Scan barcode
briandice's review against another edition
5.0
This is how treasure is unearthed.
I'm in Florida visiting family. I find a used book store in Fort Myers; a shotgun unit in a dilapidated strip mall wedged between a nail salon and a failing pizzaria. The store is mostly pulp romance paperbacks, but there is a slim selection of "Fiction" (apparently a catch-all for everything not romance) - a single shelf where used books are stacked horizontally to economize space. There's a Barth book I don't have wedged in the middle of a stack; my clumsiness retrieving it causes a cascade of books to hit the floor. One of these is a small book that lands face down - my eyes are drawn to a quote on the book's back by author John Hawkes: "Stunning, powerful and original." I also see Whitbread Prize. I don't read further; it comes along with the Barth.
And the book is a winner. I can't/won't say a thing about its subject matter - that is part of the beauty of the experience - the reader should be allowed to witness the excitement of understanding as the seven tales unfold. The writing is stunning (tip o' the hat, Hawkes) but I was equally impressed by the subject matter, Crace disproving the adage that there is nothing new under the sun.
If you read this, please do yourself the favor of not reading the book blurb (or anything on GR about the book) - open to the first page and be reminded anew the power and excitement of unearthing BURIED treasures.
I'm in Florida visiting family. I find a used book store in Fort Myers; a shotgun unit in a dilapidated strip mall wedged between a nail salon and a failing pizzaria. The store is mostly pulp romance paperbacks, but there is a slim selection of "Fiction" (apparently a catch-all for everything not romance) - a single shelf where used books are stacked horizontally to economize space. There's a Barth book I don't have wedged in the middle of a stack; my clumsiness retrieving it causes a cascade of books to hit the floor. One of these is a small book that lands face down - my eyes are drawn to a quote on the book's back by author John Hawkes: "Stunning, powerful and original." I also see Whitbread Prize. I don't read further; it comes along with the Barth.
And the book is a winner. I can't/won't say a thing about its subject matter - that is part of the beauty of the experience - the reader should be allowed to witness the excitement of understanding as the seven tales unfold. The writing is stunning (tip o' the hat, Hawkes) but I was equally impressed by the subject matter, Crace disproving the adage that there is nothing new under the sun.
If you read this, please do yourself the favor of not reading the book blurb (or anything on GR about the book) - open to the first page and be reminded anew the power and excitement of unearthing BURIED treasures.
kiramke's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting to hear his voice in its early stages of development. No, that's not right, the voice is the same, but the ideas grew.
dberrdy's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
poppydrops's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
grubbytoes's review
4.0
This is a book I keep coming back too. I can't really explain why I like it so much, it just takes me somewhere slower.
scotchneat's review
3.0
This was Crace's first stories. I really enjoyed Pest House, so I checked this one out.
This is near fantasy - i.e. the world is not that far off of realworld. You can see some of the maturity that he will develop in his future writing.
Not a recommend to buy, but if you like short stories, maybe a good library book.
This is near fantasy - i.e. the world is not that far off of realworld. You can see some of the maturity that he will develop in his future writing.
Not a recommend to buy, but if you like short stories, maybe a good library book.
rachyreads's review
3.0
‘Continent’ is a succinct, cohesive collection of short stories from writer Jim Crace. This is the first work of Crace’s I’ve read and though I didn’t fall in love with this collection, it was impressive enough that I’m definitely interested in reading more of his work.
A rather short collection at only 7 stories and 140 pages, ‘Continent’ holds faithfully to it’s themes about community, modernity and humanity’s strive and struggle for progress. These comprise the main virtues of the collection. It’s more and more uncommon to find short story collections that are as well thought through as ‘Continent’ and it definitely contributes to the overall enjoyment of reading it. All of the stories feel similar in theme and setting, but are still different enough to stand apart from one another. The length of the stories also gives more than enough time to get into each one, but aren’t so long that they feel dragging. The first three stories were definite highlights for me. The initial story is one of the most interesting reads. It constantly diverged from what I thought it was going to do in a delightful and surprising fashion that kept me constantly engaged.
Some of the later stories in this collection were just average. It’s hard to dislike them too much as they’re still well written and in keeping with the same feeling as the others, so they still feel like a nice continuation of a journey even if that particular stop wasn’t great. My only other criticism is that sometimes the setting is ambiguous in an odd way. A lot of these stories imply some kind of developing state in certain spaces that can feel very African, Asian or South American, but don’t fully commit to this. I can see how someone could see this as lazy or maybe as a cheap ploy to get out of fully exploring these spaces/cultures and giving them the research they deserve. I understand though that is not what he is trying to do in this collection, and using ambiguity to bypass these landmines is maybe necessary for the collection to exist in the form it does. This ambiguity however can sometimes leave some of the stories or characters feeling a little lacking. It feels like there are depths we could yet plumb, but aren’t afforded the chance to.
Overall I felt there was some really great stories in this collection with writing that was often brilliant and only occasionally convoluted. None of the stories in this collection were particularly poor either, which is an impressive feat in any short story collection. If you’re looking for nicely thematically linked collection that’s an interesting and not too taxing read, ‘Continent’ would definitely be a fine enough choice.
A rather short collection at only 7 stories and 140 pages, ‘Continent’ holds faithfully to it’s themes about community, modernity and humanity’s strive and struggle for progress. These comprise the main virtues of the collection. It’s more and more uncommon to find short story collections that are as well thought through as ‘Continent’ and it definitely contributes to the overall enjoyment of reading it. All of the stories feel similar in theme and setting, but are still different enough to stand apart from one another. The length of the stories also gives more than enough time to get into each one, but aren’t so long that they feel dragging. The first three stories were definite highlights for me. The initial story is one of the most interesting reads. It constantly diverged from what I thought it was going to do in a delightful and surprising fashion that kept me constantly engaged.
Some of the later stories in this collection were just average. It’s hard to dislike them too much as they’re still well written and in keeping with the same feeling as the others, so they still feel like a nice continuation of a journey even if that particular stop wasn’t great. My only other criticism is that sometimes the setting is ambiguous in an odd way. A lot of these stories imply some kind of developing state in certain spaces that can feel very African, Asian or South American, but don’t fully commit to this. I can see how someone could see this as lazy or maybe as a cheap ploy to get out of fully exploring these spaces/cultures and giving them the research they deserve. I understand though that is not what he is trying to do in this collection, and using ambiguity to bypass these landmines is maybe necessary for the collection to exist in the form it does. This ambiguity however can sometimes leave some of the stories or characters feeling a little lacking. It feels like there are depths we could yet plumb, but aren’t afforded the chance to.
Overall I felt there was some really great stories in this collection with writing that was often brilliant and only occasionally convoluted. None of the stories in this collection were particularly poor either, which is an impressive feat in any short story collection. If you’re looking for nicely thematically linked collection that’s an interesting and not too taxing read, ‘Continent’ would definitely be a fine enough choice.
More...