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dianaissance's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Енергія не створюється і не руйнується,а лише трансформується у різні форми
ms_gouldbourne's review
1.0
I was thoroughly disappointed by Pierre's novella, touted as 'a thoroughly modern nightmare' by The Times but instead more closely resembling a GCSE-level creative writing assignment. Breakfast with the Borgias was a toxic mess of pretentious, sparse narrative, intertwined with dialogue that felt as though DBC Pierre has never actually heard another human being hold a conversation before, and strange, random occurrences that were clearly meant to be distressing but instead just felt bewildering and out of place.
The novella opens by introducing us to Zeva Neely, a student embarking on a trip to Amsterdam with her boyfriend Ariel, who also happens to be her professor. Well, actually, the novella opens with the line: "Technology is the way, the truth and the life" and it's a good indicator for the kind of affected, artifical language peppered throughout Breakfast with the Borgias. Anyway, I persevered through several pages of stilted text messages between Zeva and Ariel, which served to render the former utterly devoid of personality and the latter completely unlikable.
Most of the rest of the book, unfortunately, is taken up with Ariel's perspective rather than Zeva's. It transpires that his plane had to land unexpectedly at Stanstead due to inclement weather, and now he's stuck at a tiny coastal hotel with no signal, no wi-fi, and thus no way of contacting Zeva, who is already skeptical about staying with him in Amsterdam due to the aforementioned breach of their teacher-pupil relationship. Without him, she'll be unable to check into their hotel, and he also worries about making the conference he's due to be lecturing at in the morning.
Pierre does his best to hammer home the basic tenet of the story: that hell lies in this lack of connectivity. However, it's hard to sympathise with Ariel's position. Yes, he's stuck in the back of beyond, in danger of losing his job and his girlfriend, as he reminds us frequently... but is he really? When taking a moment to review the situation without the veil of desperation that Pierre layers on with a trowel, it's patently ridiculous. Of course Ariel won't be fired if he misses a conference due to a situation beyond his control, and if Zeva will forgive him for the impatient, unpleasant text messages he sends her at the start of the novel, she'll forgive him for his plane being diverted now. And - spoiler alert - this turns out to be true.
In the meantime, Ariel keeps busy; he spends time with the Borders family, nicknamed the Borgias by the hotel's owner Clifford. (Side note - this frustrated me, because a clever reader could have made that link on their own. The novel is called Breakfast with the Borgias, the family is called Borders... it's not exactly rocket science, so having the reference made so on the nose felt a bit like dumbing down. But maybe that's just me.) At first desperate to find a phone to contact Zeva, Ariel soon manages to forget that impulse and busies himself with getting drunk with the Borders, flirting with Olivia, another woman who appears to have little in the way of personality other than a general irritation with the world, and discussing quantum physics.
And this for me is when the book lost me. I accept that the concept of the book was supposed to be one in which things just happened without rhyme or reason, and that the resulting dream-like atmosphere was thus intentional. But for me this just didn't work - it felt as though the author was just as uncertain about what exactly was happening as Ariel was himself. The twist at the end, when it came, wasn't so much a surprise as it was a catch-all. Much like being told 'it was all a dream' or 'aliens did it', the explanation( lacked depth and intelligence. There was no 'ohhhhhhhh' moment, no sense of the author's cleverness, no frantically flipping back through pages to catch the clues left behind. The twist could just as well have been a magic spell, for all the difference or sense it would have made.
All in all, a real disappointment, not least because the concept was actually a clever one! It was just executed poorly, with a host of unsympathetic characters, nonsensical storylines and unrealistic, clunky dialogue. I still don't really understand quite what happened to Zeva at the end, but frankly I won't be bothering to reread to try and figure it out.
Also, if I have to see the word "wo" written out that way one more time, I may actually scream.
The novella opens by introducing us to Zeva Neely, a student embarking on a trip to Amsterdam with her boyfriend Ariel, who also happens to be her professor. Well, actually, the novella opens with the line: "Technology is the way, the truth and the life" and it's a good indicator for the kind of affected, artifical language peppered throughout Breakfast with the Borgias. Anyway, I persevered through several pages of stilted text messages between Zeva and Ariel, which served to render the former utterly devoid of personality and the latter completely unlikable.
Most of the rest of the book, unfortunately, is taken up with Ariel's perspective rather than Zeva's. It transpires that his plane had to land unexpectedly at Stanstead due to inclement weather, and now he's stuck at a tiny coastal hotel with no signal, no wi-fi, and thus no way of contacting Zeva, who is already skeptical about staying with him in Amsterdam due to the aforementioned breach of their teacher-pupil relationship. Without him, she'll be unable to check into their hotel, and he also worries about making the conference he's due to be lecturing at in the morning.
Pierre does his best to hammer home the basic tenet of the story: that hell lies in this lack of connectivity. However, it's hard to sympathise with Ariel's position. Yes, he's stuck in the back of beyond, in danger of losing his job and his girlfriend, as he reminds us frequently... but is he really? When taking a moment to review the situation without the veil of desperation that Pierre layers on with a trowel, it's patently ridiculous. Of course Ariel won't be fired if he misses a conference due to a situation beyond his control, and if Zeva will forgive him for the impatient, unpleasant text messages he sends her at the start of the novel, she'll forgive him for his plane being diverted now. And - spoiler alert - this turns out to be true.
In the meantime, Ariel keeps busy; he spends time with the Borders family, nicknamed the Borgias by the hotel's owner Clifford. (Side note - this frustrated me, because a clever reader could have made that link on their own. The novel is called Breakfast with the Borgias, the family is called Borders... it's not exactly rocket science, so having the reference made so on the nose felt a bit like dumbing down. But maybe that's just me.) At first desperate to find a phone to contact Zeva, Ariel soon manages to forget that impulse and busies himself with getting drunk with the Borders, flirting with Olivia, another woman who appears to have little in the way of personality other than a general irritation with the world, and discussing quantum physics.
And this for me is when the book lost me. I accept that the concept of the book was supposed to be one in which things just happened without rhyme or reason, and that the resulting dream-like atmosphere was thus intentional. But for me this just didn't work - it felt as though the author was just as uncertain about what exactly was happening as Ariel was himself. The twist at the end, when it came, wasn't so much a surprise as it was a catch-all. Much like being told 'it was all a dream' or 'aliens did it', the explanation(
Spoiler
that Ariel, and everyone else in the hotel, had all died in a variety of ways and thus were unable to leaveAll in all, a real disappointment, not least because the concept was actually a clever one! It was just executed poorly, with a host of unsympathetic characters, nonsensical storylines and unrealistic, clunky dialogue. I still don't really understand quite what happened to Zeva at the end, but frankly I won't be bothering to reread to try and figure it out.
Also, if I have to see the word "wo" written out that way one more time, I may actually scream.
alicecharlotte's review
4.0
I really liked the absurdity of this, and DBC Pierre is such a great writer, the characters really came alive (lol geddit). I laughed out loud a few times as well, which doesn't often happen when I read. All in all a pleasant little horror story.
ameliasbooks's review
4.0
Left me with a lot to think about in its own kind of weird way. But I didn't like the ending, I found that really unnecessary.
carolhoggart's review
4.0
What a strange book. I got quite depressed while reading it - the hero was put in such a disturbing position - and yet I really, really wanted to keep reading.
On the surface, the story is about an associate professor in Artificial Intelligence en route to a conference and romantic assignation in Amsterdam. His plane is diverted to the east coast of England during thick fog, and he ends up stranded in a remote English guesthouse with - horror of horrors - no internet or phone reception! From this point, things get progressively weirder and weirder in a technological-age take on the gothic horror story.
Below the surface, there is a current of commentary on matters such as quantum vs. classical reality, game theory, and society's current umbilical attachment to the smart phone. I feel like I ought to re-read some dozen times to have a hope of understanding these subtexts! Thought provoking, and cleverly done.
On the plot level, however, the story did not wrap up a number of points. The mystery of the text-messages to the hero's girlfriend, for example. (I say no more for fear of spoilers.) Of course, it is quite possible that the author intended to leave these narrative threads hanging. One other matter I found less than satisfactory was the character of Gretchen, a classic disturbed teenager with anorexic and manipulative tendencies. I kept thinking Pierre was going to put a twist on the stereotype, but it never happened.
Still, 4 stars for a very thought-provoking read.
On the surface, the story is about an associate professor in Artificial Intelligence en route to a conference and romantic assignation in Amsterdam. His plane is diverted to the east coast of England during thick fog, and he ends up stranded in a remote English guesthouse with - horror of horrors - no internet or phone reception! From this point, things get progressively weirder and weirder in a technological-age take on the gothic horror story.
Below the surface, there is a current of commentary on matters such as quantum vs. classical reality, game theory, and society's current umbilical attachment to the smart phone. I feel like I ought to re-read some dozen times to have a hope of understanding these subtexts! Thought provoking, and cleverly done.
On the plot level, however, the story did not wrap up a number of points. The mystery of the text-messages to the hero's girlfriend, for example. (I say no more for fear of spoilers.) Of course, it is quite possible that the author intended to leave these narrative threads hanging. One other matter I found less than satisfactory was the character of Gretchen, a classic disturbed teenager with anorexic and manipulative tendencies. I kept thinking Pierre was going to put a twist on the stereotype, but it never happened.
Still, 4 stars for a very thought-provoking read.
magicalbertie's review
2.0
It's times like this I could do with half stars as I'm not entirely sure how to rate this. I found a lot of the book hard to get through and quite dull and I'm still confused by a few aspects of the plot. It wasn't the thriller/horror I was expecting but I liked the conclusion and I liked the general idea of the book.
fellfromfiction's review
3.0
Unnerving and creepy, but oddly engaging. Packed with nasty and weird characters.
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