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laurapk's review against another edition
5.0
I was surprised how many people rated this book low, I flew through it. Not only is it full of laugh out lout moments (intelligently constructed, gotta love the British humour), but it was beautifully written and had an interesting theme.
We follow Adam Kellas, a journalist/writer, who loses face, money and a lucrative book deal in only a few days. His descent begins the night before he boards a flight to New York from London, to visit a former journalist colleague from his days in Afghanistan, Astrid Walsh. By the time he spends his desired night with Astrid, Adam has reached rock bottom. As the layers of his constructed persona peel off and burn, he's finally able to see the problem which has plagued all his relationships, especially the romantic ones: he (and probably we, the readers as well) don't see the person in front of us for what they really are, instead we construct an image about them. We fall in love with that image, build friendships based on that image, usually an oversimplification, but are uncomfortable looking for the person underneath. As Adam tells Astrid the morning after he realizes the love of his life is an alcoholic:
"I came looking for you, and unfortunately, I found you."
The same thing happens with national identity as well. The American on the Greyhound buss is more than happy to criticize aspects of his country, but when he reads the parody of his country in Kellas' now rejected novel he gets angry, defensive. Anger is the way most characters respond to anybody challenging the image they have of themselves in this novel. Kellas is prone to tantrums, but the people around him escalate the tension in a heartbeat. This discrepancy between what we think we are and how others see us, what we think others are and how they see themselves, is expanded to works of fiction as well. As Kellas' friend says: "Kids are like books: once you've finished making them, they're not yours anymore."
Is there a solution to our blindness? Meek's characters seem to realize their errors from the beginning of the novel, e.g. when Kellas tells Astrid about what he finds most difficult when reporting from Afghanistan: "The traveler never comes back. He becomes another man, who belongs a little to the place he travels to. He belongs more to that place every day he stays there. And that's the very part, the belonging, that I never find out how to pass to the people at home". His big revelation comes after he sees Astrid in the throws of her addiction: "(...) Kellas who understood that both Astrid and himself were to be perceived not as the beasts and beauties, or this and that moment, but as the long, twisting shapes they carved in time as they flowed through it" (this flow through time, the river topography of life, is mentioned again at the end of the novel).
I did feel that the book try to address other themes as well and didn't complete doing it, so I guess it could have been tighter in that aspect. But it kept my interest well, and I rarely get to finish a book so fast. So the 4.5 stars gets rounded up to a 5.
Here's one more sentence I loved from the book:
"The reporters and photographers in Jabal were bored (...) because the war was everywhere and nowhere, like God; they were telling their editors that they be lived in it but they seldom heard it, let alone saw it"
We follow Adam Kellas, a journalist/writer, who loses face, money and a lucrative book deal in only a few days. His descent begins the night before he boards a flight to New York from London, to visit a former journalist colleague from his days in Afghanistan, Astrid Walsh. By the time he spends his desired night with Astrid, Adam has reached rock bottom. As the layers of his constructed persona peel off and burn, he's finally able to see the problem which has plagued all his relationships, especially the romantic ones: he (and probably we, the readers as well) don't see the person in front of us for what they really are, instead we construct an image about them. We fall in love with that image, build friendships based on that image, usually an oversimplification, but are uncomfortable looking for the person underneath. As Adam tells Astrid the morning after he realizes the love of his life is an alcoholic:
"I came looking for you, and unfortunately, I found you."
The same thing happens with national identity as well. The American on the Greyhound buss is more than happy to criticize aspects of his country, but when he reads the parody of his country in Kellas' now rejected novel he gets angry, defensive. Anger is the way most characters respond to anybody challenging the image they have of themselves in this novel. Kellas is prone to tantrums, but the people around him escalate the tension in a heartbeat. This discrepancy between what we think we are and how others see us, what we think others are and how they see themselves, is expanded to works of fiction as well. As Kellas' friend says: "Kids are like books: once you've finished making them, they're not yours anymore."
Is there a solution to our blindness? Meek's characters seem to realize their errors from the beginning of the novel, e.g. when Kellas tells Astrid about what he finds most difficult when reporting from Afghanistan: "The traveler never comes back. He becomes another man, who belongs a little to the place he travels to. He belongs more to that place every day he stays there. And that's the very part, the belonging, that I never find out how to pass to the people at home". His big revelation comes after he sees Astrid in the throws of her addiction: "(...) Kellas who understood that both Astrid and himself were to be perceived not as the beasts and beauties, or this and that moment, but as the long, twisting shapes they carved in time as they flowed through it" (this flow through time, the river topography of life, is mentioned again at the end of the novel).
I did feel that the book try to address other themes as well and didn't complete doing it, so I guess it could have been tighter in that aspect. But it kept my interest well, and I rarely get to finish a book so fast. So the 4.5 stars gets rounded up to a 5.
Here's one more sentence I loved from the book:
"The reporters and photographers in Jabal were bored (...) because the war was everywhere and nowhere, like God; they were telling their editors that they be lived in it but they seldom heard it, let alone saw it"
grandgranini's review against another edition
4.0
Not sure why I liked this book as much as I did. The novel had no plot to speak of (quite a departure from Meek's last novel, "The People's Act of Love") and the dialogue was strange and stilted in some spots. But there was also a sly sense of humor at work, and a lot of skill in the way the characters were drawn.
aditurbo's review
2.0
DNF. Meek's wonderful writing skills are wasted here on a non-story. There is a limit to how much beautifully-crafted sentences and characters can cover for there being no narrative and no drama whatsoever. I would love to read more of Meek's writing, but am putting this one aside.
canadianbookworm's review
4.0
I grabbed this book to read as Meek is coming to Barrie for the International Festival of Authors and I wanted to experience his writing. Boy, am I glad I did.
It took a while before I got engrossed in the book, but once I did, I had a hard time putting it down. The plot moves back and forth in a continuous basis between late 2001 and late 2002, with a epilogue in 2003. The main character is Adam Kellas, a British journalist who have lived a very nomadic life during his journalistic career. In October 2001 he accepts a posting to Afghanistan and chronicles his experiences and observances there, including a connection he made with an American writer, Astrid.
In late 2002, he is back in London, has just had his new novel, a thriller written for the mass market, accepted by a publisher, and out of sorts with his world. As he encounters friends, exes, and acquaintances his thoughts travel back to the previous year to experiences there.
This book is about Kellas' thoughts and actions and takes us from Afghanistan to Britain to America, as well as inside Kellas' mind. We see his dreams, illusions, and realities in very interesting ways.
A great read for the times.
It took a while before I got engrossed in the book, but once I did, I had a hard time putting it down. The plot moves back and forth in a continuous basis between late 2001 and late 2002, with a epilogue in 2003. The main character is Adam Kellas, a British journalist who have lived a very nomadic life during his journalistic career. In October 2001 he accepts a posting to Afghanistan and chronicles his experiences and observances there, including a connection he made with an American writer, Astrid.
In late 2002, he is back in London, has just had his new novel, a thriller written for the mass market, accepted by a publisher, and out of sorts with his world. As he encounters friends, exes, and acquaintances his thoughts travel back to the previous year to experiences there.
This book is about Kellas' thoughts and actions and takes us from Afghanistan to Britain to America, as well as inside Kellas' mind. We see his dreams, illusions, and realities in very interesting ways.
A great read for the times.
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