeps you turning the pages.

It's definitely the language and comments from Ted throughout that are the real highlight though. From simple laughs like the description of his cough as "something between a vomiting donkey and an explosion at a custard factory" and his concern for the "poor female rabbit-flea", to his 6 page sermon on the "fact that women do not enjoy sex" and his spirited defence of a poet's use of "rare words", it's an absolute joy to read.

I can't wait to read some more of Stephen Fry's books - I'm only concerned I may have started on a bit of a high that the others may struggle to match up to.

Very funny, 04 Oct 2007
Stephen Fry has delivered an expertly funny and unpredictable story here. It never gets dull and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Good enough to keep and read again.

Incredibly Honest, 23 Nov 2008
He takes the autobiography genre and makes it his own entirely. One of the newspaper quotes on the back says that he is one of the great originals - and this book shows that in it's content as much as the way that it's written.

The research, the physical, and mostly emotional effort and the amount of himself that he has poured into it is incredible.

Beyond the phenomenal honesty and integrity of his writing, the insight to his incredible life and unsurpassed brain is brilliant. Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has "We journey into Hawking's universe, while marveling at his mind" on the front. I agreed with that at the time - this book and author deserve the title more.

In negative news it is rushed at the end - very much so in fact. Part of me doesn't want to doubt this, since it's a long book already and I want to believe that there is good reason for cutting it short, but in reality hearing more about his depression and jail time would have been good. Perhaps he just couldn't bring himself to write it, who knows.

WOW! deary deary dear!, 25 Sep 2008
I have read many books from The Odyssey by Homer to Animal Farm by George Orwell and this, this is my favourite book of all time!

Genius, Genius, Genius!

At times intensly funny and at times almost unbearably sad.
All I can say is you need to beg, borrow or steal and get this book. It's just brilliant.

fantastic read, 11 Jul 2008
like all stephen fry's book this one was brilliant. a fantastic author. once i started reading i could hardly put it down. it's got me started on reading all of his others.

Brilliant, 08 Jul 2008
Like many of the other reviewers, I found I couldn't put this book down. True some of the language gets a bit complicated in places but Fry's amazing narrative style is so addictive that the few stumbling parts are easily forgiven. It's brilliantly funny, heart-breakingly sad and refreshingly honest, after reading it I would challenge anyone not to feel even slightly moved. Personally I felt a whole rainbow of emotions and I am so glad I read it. I would recommend this to anyone.

FUNNY-SAD, 05 Jul 2008
We love Stephen Fry, and this book was entertainingly written as you'd expect. However, there were elements of sadness too and some of our members found this jarred with the humourous parts. But overall we liked this book!

Under - welming, 11 Nov 2008
Took this book on a recent 7 day holiday - it looked my sort of stuff.
Read about 40% of it then tossed it onto the holiday home library shelf and selected the best of what had been left.
Birdsong is tedious and poorly written. The characters are not engaging - it's just not worth the eye power in reading it.
A bit like the movie "Atonement" - it's not unpleasant, you could watch it, it will do no harm but there are many far far better films.
Birdsong is touted as a modern classic - it is no such thing.


A slog, 06 Nov 2008
I tried but it just didn't work for me. The descriptive narrative was a lot of effort for little progress.

Brilliant, 12 Sep 2008
This book is amazing. I was so moved by the story, it is so well written it is like you are reliving the experineces of the characters and there with them through their ups and downs. I found it to be emotionally draining in places, but worth every second.

Amazing book. I simply could not put it down..., 04 Sep 2008
Amazing book. I simply could not put it down. It made me cry in places and now my husband is reading it and finding the book equally moving. Stick at it, as its a slightly slow starter, but its worth the wait!

A cracking good read......, 01 Sep 2008
500 pages as a paperback and been out since '94.. Quite meaty, but if you're in the mood for a compelling read I'd thoroughly recommend it. Read it about thrice now in the last ten years... The missus loves it as well, as it's not just the blood, guts, bombs, rotting flesh, rats and mud that was life on the front line during WW1. There's quite a bit of character building and relationship stuff thrown in for good measure. But if you stick with it, that bit fleshes out the story.

The claustrophobic knife edge existence the Sappers had in those days would have you a nervous wreck if it was 500 pages of that from start to finish. Thank God for mobile warfare I say and the fact that 'tunneller' is no longer a job in the British army.

A moving read, especially the Somme battles and you dispair for the callous way that thousands of lives were thrown away on a daily basis. Get yourself a copy and settle yourself down for a cracking good read....


Compelling and thought provoking story, 03 Nov 2008
An incredible story that is difficult to describe in a short few sentences. It was certainly a very thought provoking book and I really wanted to discuss it with someone else (excellent choice for a book club!). I was unsure about the ending but on reflection it fits well with the rest of the book and allows for the reader to ponder the story well after finishing reading. Dystopian fiction is not for everyone but if you are at all interested in this genre then this is a brilliant example. Once I'd finished this book I went straight out and bought "Oryx and Crake" - another dystopian story by Atwood.

It doesn't matter what you feel, it only matters how you behave, 23 Sep 2008
What a wonderful book, written in the style of 1984 and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never let me go. I find Margaret Atwood's books hard to put down once I have started them, and cannot believe I only discovered her this year. I didn't read the notes at the end, as I thought they would ruin the chilling atmosphere set by the rest of the book. Moira is one of the best characters for me; she brings a little humour to the situation which is sorely needed. A great read.

How to do theocratic dystopia..., 12 Aug 2008
A truly great book, particular for those who have cold feet about Speculative Fiction (aka Sci Fi). A post-apocalyptic take on loss, resistance, feminism and social order of the patriarchal kind, The Handmaid's Tale avoids both cliche and the pretensions that can often plague even the best of novels with political undertows. I can think of few books which so well capture the sense of radical transformation and dislocation that must come with what someone once called the 'orgasms of history', those decisive events that change utterly social structures and somehow drag individuals along with them, even though people remain dominated by much the same loves and hopes they always were. The evocations of ritual, ceremony and punishment are particularly disturbing and resonant, even viscerally so. And, despite creating a deeply believable metaphor both for those changes that have been and those yet to come, Atwood also accomplishes the 'page turner' quality usually reserved for shallow thrillers. Just shy of being a masterpiece.

A thoroughly satisfying read, 07 Aug 2008
Possibly inspired by Islamic revolutions of the late 1970's - Atwood re-imagines American society in the grip an ultra-conservative, theocracy.
Under this regime, biblical scripture is used to justify hierarchical polygamy. High-caste 'Wives' govern biologically-fertile 'handmaids'- kept purely for procreative breeding, these 'handmaids' are sober, pious and nun-like - but they retain the dangerous allure of 'scarlet women' ... being parodoxically both entrapped and yet empowered by their vital role as surrogate mothers.
This is a post-feminist and matriarchal, but rigidly controlled and totalitarian society. It is NOT a cliched 'post-apocalyptic' story,(as the last reviewer erroneously claimed.) It is, however, one possible direction into which modern western societies may be presently regressing. It is a gritty, multi-layered tale, but it is largely about religious ideology as a form of social control.
The story is told with such a sense of exquisite clarity. The sheer pace and mood had me enthralled! It is a vivid, lucid tale, yet richly shrewd and astute. I particularly love the way in which the plot is tantalisingly 'strip-teased' - by flowing back and forth between the present (future) and past (present) Convincingly realistic, profoundly haunting and richly stimulating ... a thoroughly satisfying read!!

Love this book!, 22 Jul 2008
I read this novel for the first time last week and I loved it!! I couldn't put it down!!

The hippest hippo ever, 27 Oct 2008
Oh man, I miss Tedward already! Bring him back Fry! He is the best novel character ever...

Sublime Brilliance..., 25 Sep 2008
...but would you expect any less from the inordinately scintillating Mr Fry. Expect no more than to hold your sides from laughter, be deeply moved at the heartfelt sentiment of the characters, and be surprised at the unexpected curveballs throughout. Simply excellent. I'd give it 100 out of 10 - couldn't put it down!

PERFECTLY HARMLESS, 09 Apr 2008
Nips along at a fair old pace and keeps you distracted for long enough, which is worth three stars all on its own. So why four? Well, you're meandering along, just enjoying the characters and then you get to the end and that makes it just that little bit better.


Splendid darling!, 03 Jan 2008
Really, really enjoyed this book! It's the first Stephen Fry book I've read and I found it (not surprisingly) to be a lot like a Wodehouse novel: upper class characters, estate house with many guests, first person narrative, fantastic use of language etc. However the comedy comes from the language alone - in contrast with the situation for most of the characters which is in fact quite serious, providing an interesting plot that keeps you turning the pages.

It's definitely the language and comments from Ted throughout that are the real highlight though. From simple laughs like the description of his cough as "something between a vomiting donkey and an explosion at a custard factory" and his concern for the "poor female rabbit-flea", to his 6 page sermon on the "fact that women do not enjoy sex" and his spirited defence of a poet's use of "rare words", it's an absolute joy to read.

I can't wait to read some more of Stephen Fry's books - I'm only concerned I may have started on a bit of a high that the others may struggle to match up to.

Very funny, 04 Oct 2007
Stephen Fry has delivered an expertly funny and unpredictable story here. It never gets dull and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Good enough to keep and read again.

Highly recommended, 14 Apr 2008
A thoroughly thought provoking read. Every aspect was a joy; from his endless fountain of wit to his dark ideas of what life could have been.

Making History changed my life, by far the best book I've ever read.

Sheer Genius, 09 Apr 2008
A very, very funny book from a very, very funny man. I challenge you to read this book without hearing Fry's voice in your head throughout. Buy it and enjoy.

Making History, 24 Feb 2008

Stephen Fry's 3rd novel finds him entering science fiction territory, as a university student and a physcicist team up to erase Adolf Hitler from history, only to find that the new world they have created may not be an improvement after all. The alternate world storyline is one of the staples of SF, and the idea of a world without Hitler is certainly a well-worn one, but Fry still manages to throw in a couple of good plot twists along the way, while familiar authorial tropes - humour, academia, homosexuality - are prevalent. THe novel is not without it's flaws - the concept is old-hat, the prose occasionally overblown, and the random jumps to screenplay form seem less to do with stylistic choices than Fry trying to wade through expositionary sections at top speed - but what makes this so enjoyable is the vivid characterisation and fluid writing style. Reminiscent of Douglas Adams, 'Making History' is entertaining and hugely readable.

Smart, light-weight and highly enjoyable., 24 Feb 2008
Having never read any of Stephen Fry's novels before I have to say I was surprised by how accomplished a writer he really is. The novel is pretty long at well over five hundred pages, but manages to remain extremely quick and light-weight reading throughout, with Fry's trademark sparkling wit lending the whole thing an admittedly slightly self-indulgent but nonetheless very intelligent tone.
The story is an extremely well thought through peice of sci-fi working around the old question of whether or not it would be justifiable to kill Hitler before he had a chance to commit his attroticies. There's a good understanding of history present here though and Fry avoids over simplifying his portayal of the people and the time, in fact lending the whole thing a great deal more complexity then most writers would have. The principle character is very relatable, he's sympathetic for all the same reasons as a Douglas Adams character but is very much Fry's creation and a protagonist who the reader can't help but like.
The story has enough thematic intricacies and philosophical questions to keep hardcore sci-fi fans satisfied but remains highly accessible throughout and as such never excludes the reader regardless of their personal taste and preferences.
This is an inventive little sci-fi adventure that should keep both newcomers and stalwart fans of the genre entertained for all of it's pretty considerable length. Definitely one to check out if you get the chance.

enjoyable read, 22 Jan 2008
I found this an enjoyable and engrossing read, but to be honest I could see the way the plot was going a mile off. I nearly through it out the window when reading his description of a laboratory, he clearly doesn't have a clue there. Has made me want to try his other books.

Incredibly Honest, 23 Nov 2008
He takes the autobiography genre and makes it his own entirely. One of the newspaper quotes on the back says that he is one of the great originals - and this book shows that in it's content as much as the way that it's written.

The research, the physical, and mostly emotional effort and the amount of himself that he has poured into it is incredible.

Beyond the phenomenal honesty and integrity of his writing, the insight to his incredible life and unsurpassed brain is brilliant. Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has "We journey into Hawking's universe, while marveling at his mind" on the front. I agreed with that at the time - this book and author deserve the title more.

In negative news it is rushed at the end - very much so in fact. Part of me doesn't want to doubt this, since it's a long book already and I want to believe that there is good reason for cutting it short, but in reality hearing more about his depression and jail time would have been good. Perhaps he just couldn't bring himself to write it, who knows.

WOW! deary deary dear!, 25 Sep 2008
I have read many books from The Odyssey by Homer to Animal Farm by George Orwell and this, this is my favourite book of all time!

Genius, Genius, Genius!

At times intensly funny and at times almost unbearably sad.
All I can say is you need to beg, borrow or steal and get this book. It's just brilliant.

fantastic read, 11 Jul 2008
like all stephen fry's book this one was brilliant. a fantastic author. once i started reading i could hardly put it down. it's got me started on reading all of his others.

Brilliant, 08 Jul 2008
Like many of the other reviewers, I found I couldn't put this book down. True some of the language gets a bit complicated in places but Fry's amazing narrative style is so addictive that the few stumbling parts are easily forgiven. It's brilliantly funny, heart-breakingly sad and refreshingly honest, after reading it I would challenge anyone not to feel even slightly moved. Personally I felt a whole rainbow of emotions and I am so glad I read it. I would recommend this to anyone.

FUNNY-SAD, 05 Jul 2008
We love Stephen Fry, and this book was entertainingly written as you'd expect. However, there were elements of sadness too and some of our members found this jarred with the humourous parts. But overall we liked this book!

Under - welming, 11 Nov 2008
Took this book on a recent 7 day holiday - it looked my sort of stuff.
Read about 40% of it then tossed it onto the holiday home library shelf and selected the best of what had been left.
Birdsong is tedious and poorly written. The characters are not engaging - it's just not worth the eye power in reading it.
A bit like the movie "Atonement" - it's not unpleasant, you could watch it, it will do no harm but there are many far far better films.
Birdsong is touted as a modern classic - it is no such thing.


A slog, 06 Nov 2008
I tried but it just didn't work for me. The descriptive narrative was a lot of effort for little progress.

Brilliant, 12 Sep 2008
This book is amazing. I was so moved by the story, it is so well written it is like you are reliving the experineces of the characters and there with them through their ups and downs. I found it to be emotionally draining in places, but worth every second.

Amazing book. I simply could not put it down..., 04 Sep 2008
Amazing book. I simply could not put it down. It made me cry in places and now my husband is reading it and finding the book equally moving. Stick at it, as its a slightly slow starter, but its worth the wait!

A cracking good read......, 01 Sep 2008
500 pages as a paperback and been out since '94.. Quite meaty, but if you're in the mood for a compelling read I'd thoroughly recommend it. Read it about thrice now in the last ten years... The missus loves it as well, as it's not just the blood, guts, bombs, rotting flesh, rats and mud that was life on the front line during WW1. There's quite a bit of character building and relationship stuff thrown in for good measure. But if you stick with it, that bit fleshes out the story.

The claustrophobic knife edge existence the Sappers had in those days would have you a nervous wreck if it was 500 pages of that from start to finish. Thank God for mobile warfare I say and the fact that 'tunneller' is no longer a job in the British army.

A moving read, especially the Somme battles and you dispair for the callous way that thousands of lives were thrown away on a daily basis. Get yourself a copy and settle yourself down for a cracking good read....


Compelling and thought provoking story, 03 Nov 2008
An incredible story that is difficult to describe in a short few sentences. It was certainly a very thought provoking book and I really wanted to discuss it with someone else (excellent choice for a book club!). I was unsure about the ending but on reflection it fits well with the rest of the book and allows for the reader to ponder the story well after finishing reading. Dystopian fiction is not for everyone but if you are at all interested in this genre then this is a brilliant example. Once I'd finished this book I went straight out and bought "Oryx and Crake" - another dystopian story by Atwood.

It doesn't matter what you feel, it only matters how you behave, 23 Sep 2008
What a wonderful book, written in the style of 1984 and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never let me go. I find Margaret Atwood's books hard to put down once I have started them, and cannot believe I only discovered her this year. I didn't read the notes at the end, as I thought they would ruin the chilling atmosphere set by the rest of the book. Moira is one of the best characters for me; she brings a little humour to the situation which is sorely needed. A great read.

How to do theocratic dystopia..., 12 Aug 2008
A truly great book, particular for those who have cold feet about Speculative Fiction (aka Sci Fi). A post-apocalyptic take on loss, resistance, feminism and social order of the patriarchal kind, The Handmaid's Tale avoids both cliche and the pretensions that can often plague even the best of novels with political undertows. I can think of few books which so well capture the sense of radical transformation and dislocation that must come with what someone once called the 'orgasms of history', those decisive events that change utterly social structures and somehow drag individuals along with them, even though people remain dominated by much the same loves and hopes they always were. The evocations of ritual, ceremony and punishment are particularly disturbing and resonant, even viscerally so. And, despite creating a deeply believable metaphor both for those changes that have been and those yet to come, Atwood also accomplishes the 'page turner' quality usually reserved for shallow thrillers. Just shy of being a masterpiece.

A thoroughly satisfying read, 07 Aug 2008
Possibly inspired by Islamic revolutions of the late 1970's - Atwood re-imagines American society in the grip an ultra-conservative, theocracy.
Under this regime, biblical scripture is used to justify hierarchical polygamy. High-caste 'Wives' govern biologically-fertile 'handmaids'- kept purely for procreative breeding, these 'handmaids' are sober, pious and nun-like - but they retain the dangerous allure of 'scarlet women' ... being parodoxically both entrapped and yet empowered by their vital role as surrogate mothers.
This is a post-feminist and matriarchal, but rigidly controlled and totalitarian society. It is NOT a cliched 'post-apocalyptic' story,(as the last reviewer erroneously claimed.) It is, however, one possible direction into which modern western societies may be presently regressing. It is a gritty, multi-layered tale, but it is largely about religious ideology as a form of social control.
The story is told with such a sense of exquisite clarity. The sheer pace and mood had me enthralled! It is a vivid, lucid tale, yet richly shrewd and astute. I particularly love the way in which the plot is tantalisingly 'strip-teased' - by flowing back and forth between the present (future) and past (present) Convincingly realistic, profoundly haunting and richly stimulating ... a thoroughly satisfying read!!

Love this book!, 22 Jul 2008
I read this novel for the first time last week and I loved it!! I couldn't put it down!!

The hippest hippo ever, 27 Oct 2008
Oh man, I miss Tedward already! Bring him back Fry! He is the best novel character ever...

Sublime Brilliance..., 25 Sep 2008
...but would you expect any less from the inordinately scintillating Mr Fry. Expect no more than to hold your sides from laughter, be deeply moved at the heartfelt sentiment of the characters, and be surprised at the unexpected curveballs throughout. Simply excellent. I'd give it 100 out of 10 - couldn't put it down!

PERFECTLY HARMLESS, 09 Apr 2008
Nips along at a fair old pace and keeps you distracted for long enough, which is worth three stars all on its own. So why four? Well, you're meandering along, just enjoying the characters and then you get to the end and that makes it just that little bit better.


Splendid darling!, 03 Jan 2008
Really, really enjoyed this book! It's the first Stephen Fry book I've read and I found it (not surprisingly) to be a lot like a Wodehouse novel: upper class characters, estate house with many guests, first person narrative, fantastic use of language etc. However the comedy comes from the language alone - in contrast with the situation for most of the characters which is in fact quite serious, providing an interesting plot that keeps you turning the pages.

It's definitely the language and comments from Ted throughout that are the real highlight though. From simple laughs like the description of his cough as "something between a vomiting donkey and an explosion at a custard factory" and his concern for the "poor female rabbit-flea", to his 6 page sermon on the "fact that women do not enjoy sex" and his spirited defence of a poet's use of "rare words", it's an absolute joy to read.

I can't wait to read some more of Stephen Fry's books - I'm only concerned I may have started on a bit of a high that the others may struggle to match up to.

Very funny, 04 Oct 2007
Stephen Fry has delivered an expertly funny and unpredictable story here. It never gets dull and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Good enough to keep and read again.

Highly recommended, 14 Apr 2008
A thoroughly thought provoking read. Every aspect was a joy; from his endless fountain of wit to his dark ideas of what life could have been.

Making History changed my life, by far the best book I've ever read.

Sheer Genius, 09 Apr 2008
A very, very funny book from a very, very funny man. I challenge you to read this book without hearing Fry's voice in your head throughout. Buy it and enjoy.

Making History, 24 Feb 2008

Stephen Fry's 3rd novel finds him entering science fiction territory, as a university student and a physcicist team up to erase Adolf Hitler from history, only to find that the new world they have created may not be an improvement after all. The alternate world storyline is one of the staples of SF, and the idea of a world without Hitler is certainly a well-worn one, but Fry still manages to throw in a couple of good plot twists along the way, while familiar authorial tropes - humour, academia, homosexuality - are prevalent. THe novel is not without it's flaws - the concept is old-hat, the prose occasionally overblown, and the random jumps to screenplay form seem less to do with stylistic choices than Fry trying to wade through expositionary sections at top speed - but what makes this so enjoyable is the vivid characterisation and fluid writing style. Reminiscent of Douglas Adams, 'Making History' is entertaining and hugely readable.

Smart, light-weight and highly enjoyable., 24 Feb 2008
Having never read any of Stephen Fry's novels before I have to say I was surprised by how accomplished a writer he really is. The novel is pretty long at well over five hundred pages, but manages to remain extremely quick and light-weight reading throughout, with Fry's trademark sparkling wit lending the whole thing an admittedly slightly self-indulgent but nonetheless very intelligent tone.
The story is an extremely well thought through peice of sci-fi working around the old question of whether or not it would be justifiable to kill Hitler before he had a chance to commit his attroticies. There's a good understanding of history present here though and Fry avoids over simplifying his portayal of the people and the time, in fact lending the whole thing a great deal more complexity then most writers would have. The principle character is very relatable, he's sympathetic for all the same reasons as a Douglas Adams character but is very much Fry's creation and a protagonist who the reader can't help but like.
The story has enough thematic intricacies and philosophical questions to keep hardcore sci-fi fans satisfied but remains highly accessible throughout and as such never excludes the reader regardless of their personal taste and preferences.
This is an inventive little sci-fi adventure that should keep both newcomers and stalwart fans of the genre entertained for all of it's pretty considerable length. Definitely one to check out if you get the chance.

enjoyable read, 22 Jan 2008
I found this an enjoyable and engrossing read, but to be honest I could see the way the plot was going a mile off. I nearly through it out the window when reading his description of a laboratory, he clearly doesn't have a clue there. Has made me want to try his other books.

Not his best but still good, 03 Nov 2008
This is the second book I have read by this author after reading Norwegian Wood. I loved Norwegian Wood so I was really looking forward to this one. I was left a little disappointed.
The story follows Kafka who has run away from his father at the age of 15 and Nakata who as a result of an accident as a child, is mentally upset but has the ability to talk to cats.
He two stories seem very separate to begin with but slowly they begin to intertwine. Just as you begin to really enjoy one of the characters story's, you flick back to the other one and visa versa. The story started so strongly but lost its momentum part way through. I found the ending a little cliché but I still enjoyed the book. As with Norwegian Wood, the story stayed with me for a while afterwards.


Fascinating, compelling, but also annoyingly convoluted., 27 Sep 2008
This novel has two parallel and intertwining threads. The first concerns a 15 year old boy who runs away from his father's home and who seems pre-destined to sleep with his mother and sister. The second concerns a retired, semi-retarded man, whose mind was partially stolen in a childhood supernatural accident, but who has supernatural gifts in return. He goes on a quest to find some peace. The characters all behave in that natural, simple way with simple dialogue that is one of Murakami's trademarks, but which I found somewhat annoying at times in this particular novel. The plot, for all its surreal, bizarre twists, is strangely compelling and I found the book very gripping. It is clear that there is a tapestry of ideas within the novel, and this makes it rich and fascinating, but for me it also seemed to verge on confused and convoluted, and I think the ambiguities were a little too numerous for my tastes.

Puzzling, 27 Aug 2008
This was my first experience of Murakami, so I had no preconceptions when I read the book. I finished it last night and I'm still rather baffled so apologies for the vagueness of this review, but as another reviewer said the story is so complex and confusing a summary would be practically impossible.
My first thoughts on starting reading it: this is a massive book; the writing style is so fluid, the descriptions so clear, you can really see and almost hear the scenes described; I'm really going to enjoy this. That Murakami is an immensely talented writer is obvious. But the story... It's so sprawling, the dual quest story, and complex that when I was reading I was thinking about the notes Murakami must have made before he started, (I don't know if he works like this, it's conjecture) the chapter summaries taking him closer to the conclusion. I admired his scope and planning as well as his writing skills. Well, having finished I still don't know if there is a true conclusion, and I'm not sure he did either.
Ambiguity is fine if there is a point there somewhere, if there's something to decipher that's murky and open to interpretation, but really, what is there here to interpret? There's a hollowness to this. Quests should be universal, applicable to everyman. The themes here are ostensibly love, betrayal and revenge but very much of the characters, and not universal, so it's hard to relate. It's a shame, because the narrative does drive along at a cracking pace. I really wanted it to be great. Maybe I didn't care too much about the characters (aside from Nakata). I guess that's the difficulty of writing about flawed characters - if you do it too well their flaws supercede any pity or love you might feel for them.
I really wanted to love this book, and I will never forget it. Parts really made me think and his style is superb. But it's not a good story and the ending was such a cop-out I feel cheated, hence the three stars. I want to read more by this great writer though. (I saw the 'chidlren' typo too - naughty proof-reader!)

One of the Best Novels of 2005, 17 Aug 2008
"Kafka on the Shore" richly deserves its praise by The New York Times as one of its most notable books of fiction in 2005. On a more personal note, I regard it as the most compelling new work of fiction I have read this year, and substantially more absorbing a read than the novel which I regard now as a distant Number Two, Rick Moody's "The Diviners". But I do wonder whether it is truly one of Haruki Murakami's masterpieces; of these both "Norwegian Wood" and "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles" are genuine literary classics of modern world literature. In stark contrast, I agree with a previous Amazon reviewer that the Kafka Tamura saga - one of the two intertwined plots - is reminiscent of "Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World". And yet here, unlike in the earlier novel, Murakami seems fascinated in seeing Kafka's strange odyssey via the eyes of a 15 year-old teenager, not a thirty-something adult Japanese male.

"Kafka on the Shore" is an epic, modern near classic devoted to the themes of loneliness, love and longing. While Kafka Tamura's odyssey for a mysterious mother and older sister who vanished when he was four is quite compelling in its own right, this plot is occasionally overshadowed by the bizarre saga of the geriatric simpleton Nakata, the mysterious survivor of a bizarre World War II episode in his childhood, and somone who has a most unusual rapport with cats. Indeed, Nakata, in many respects, may be the novel's true emotional core and truly one of the most compelling, original characters ever created by Murakami. Their separate quests will lead them from Tokyo to the distant Japanese town of Takamatsu, and involve not only love, but murder most foul, and strange events such as a rain of sardines falling from the sky. With "Kafka on the Shore", Haruki Murakami reaffirms his position as Japan's most important contemporary novelist, and one of our great writers of modern contemporary fiction.

kAFKA ON THE SHORE, 07 Aug 2008
This is a fantastic book, mysterious, cunning and ruthless. The style of writing is beautiful. There have not been many books i have read that have kept me up till 4 am and made me late for work.

The critical response to Saturday must be making Ian McEwan a very happy man (not that his virtually unassailable position as Britain's leading novelist has been in doubt). While contemporaries (and rivals) Martin Amis and Will Self have had much more hit-or-miss records recently, each new McEwan novel gleans a host of plaudits, and Atonement has been generally hailed as his masterpiece. Saturday may not enjoy quite such acclaim, but it's a remarkably accomplished piece of work, as richly drawn and characterised as anything he has written.

McEwan's protagonist is neurosurgeon Henry Perowne, a man comfortably ensconced in an enviable upper middle class existence. His wife is a successful newspaper lawyer, his daughter Daisy a budding poet. But as he wakes one Saturday morning and witnesses a plane accident through his window, he is not yet aware that this is a harbinger of a sustained assault on all that he holds dear. It's a McEwan trademark to begin his novels with a striking or violent rupture of everyday existence, but this opening is a prelude to his most impressively sustained narrative yet. It's the publication day of Henry's daughter's poetry collection, but a chance encounter with a drunken trio emerging from a lap-dancing club ends violently, even as a march against the war in Iraq streams past nearby. And this encounter with the menacing Baxter, main antagonist of the group, is to have fateful consequences. As Saturday progresses, Henry is forced to examine every aspect of his life and beliefs, not least his attitude to the war.

Unlike many of his peers, McEwan is not content to reduce the issues of the war to simple opposition, in which Tony Blair is characterised as a war criminal. Henry has treated a victim of Saddam's brutality, and although a comic encounter with the Prime Minister himself is a highlight of the book, both Henry (and his creator) are obliged to consider the complex skein of the conflict from all sides. While there are missteps (the poetic daughter, Daisy, is thinly drawn), McEwan's invigorating and trenchant novel is an unmissable experience. --Barry Forshaw

Incredibly Honest, 23 Nov 2008
He takes the autobiography genre and makes it his own entirely. One of the newspaper quotes on the back says that he is one of the great originals - and this book shows that in it's content as much as the way that it's written.

The research, the physical, and mostly emotional effort and the amount of himself that he has poured into it is incredible.

Beyond the phenomenal honesty and integrity of his writing, the insight to his incredible life and unsurpassed brain is brilliant. Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has "We journey into Hawking's universe, while marveling at his mind" on the front. I agreed with that at the time - this book and author deserve the title more.

In negative news it is rushed at the end - very much so in fact. Part of me doesn't want to doubt this, since it's a long book already and I want to believe that there is good reason for cutting it short, but in reality hearing more about his depression and jail time would have been good. Perhaps he just couldn't bring himself to write it, who knows.

WOW! deary deary dear!, 25 Sep 2008
I have read many books from The Odyssey by Homer to Animal Farm by George Orwell and this, this is my favourite book of all time!

Genius, Genius, Genius!

At times intensly funny and at times almost unbearably sad.
All I can say is you need to beg, borrow or steal and get this book. It's just brilliant.

fantastic read, 11 Jul 2008
like all stephen fry's book this one was brilliant. a fantastic author. once i started reading i could hardly put it down. it's got me started on reading all of his others.

Brilliant, 08 Jul 2008
Like many of the other reviewers, I found I couldn't put this book down. True some of the language gets a bit complicated in places but Fry's amazing narrative style is so addictive that the few stumbling parts are easily forgiven. It's brilliantly funny, heart-breakingly sad and refreshingly honest, after reading it I would challenge anyone not to feel even slightly moved. Personally I felt a whole rainbow of emotions and I am so glad I read it. I would recommend this to anyone.

FUNNY-SAD, 05 Jul 2008
We love Stephen Fry, and this book was entertainingly written as you'd expect. However, there were elements of sadness too and some of our members found this jarred with the humourous parts. But overall we liked this book!

Under - welming, 11 Nov 2008
Took this book on a recent 7 day holiday - it looked my sort of stuff.
Read about 40% of it then tossed it onto the holiday home library shelf and selected the best of what had been left.
Birdsong is tedious and poorly written. The characters are not engaging - it's just not worth the eye power in reading it.
A bit like the movie "Atonement" - it's not unpleasant, you could watch it, it will do no harm but there are many far far better films.
Birdsong is touted as a modern classic - it is no such thing.


A slog, 06 Nov 2008
I tried but it just didn't work for me. The descriptive narrative was a lot of effort for little progress.

Brilliant, 12 Sep 2008
This book is amazing. I was so moved by the story, it is so well written it is like you are reliving the experineces of the characters and there with them through their ups and downs. I found it to be emotionally draining in places, but worth every second.

Amazing book. I simply could not put it down..., 04 Sep 2008
Amazing book. I simply could not put it down. It made me cry in places and now my husband is reading it and finding the book equally moving. Stick at it, as its a slightly slow starter, but its worth the wait!

A cracking good read......, 01 Sep 2008
500 pages as a paperback and been out since '94.. Quite meaty, but if you're in the mood for a compelling read I'd thoroughly recommend it. Read it about thrice now in the last ten years... The missus loves it as well, as it's not just the blood, guts, bombs, rotting flesh, rats and mud that was life on the front line during WW1. There's quite a bit of character building and relationship stuff thrown in for good measure. But if you stick with it, that bit fleshes out the story.

The claustrophobic knife edge existence the Sappers had in those days would have you a nervous wreck if it was 500 pages of that from start to finish. Thank God for mobile warfare I say and the fact that 'tunneller' is no longer a job in the British army.

A moving read, especially the Somme battles and you dispair for the callous way that thousands of lives were thrown away on a daily basis. Get yourself a copy and settle yourself down for a cracking good read....


Compelling and thought provoking story, 03 Nov 2008
An incredible story that is difficult to describe in a short few sentences. It was certainly a very thought provoking book and I really wanted to discuss it with someone else (excellent choice for a book club!). I was unsure about the ending but on reflection it fits well with the rest of the book and allows for the reader to ponder the story well after finishing reading. Dystopian fiction is not for everyone but if you are at all interested in this genre then this is a brilliant example. Once I'd finished this book I went straight out and bought "Oryx and Crake" - another dystopian story by Atwood.

It doesn't matter what you feel, it only matters how you behave, 23 Sep 2008
What a wonderful book, written in the style of 1984 and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never let me go. I find Margaret Atwood's books hard to put down once I have started them, and cannot believe I only discovered her this year. I didn't read the notes at the end, as I thought they would ruin the chilling atmosphere set by the rest of the book. Moira is one of the best characters for me; she brings a little humour to the situation which is sorely needed. A great read.

How to do theocratic dystopia..., 12 Aug 2008
A truly great book, particular for those who have cold feet about Speculative Fiction (aka Sci Fi). A post-apocalyptic take on loss, resistance, feminism and social order of the patriarchal kind, The Handmaid's Tale avoids both cliche and the pretensions that can often plague even the best of novels with political undertows. I can think of few books which so well capture the sense of radical transformation and dislocation that must come with what someone once called the 'orgasms of history', those decisive events that change utterly social structures and somehow drag individuals along with them, even though people remain dominated by much the same loves and hopes they always were. The evocations of ritual, ceremony and punishment are particularly disturbing and resonant, even viscerally so. And, despite creating a deeply believable metaphor both for those changes that have been and those yet to come, Atwood also accomplishes the 'page turner' quality usually reserved for shallow thrillers. Just shy of being a masterpiece.

A thoroughly satisfying read, 07 Aug 2008
Possibly inspired by Islamic revolutions of the late 1970's - Atwood re-imagines American society in the grip an ultra-conservative, theocracy.
Under this regime, biblical scripture is used to justify hierarchical polygamy. High-caste 'Wives' govern biologically-fertile 'handmaids'- kept purely for procreative breeding, these 'handmaids' are sober, pious and nun-like - but they retain the dangerous allure of 'scarlet women' ... being parodoxically both entrapped and yet empowered by their vital role as surrogate mothers.
This is a post-feminist and matriarchal, but rigidly controlled and totalitarian society. It is NOT a cliched 'post-apocalyptic' story,(as the last reviewer erroneously claimed.) It is, however, one possible direction into which modern western societies may be presently regressing. It is a gritty, multi-layered tale, but it is largely about religious ideology as a form of social control.
The story is told with such a sense of exquisite clarity. The sheer pace and mood had me enthralled! It is a vivid, lucid tale, yet richly shrewd and astute. I particularly love the way in which the plot is tantalisingly 'strip-teased' - by flowing back and forth between the present (future) and past (present) Convincingly realistic, profoundly haunting and richly stimulating ... a thoroughly satisfying read!!

Love this book!, 22 Jul 2008
I read this novel for the first time last week and I loved it!! I couldn't put it down!!

The hippest hippo ever, 27 Oct 2008
Oh man, I miss Tedward already! Bring him back Fry! He is the best novel character ever...

Sublime Brilliance..., 25 Sep 2008
...but would you expect any less from the inordinately scintillating Mr Fry. Expect no more than to hold your sides from laughter, be deeply moved at the heartfelt sentiment of the characters, and be surprised at the unexpected curveballs throughout. Simply excellent. I'd give it 100 out of 10 - couldn't put it down!

PERFECTLY HARMLESS, 09 Apr 2008
Nips along at a fair old pace and keeps you distracted for long enough, which is worth three stars all on its own. So why four? Well, you're meandering along, just enjoying the characters and then you get to the end and that makes it just that little bit better.


Splendid darling!, 03 Jan 2008
Really, really enjoyed this book! It's the first Stephen Fry book I've read and I found it (not surprisingly) to be a lot like a Wodehouse novel: upper class characters, estate house with many guests, first person narrative, fantastic use of language etc. However the comedy comes from the language alone - in contrast with the situation for most of the characters which is in fact quite serious, providing an interesting plot that keeps you turning the pages.

It's definitely the language and comments from Ted throughout that are the real highlight though. From simple laughs like the description of his cough as "something between a vomiting donkey and an explosion at a custard factory" and his concern for the "poor female rabbit-flea", to his 6 page sermon on the "fact that women do not enjoy sex" and his spirited defence of a poet's use of "rare words", it's an absolute joy to read.

I can't wait to read some more of Stephen Fry's books - I'm only concerned I may have started on a bit of a high that the others may struggle to match up to.

Very funny, 04 Oct 2007
Stephen Fry has delivered an expertly funny and unpredictable story here. It never gets dull and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Good enough to keep and read again.

Highly recommended, 14 Apr 2008
A thoroughly thought provoking read. Every aspect was a joy; from his endless fountain of wit to his dark ideas of what life could have been.

Making History changed my life, by far the best book I've ever read.

Sheer Genius, 09 Apr 2008
A very, very funny book from a very, very funny man. I challenge you to read this book without hearing Fry's voice in your head throughout. Buy it and enjoy.

Making History, 24 Feb 2008

Stephen Fry's 3rd novel finds him entering science fiction territory, as a university student and a physcicist team up to erase Adolf Hitler from history, only to find that the new world they have created may not be an improvement after all. The alternate world storyline is one of the staples of SF, and the idea of a world without Hitler is certainly a well-worn one, but Fry still manages to throw in a couple of good plot twists along the way, while familiar authorial tropes - humour, academia, homosexuality - are prevalent. THe novel is not without it's flaws - the concept is old-hat, the prose occasionally overblown, and the random jumps to screenplay form seem less to do with stylistic choices than Fry trying to wade through expositionary sections at top speed - but what makes this so enjoyable is the vivid characterisation and fluid writing style. Reminiscent of Douglas Adams, 'Making History' is entertaining and hugely readable.

Smart, light-weight and highly enjoyable., 24 Feb 2008
Having never read any of Stephen Fry's novels before I have to say I was surprised by how accomplished a writer he really is. The novel is pretty long at well over five hundred pages, but manages to remain extremely quick and light-weight reading throughout, with Fry's trademark sparkling wit lending the whole thing an admittedly slightly self-indulgent but nonetheless very intelligent tone.
The story is an extremely well thought through peice of sci-fi working around the old question of whether or not it would be justifiable to kill Hitler before he had a chance to commit his attroticies. There's a good understanding of history present here though and Fry avoids over simplifying his portayal of the people and the time, in fact lending the whole thing a great deal more complexity then most writers would have. The principle character is very relatable, he's sympathetic for all the same reasons as a Douglas Adams character but is very much Fry's creation and a protagonist who the reader can't help but like.
The story has enough thematic intricacies and philosophical questions to keep hardcore sci-fi fans satisfied but remains highly accessible throughout and as such never excludes the reader regardless of their personal taste and preferences.
This is an inventive little sci-fi adventure that should keep both newcomers and stalwart fans of the genre entertained for all of it's pretty considerable length. Definitely one to check out if you get the chance.

enjoyable read, 22 Jan 2008
I found this an enjoyable and engrossing read, but to be honest I could see the way the plot was going a mile off. I nearly through it out the window when reading his description of a laboratory, he clearly doesn't have a clue there. Has made me want to try his other books.

Not his best but still good, 03 Nov 2008
This is the second book I have read by this author after reading Norwegian Wood. I loved Norwegian Wood so I was really looking forward to this one. I was left a little disappointed.
The story follows Kafka who has run away from his father at the age of 15 and Nakata who as a result of an accident as a child, is mentally upset but has the ability to talk to cats.
He two stories seem very separate to begin with but slowly they begin to intertwine. Just as you begin to really enjoy one of the characters story's, you flick back to the other one and visa versa. The story started so strongly but lost its momentum part way through. I found the ending a little cliché but I still enjoyed the book. As with Norwegian Wood, the story stayed with me for a while afterwards.


Fascinating, compelling, but also annoyingly convoluted., 27 Sep 2008
This novel has two parallel and intertwining threads. The first concerns a 15 year old boy who runs away from his father's home and who seems pre-destined to sleep with his mother and sister. The second concerns a retired, semi-retarded man, whose mind was partially stolen in a childhood supernatural accident, but who has supernatural gifts in return. He goes on a quest to find some peace. The characters all behave in that natural, simple way with simple dialogue that is one of Murakami's trademarks, but which I found somewhat annoying at times in this particular novel. The plot, for all its surreal, bizarre twists, is strangely compelling and I found the book very gripping. It is clear that there is a tapestry of ideas within the novel, and this makes it rich and fascinating, but for me it also seemed to verge on confused and convoluted, and I think the ambiguities were a little too numerous for my tastes.

Puzzling, 27 Aug 2008
This was my first experience of Murakami, so I had no preconceptions when I read the book. I finished it last night and I'm still rather baffled so apologies for the vagueness of this review, but as another reviewer said the story is so complex and confusing a summary would be practically impossible.
My first thoughts on starting reading it: this is a massive book; the writing style is so fluid, the descriptions so clear, you can really see and almost hear the scenes described; I'm really going to enjoy this. That Murakami is an immensely talented writer is obvious. But the story... It's so sprawling, the dual quest story, and complex that when I was reading I was thinking about the notes Murakami must have made before he started, (I don't know if he works like this, it's conjecture) the chapter summaries taking him closer to the conclusion. I admired his scope and planning as well as his writing skills. Well, having finished I still don't know if there is a true conclusion, and I'm not sure he did either.
Ambiguity is fine if there is a point there somewhere, if there's something to decipher that's murky and open to interpretation, but really, what is there here to interpret? There's a hollowness to this. Quests should be universal, applicable to everyman. The themes here are ostensibly love, betrayal and revenge but very much of the characters, and not universal, so it's hard to relate. It's a shame, because the narrative does drive along at a cracking pace. I really wanted it to be great. Maybe I didn't care too much about the characters (aside from Nakata). I guess that's the difficulty of writing about flawed characters - if you do it too well their flaws supercede any pity or love you might feel for them.
I really wanted to love this book, and I will never forget it. Parts really made me think and his style is superb. But it's not a good story and the ending was such a cop-out I feel cheated, hence the three stars. I want to read more by this great writer though. (I saw the 'chidlren' typo too - naughty proof-reader!)

One of the Best Novels of 2005, 17 Aug 2008
"Kafka on the Shore" richly deserves its praise by The New York Times as one of its most notable books of fiction in 2005. On a more personal note, I regard it as the most compelling new work of fiction I have read this year, and substantially more absorbing a read than the novel which I regard now as a distant Number Two, Rick Moody's "The Diviners". But I do wonder whether it is truly one of Haruki Murakami's masterpieces; of these both "Norwegian Wood" and "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles" are genuine literary classics of modern world literature. In stark contrast, I agree with a previous Amazon reviewer that the Kafka Tamura saga - one of the two intertwined plots - is reminiscent of "Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World". And yet here, unlike in the earlier novel, Murakami seems fascinated in seeing Kafka's strange odyssey via the eyes of a 15 year-old teenager, not a thirty-something adult Japanese male.

"Kafka on the Shore" is an epic, modern near classic devoted to the themes of loneliness, love and longing. While Kafka Tamura's odyssey for a mysterious mother and older sister who vanished when he was four is quite compelling in its own right, this plot is occasionally overshadowed by the bizarre saga of the geriatric simpleton Nakata, the mysterious survivor of a bizarre World War II episode in his childhood, and somone who has a most unusual rapport with cats. Indeed, Nakata, in many respects, may be the novel's true emotional core and truly one of the most compelling, original characters ever created by Murakami. Their separate quests will lead them from Tokyo to the distant Japanese town of Takamatsu, and involve not only love, but murder most foul, and strange events such as a rain of sardines falling from the sky. With "Kafka on the Shore", Haruki Murakami reaffirms his position as Japan's most important contemporary novelist, and one of our great writers of modern contemporary fiction.

kAFKA ON THE SHORE, 07 Aug 2008
This is a fantastic book, mysterious, cunning and ruthless. The style of writing is beautiful. There have not been many books i have read that have kept me up till 4 am and made me late for work.


Elaborate hoax?, 26 Sep 2008
Just when I was beginning to think that the PC trend for favouring minority writers - disabled black communist lesbians for example - had gone a bit overboard, I was powerfully reminded why the tide had turned against white middle-aged, middle-class literary prize-winning male academics. Atonement was excellent and original, Enduring Love meaty and compelling; Saturday, though well-written and very readable, is as has been noted ad nauseam, a pretentious lifestyle novel, very full of its own pedigree ('John Grammaticus', for heaven's sake) - oozing well heeled self-satisfaction at every turn. Sure there's nothing wrong with class, but this is so self-consciously attuned to the lifestyle must-haves of 'people like us' that the characters lack all integrity. They are straight out of the Sunday supplement, down to the coffee and probiotic yogurt. This makes the 9-11 backdrop seem rather fashionably employed, and the treatment of the character of Baxter questionable. Glibly asserting that 'Some of the worst wrecks have been privately educated' does not address the issue here: it doesn't matter how fortunate or unfortunate the characters portrayed, if they're real people brought to life for us with some recognition of their lives' myriad associations and complexities. Perowne and his family are too much the kind of people marketing companies dangle before us to aspire to; as for Baxter and co, sadly McEwan reveals a much poorer understanding of social class than he has acquired of neurosurgery. There is also an undercurrent of emasculation, as though on some level Perowne/McEwan would love to be brave enough to fight for a cause, but in this world the serious business of male supremacy is fought to the death on the squash court. He's a cunning writer - perhaps his secret intention all along was to get us to side with the underdog?

the nineeleveniraqwar novel, 11 Sep 2008
'Ian? This is the marketing department, for God's sake write a nine eleven novel!'. But the authour has little to say on the subject beyond school boy observations that moslim women wear veils and that post Sadam Iraq (at the time of writing) couldn't be expected to be any worse than the then status quo. However the book is beautifully written and its characters are fully formed by McEwans perfect prose. Yes, they're the predicatable metropolitain, extended middle-class nuclear family, but in MacEwan's hands they come to life fully and have a detailed and interesting back story which completes and explains their reactions to the events in the narrative. Events which are partly given by circumstance, but also by accident of neurology, a subject he tackles with clarity whilst not detracting from its obvious complexity. En route we learn a lot about how to play the blues, play squash (the infamous 15 pages) and even the development of the cordless kettle. In the hands of a lesser writer these would appear padding for the non-nine-eleven novel, but in MacEwan's hands every word adds to his reader's understanding of the characters. Be warned, the story line struck me as being of secondary importance to the people that inhabited it, and the ending felt rather improbable. Without giving too much away, one moral of the narrative might be 'the pen is mightier than the sword'. Something we all agree with but which can be difficult to show convincingly in fiction given the backdrop of our times - both at home and abroad.

A bad kebab, 06 Sep 2008
I binned this book after the first few dozen pages. They were totally leaden. The author seemed to have swallowed a medical dictionary, whose contents were then regurgitated like a bad kebab supper. More of an endurance test than a novel, this was the second McEwan offering to bore me rigid. There won't be a third.

I thought it was just me..., 29 Aug 2008
As I write this, I'm about 15 pages from the end of 'Saturday' and can't wait to finish it, just to get it over with and to move onto something I might actually enjoy reading! It seems to have taken me forever to read and has turned into more of a chore than a pleasure. I've only stuck with it in the hope that something would actually 'happen' - alas, it seems I am to be disappointed (unless someone comes and blows up the Perownes' house in the final pages...). I thought I would read some reviews just to see if I was alone in wondering what all the fuss was about, and am very relieved to find I am not - I was beginning to think that this novel was part of some literary 'in-joke' which I didn't get.

I am, perhaps, something of a latecomer to McEwan. A friend lent me 'Enduring Love' a couple of years ago and I loved it, so resolved to read more of him. 'On Chesil Beach' was my next McEwan outing, and I enjoyed that too, so had high hopes for 'Saturday' - and the back-cover synopsis does make it sound as if this book has all the right ingredients for a gripping read. I have, however, found I have little interest in the main protagonist and, as many reviewers before me have stated, found his seemingly perfect family and upper-middle-class life nauseating.

McEwan's depth of research clearly cannot be faulted, however, the reader is rather beaten over the head with it - perhaps occasioning the need for Perowne's services... I just found myself drifting off with every description of a brain operation, the naming of each piece of equipment used, each procedure carried out, etc., etc., and could certainly have lived without the 20-or-so-page-long-shot-by-shot description of Perowne's squash game, which came across as pointless and self-indulgent. The description of the squash game may be interesting to those who play squash (which I don't); I will concede that squash players may make up a reasonable proportion of those who might read this book, however, the surgical descriptions are probably fascinating only to neurosurgeons who may want to read this book so that they can congratulate McEwan on his research, and I suspect that they will constitute only a tiny proportion of the readership. For most of the rest of us, these laboured passages seem to be just rather dull filler and add little to the plot.

Also very disappointing was the complete anti-climax that was the opening plane crash. The book opens in such a way that the reader expects this event to have a major impact on the rest of the story (in a similar vein to the incident at the opening of 'Enduring Love'), however, it turns into a minor distraction and one is left wondering why it's there. Sure, it may be the event that kicks off Perowne's unease throughout the day but as a plot device the plane crash turns out to be something of a damp squib.

Overall, I have found 'Saturday' to be self-indulgent, implausible (the Perownes' perfect life, Baxter's apparent road-to-Damascus moment on hearing Daisy reciting poetry) and, at times, rambling. I still have 'Atonement' and 'Amsterdam' sitting on my bookshelves, waiting to be read but think I will have to psych myself up for my next dose of McEwan, and cross my fingers that those two do actually live up to all the hype - which 'Saturday', sadly, certainly did not.

gipping by young reader, 07 Aug 2008
i read this at the age of 17 and even then found myself fully immersed in the ordinary routine of a londoner /neurosurgeon. there was nothing immense in the style of writting, nothing even brilliant however its the way the book forces u without forcing you to realise life and understand its qualities to be happy about what you have etc that was amazing. i
was finding myself tlaking about it with friends as if it was some film or soap i had been watching te detail is immense.
absolutley gripping.

Incredibly Honest, 23 Nov 2008
He takes the autobiography genre and makes it his own entirely. One of the newspaper quotes on the back says that he is one of the great originals - and this book shows that in it's content as much as the way that it's written.

The research, the physical, and mostly emotional effort and the amount of himself that he has poured into it is incredible.

Beyond the phenomenal honesty and integrity of his writing, the insight to his incredible life and unsurpassed brain is brilliant. Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has "We journey into Hawking's universe, while marveling at his mind" on the front. I agreed with that at the time - this book and author deserve the title more.

In negative news it is rushed at the end - very much so in fact. Part of me doesn't want to doubt this, since it's a long book already and I want to believe that there is