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shoba's review against another edition
3.0
Oct 1
Unpleasantness of Bank
Manager 1.00
Oct-April
Chagrin at learning no secrets 0.55
May 2
Suffering and loss due to Undertaker 1.71
May 2
Unpleasantness felt near
Reverend 0.04
May 3
Office Supervisor’s lack of sympathy 6.00
“…a guided tour of the enemy defenses, a chance to observe weaknesses and strong points, vulnerable outposts and key redoubts, salients and bridgeheads, and similar war-game expressions. Was this a war? Was this a game?”
Unpleasantness of Bank
Manager 1.00
Oct-April
Chagrin at learning no secrets 0.55
May 2
Suffering and loss due to Undertaker 1.71
May 2
Unpleasantness felt near
Reverend 0.04
May 3
Office Supervisor’s lack of sympathy 6.00
“…a guided tour of the enemy defenses, a chance to observe weaknesses and strong points, vulnerable outposts and key redoubts, salients and bridgeheads, and similar war-game expressions. Was this a war? Was this a game?”
thebobsphere's review against another edition
5.0
My first B.S. Johnson was The Unfortunates, which consisted of a book divided into separate pamphlet-like chapters, which could be read in any order. It was an enjoyable read but I did feel that the concept overshadowed both the story and inner message.
Christie Malry’s Own Double-Entry was Johnson’s last novel and it is everything I like in fiction. It is playful, anarchic, has some ghastly puns, rude moments and it challenges the boundaries of fiction. Plus it’s good a fine plot.
Christie Malry wants to be near money so he decides to work in a bank. This doesn’t work out so he then is hired as an accountant at a firm which makes chocolates and baked goods. There he discovers the Double-Entry booking system, where every transaction is recorded as a debit and a credit, the end sum has to balance itself.
Malry then starts to apply this system to life. Therefore if someone is unpleasant to him, he has to pay that person back equally so that the debit is fulfilled. At first it starts on a prankster level (think of the tricks Amelie plays on the greengrocer) and then it escalates to cartoonish levels of destruction.
In a meta-novel twist the book’s narrator is having a chat with Christie Malry and is then telling us readers his exploits.
Other than a criticism of how a novel should be structured, Christie Malry’s own double-entry serves as a great middle finger to organised businesses. In it’s own way this is quite a punk novel and one which is a lot of fun to read. If one thought that experimental fiction (although Johnson hated the term) was boring or unreadable, think again. This novel is a box of firecrackers whizzing in all directions.
Once again, this was another gem which was featured on the Backlisted Podcast . So far it’s helping with all those gaps I have when it comes to classics so I’m going to try read every book featured.
Christie Malry’s Own Double-Entry was Johnson’s last novel and it is everything I like in fiction. It is playful, anarchic, has some ghastly puns, rude moments and it challenges the boundaries of fiction. Plus it’s good a fine plot.
Christie Malry wants to be near money so he decides to work in a bank. This doesn’t work out so he then is hired as an accountant at a firm which makes chocolates and baked goods. There he discovers the Double-Entry booking system, where every transaction is recorded as a debit and a credit, the end sum has to balance itself.
Malry then starts to apply this system to life. Therefore if someone is unpleasant to him, he has to pay that person back equally so that the debit is fulfilled. At first it starts on a prankster level (think of the tricks Amelie plays on the greengrocer) and then it escalates to cartoonish levels of destruction.
In a meta-novel twist the book’s narrator is having a chat with Christie Malry and is then telling us readers his exploits.
Other than a criticism of how a novel should be structured, Christie Malry’s own double-entry serves as a great middle finger to organised businesses. In it’s own way this is quite a punk novel and one which is a lot of fun to read. If one thought that experimental fiction (although Johnson hated the term) was boring or unreadable, think again. This novel is a box of firecrackers whizzing in all directions.
Once again, this was another gem which was featured on the Backlisted Podcast . So far it’s helping with all those gaps I have when it comes to classics so I’m going to try read every book featured.
alicesp's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
aheyns's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Death
nevadaishome's review against another edition
4.0
Favorite quotes:
"When I grow up, I'm going to be a driver in women's underwear adverts, driving at speed along mountain roads, or through crowded city streets, leaning over to sound the horn, and grinning at the thrill of the danger and the knowledge of the erotic thrill my nearness is affording the girls in the car with me."
“People who know they are happy can generally be counted upon to be socially conservative, often actively so. They love their condition and vote conservative to preserve it."
"The man with the bad leg got off at the next stop, but not before Christie had noticed how his massiveness seemed to have burst from the clothes which barely contained it, with an effect of mass carelessness, and a pitted surface, like a great cauliflower."
"So they were not real people, then; only cliche's. But what he felt about them was not cliche'd, and what he was feeling now was not just extreme emotion, it was truth."
"When I grow up, I'm going to be a driver in women's underwear adverts, driving at speed along mountain roads, or through crowded city streets, leaning over to sound the horn, and grinning at the thrill of the danger and the knowledge of the erotic thrill my nearness is affording the girls in the car with me."
“People who know they are happy can generally be counted upon to be socially conservative, often actively so. They love their condition and vote conservative to preserve it."
"The man with the bad leg got off at the next stop, but not before Christie had noticed how his massiveness seemed to have burst from the clothes which barely contained it, with an effect of mass carelessness, and a pitted surface, like a great cauliflower."
"So they were not real people, then; only cliche's. But what he felt about them was not cliche'd, and what he was feeling now was not just extreme emotion, it was truth."
pickwickthedodo's review against another edition
3.0
This was a tough book for me to get through. I was hoping to connect on some level with at least one of the characters, but that never happened. I guess that was my main problem with the book. I found every character fundamentally unlikable, particularly Christie (and no, not just because he poisons London’s water supply).
This book was successful in other ways though. Johnson is hilarious, and the alternation of perspectives is a lot of fun. The intrusive authorial presence that Johnson employs was a true stroke of genius. I was constantly aware that I was reading fiction, but more than that, Christie and Friends were equally aware that they were fiction. I really enjoyed the overall idea and concept of the book, particularly the inclusion of Christie’s accounts ledgers. I think I might have enjoyed this book more if I’d put more time between it and House Mother Normal, so I’ll probably give it another go at some point. It’s a true feat of writing, and though it wasn’t the thing for me this time, it’s a good way to get into Johnson’s style and humour.
This book was successful in other ways though. Johnson is hilarious, and the alternation of perspectives is a lot of fun. The intrusive authorial presence that Johnson employs was a true stroke of genius. I was constantly aware that I was reading fiction, but more than that, Christie and Friends were equally aware that they were fiction. I really enjoyed the overall idea and concept of the book, particularly the inclusion of Christie’s accounts ledgers. I think I might have enjoyed this book more if I’d put more time between it and House Mother Normal, so I’ll probably give it another go at some point. It’s a true feat of writing, and though it wasn’t the thing for me this time, it’s a good way to get into Johnson’s style and humour.
abikale's review against another edition
4.0
Kind of funny but not really my cup of tea. It was the perfect length.
slippy_underfoot's review against another edition
5.0
Absolute genius. A milepost somewhere along the road from Tristram Shandy to Fight Club, this book plays with the novel form, disowning some conventions and acknowledging others with a weary sigh. A cell of one.
giselav's review
4.0
It's a short book but definitely worth the read, especially if you're into 4th wall breaking/self-aware humor, which this novel is riddled with. The story is simple and yet quite interesting as well as surprising. I went into this with no expectations or ideas of what I'd find and I ended up pausing a bunch of times to simply go what before I kept reading.
Basically, Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry is short, fun and innovative. Read it.
Basically, Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry is short, fun and innovative. Read it.