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Wild Abandon
Kate and Albert have always lived on the secluded communal farm run by their father. But now, after twenty years, the community is disintegrating, taking their parents' marriage with it. To escape, Kate, at seventeen, flees to a suburbia she knows only through fiction; and Albert, at eleven, dives into preparations for the end of the world that he is sure is coming. Don- the father of the family, leader, and maker of elaborate speeches- is faced with the prospect of saving his community, his marriage, his son from apocalyptic visions, ad his daughter from impending men. He convinces himself that the only way to save his world is... to throw the biggest party of his life. But will anyone show up?
256 pages, Hardcover
First published August 23, 2011
44 people are currently reading
1063 people want to read
About the author
Joe Dunthorne
21 books299 followersJoe Dunthorne was born and brought up in Swansea, and is a graduate of the University of East Anglia's Creative Writing MA, where he was awarded the Curtis Brown prize.
His poetry has been published in magazines and anthologies and has featured on Channel 4, and BBC Radio 3 and 4. A pamphlet collection, Joe Dunthorne: Faber New Poets 5 was published in 2010.
His first novel, Submarine, the story of a dysfunctional family in Swansea narrated by Oliver Tate, aged 15, was published in 2008.
His poetry has been published in magazines and anthologies and has featured on Channel 4, and BBC Radio 3 and 4. A pamphlet collection, Joe Dunthorne: Faber New Poets 5 was published in 2010.
His first novel, Submarine, the story of a dysfunctional family in Swansea narrated by Oliver Tate, aged 15, was published in 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
January 28, 2012
I liked this book less and less as it went on... I only finished it because it was such a quick read. It did include a lot of clever writing and quirky turns-of-phrase, and I give it credit for this--it's what attracted me to it in the first place from just having read the first chapter or two. But ultimately, I just ended up not connecting with any of the characters and I didn't care what happened to them. I wasn't curious to see how anyone's story ended up.
I re-read part of the Washington Post review that originally enticed me to read it, and he mentioned that this author is a genius at depicting young people, and that the sibling relationship in this book is portrayed particularly well. Now that I've read it, I see where he's coming from with this comment, but these 2 siblings just did not strike a chord with me. The boy was so strange and quirky that I just didn't "get" him, and didn't understand any of his motivations, and the sister was just bland to me. Ah well... you win some, you lose some!
I re-read part of the Washington Post review that originally enticed me to read it, and he mentioned that this author is a genius at depicting young people, and that the sibling relationship in this book is portrayed particularly well. Now that I've read it, I see where he's coming from with this comment, but these 2 siblings just did not strike a chord with me. The boy was so strange and quirky that I just didn't "get" him, and didn't understand any of his motivations, and the sister was just bland to me. Ah well... you win some, you lose some!
February 7, 2012
Sometimes you read a book and once you've finished it, you know right away whether or not you liked it. And then there are times when you finish a book and you have no idea what to make of it. Joe Dunthorne's Wild Abandon is definitely a book that falls into the latter category for me. Pieces of the story I really loved, but sadly Dunthorne took the story into some really strange places, which definitely tempered my feelings overall.
Freya and Don Riley have lived in a commune-type community in the English countryside for many years, since they co-founded "the community" with two other friends. Their two children, Kate and Albert, have been raised living the philosophies their parents have instilled in all residents. But things are starting to change. The community is on a decline, down to a skeleton crew. Kate has enrolled in school for the first time and is hoping to get into college, and she has come into contact with "regular" students and cafeteria food for the first time. Albert has fallen under the influence of another resident's end-of-the-world philosophies. And Freya is tired of it all, especially her husband. Wild Abandon follows the Rileys and their friends through all of the changes and the chaos that results.
At its heart, this is a book about change—how we need it, how we crave it, but how we resist it at every turn. Dunthorne has created some very dynamic characters, but in an effort to give each flaws, he sacrifices their appeal. While the characters may exhibit behaviors you might expect from individuals who haved lived for so long on a commune, many of them veer into truly uncomfortable territory, which turned the book for me. There's no doubt that Dunthorne is a really talented writer—and I'm considering reading his earlier book, Submarine—but I found this book ultimately unsatisfying because of the behaviors of many of its characters. Bummer.
Freya and Don Riley have lived in a commune-type community in the English countryside for many years, since they co-founded "the community" with two other friends. Their two children, Kate and Albert, have been raised living the philosophies their parents have instilled in all residents. But things are starting to change. The community is on a decline, down to a skeleton crew. Kate has enrolled in school for the first time and is hoping to get into college, and she has come into contact with "regular" students and cafeteria food for the first time. Albert has fallen under the influence of another resident's end-of-the-world philosophies. And Freya is tired of it all, especially her husband. Wild Abandon follows the Rileys and their friends through all of the changes and the chaos that results.
At its heart, this is a book about change—how we need it, how we crave it, but how we resist it at every turn. Dunthorne has created some very dynamic characters, but in an effort to give each flaws, he sacrifices their appeal. While the characters may exhibit behaviors you might expect from individuals who haved lived for so long on a commune, many of them veer into truly uncomfortable territory, which turned the book for me. There's no doubt that Dunthorne is a really talented writer—and I'm considering reading his earlier book, Submarine—but I found this book ultimately unsatisfying because of the behaviors of many of its characters. Bummer.
July 11, 2017
It's so nice when a random book recommended by a co-worker who may not have the same taste as you turns out to have exquisite writing. When Kate's boyfriend's mother gives her lingerie, "Kate hoped her face for stunned horror was the same as her face for happy surprise." Or "Albert had a bad feeling that there was literally no one he could think of who wasn't in some very significant way a letdown." And when Albert gets on the roof at the party near the end to give his speech about the end of the world, those three pages are simply pitch-perfect. "'We must learn to discard the material world.' There was a shout-out for Madonna that Albert didn't understand . . . As Albert walked offstage, someone had lined up Prince's 1999 as the first record and everybody went absolutely nuts." I find that when the writing is this good, there's no need for dire conflict to move the story along, so I was a bit off-put when at the end, but otherwise - smashing.
April 30, 2012
Read this after Submarine in hopes I would like it more and really did. This one's just as if not more funny but also wildly compassionate. It's the tale of a present day commune in Wales - apparently it's still the 70s for some people there, including Kate 17 and Albert 11, the children of two of the founders. They're hippie dippy enough that these two siblings are showering together after messy barnyard chores as the book opens. Everything is on the cusp of change for them, though, and not just because Albert's soon to be too old to shower with his sister anymore.
Kate has landed a boyfriend outside the commune, and is looking at her long-term future in the world. And their parents are having a rough patch marriagewise. No surprise that serious little Albert takes too seriously the apocalyptic mumbo jumbo of a transient member and begins preparing for the end times. Which may arrive with the blowout rave his father is planning to recruit new members and (not thinking clearly here) heal up his marriage.
Funny and big-hearted and very well written.
Kate has landed a boyfriend outside the commune, and is looking at her long-term future in the world. And their parents are having a rough patch marriagewise. No surprise that serious little Albert takes too seriously the apocalyptic mumbo jumbo of a transient member and begins preparing for the end times. Which may arrive with the blowout rave his father is planning to recruit new members and (not thinking clearly here) heal up his marriage.
Funny and big-hearted and very well written.
February 28, 2013
So, I never read Submarine or saw the film that was made of it, though I may yet do both of these things. I got this second novel, 'Wild Abandon', from my local library in Wales on a day when I was working to avoid chilly crime books (of which they keep plenty in stock). I wanted something different and I guess I got it. I really liked bits of this book, the shower scene at the start was great, and after a while I was sure it would end with another shower scene. (It did.) Joe Dunthorne has a way of writing that puts a different spin on things familiar to you, at times very convincingly. Something about the shape of the book, and the characters' tendencies to wallow in their crises, was very reminiscent of certain Douglas Coupland novels, but Dunthorne's style of writing is very much his own, and the book is worth reading for that reason alone. And if you don't read it, hey, BBC in Cardiff will probably film it anyway.
October 5, 2012
It seemed to me that the author really resented all of his characters. I could feel the hostility and it was very unpleasant. What's worse, it seemed Dunthorne hated them more and more as the novel went on.
Another thing, I really disliked Albert. I mean I REALLY disliked that kid. I wanted to see him badly injured. He was a disgusting, horrible little pig who I had no sympathy for.
The book was written rather tediously. I liked Submarine a helluva lot more because at least the characters (while occasionally horrible) were likable and relatable. I've always found that adult authors have a hard time writing children accurately and Joe Dunthorne is apparently no exception to this. It seemed awkward.
The book starts strongly with a few likable characters, but it's all downhill from there. Do yourself a favour and don't bother with this one.
Another thing, I really disliked Albert. I mean I REALLY disliked that kid. I wanted to see him badly injured. He was a disgusting, horrible little pig who I had no sympathy for.
The book was written rather tediously. I liked Submarine a helluva lot more because at least the characters (while occasionally horrible) were likable and relatable. I've always found that adult authors have a hard time writing children accurately and Joe Dunthorne is apparently no exception to this. It seemed awkward.
The book starts strongly with a few likable characters, but it's all downhill from there. Do yourself a favour and don't bother with this one.
August 5, 2015
Wild Abandon is less wild abandonment and more cautious rebellion. From the parents who leave the status quo to start their own independent community (but with the backing of their wealthier friend Patrick) to the children who leave the community to re-enter mainstream schooling and Kate who just wants a normal house and boyfriend this novel takes baby steps around a small group of characters. In itself not a bad thing, but when the blurb says 'save the community with a rave' and what actually happens is a 'desperate dad tries to re-engage with his daughter via a rave' the story can feel a bit disappointing.
Dunthorne does create a sympathetic set of characters who are both flawed and endearing in their own ways, the community structure and beginnings are believable and the world building is solid. I would have preferred the whole book to be about the building of the community, if I'm honest.
The main plot follows the central family - Don, Freya, Kate and Albert - as they navigate Kate's a level graduation and Albert's schooling. Ignore the rave thing, that is really unimportant. What's important here is this family! I found Don to be incredibly annoying and patronizing, Freya long suffering, Kate a normalish teenager and Albert to be very odd indeed (but who can blame him when he has no friends his own age and has to shower with his sister?). Added on are the rest of the community, who seem to put up with a lot considering Don's family has the biggest accommodation and no one's allowed a mobile phone.
At college Kate discovers Garaint and they soon become a couple. Following an incident with Patrick Kate leaves the community and goes to live with Garaint's family (including his mum who in a very odd scene gives her lingerie). Kate's family tries to win her back and eventually (after trying very little else) decide that a huge rave at the community will not only win Kate back but also bring in new blood to rejuvenate the aging site.
Overall a fairly relaxed listen and good for plodding around with the dog, but perhaps not the battle to save the community that it could have been.
Dunthorne does create a sympathetic set of characters who are both flawed and endearing in their own ways, the community structure and beginnings are believable and the world building is solid. I would have preferred the whole book to be about the building of the community, if I'm honest.
The main plot follows the central family - Don, Freya, Kate and Albert - as they navigate Kate's a level graduation and Albert's schooling. Ignore the rave thing, that is really unimportant. What's important here is this family! I found Don to be incredibly annoying and patronizing, Freya long suffering, Kate a normalish teenager and Albert to be very odd indeed (but who can blame him when he has no friends his own age and has to shower with his sister?). Added on are the rest of the community, who seem to put up with a lot considering Don's family has the biggest accommodation and no one's allowed a mobile phone.
At college Kate discovers Garaint and they soon become a couple. Following an incident with Patrick Kate leaves the community and goes to live with Garaint's family (including his mum who in a very odd scene gives her lingerie). Kate's family tries to win her back and eventually (after trying very little else) decide that a huge rave at the community will not only win Kate back but also bring in new blood to rejuvenate the aging site.
Overall a fairly relaxed listen and good for plodding around with the dog, but perhaps not the battle to save the community that it could have been.
July 5, 2012
Telling truths goes a long way with me. In a couple of ways, Wild Abandon did that (although I'm not sure it was intended) then any redemptive aspects fall off a cliff.
There's a bit of truth said about the traditional roles of men and women in society. A woman just won't respect a man who abdicates his traditional role as provider especially while he clings to the perquisites of being the 'head of the household' (or commune, in this case). Oh, and usually, the chick will go with the guy with cash.
Although there are plenty of people who advocate for remaking society in many ways including turning us all into a commune-based society, almost all remakings of society end badly whether it's the French Revolution or Jonestown. Jacobians always play at being Pandora and are surprised at what happens when the lid is lifted. When they're put in charge, bad things happen.
That's not a political statement so much as a belief that human nature is a constant. Society, in many ways, is a way to deal with the bad parts of our nature. Tear down long-established structures of our society and those evil spirits are released. Wild Abandon shows this decline. It doesn't show the world we want to be but the world as it is.
While these truths are put forth and a story is kinda, sorta built around it, the novel falls flat. Maybe a bit more insight into the characters. It felt as if so many punches were pulled and points suggested but not made.
Maybe a plot would have helped. There wasn't much of one. I believe that shows in the ending which was incomprehensible and fantastic. It's the kind of ending that will garner nominates and awards for book prizes for whatever reason those folks like that sort of thing. Usually it's just a sign that the author had no place to go with the story and may not have even known where the story was going from the beginning.
Wild Abandon is just another example of a rule I'm developing. Very few novels should be written. Most novels should be short stories. Most short stories should be poems. Most poems should be a line on a fortune
There's a bit of truth said about the traditional roles of men and women in society. A woman just won't respect a man who abdicates his traditional role as provider especially while he clings to the perquisites of being the 'head of the household' (or commune, in this case). Oh, and usually, the chick will go with the guy with cash.
Although there are plenty of people who advocate for remaking society in many ways including turning us all into a commune-based society, almost all remakings of society end badly whether it's the French Revolution or Jonestown. Jacobians always play at being Pandora and are surprised at what happens when the lid is lifted. When they're put in charge, bad things happen.
That's not a political statement so much as a belief that human nature is a constant. Society, in many ways, is a way to deal with the bad parts of our nature. Tear down long-established structures of our society and those evil spirits are released. Wild Abandon shows this decline. It doesn't show the world we want to be but the world as it is.
While these truths are put forth and a story is kinda, sorta built around it, the novel falls flat. Maybe a bit more insight into the characters. It felt as if so many punches were pulled and points suggested but not made.
Maybe a plot would have helped. There wasn't much of one. I believe that shows in the ending which was incomprehensible and fantastic. It's the kind of ending that will garner nominates and awards for book prizes for whatever reason those folks like that sort of thing. Usually it's just a sign that the author had no place to go with the story and may not have even known where the story was going from the beginning.
Wild Abandon is just another example of a rule I'm developing. Very few novels should be written. Most novels should be short stories. Most short stories should be poems. Most poems should be a line on a fortune
December 18, 2017
In one of his interviews, Joe Dunthorne said that one might never really know his/her friends. After many years of knowing each other, he learned the story of his friend's communal childhood. It kept coming back to him and so he asked her permission to write about it. However, it's not totally her story, more like an echo of the real events, a mixture of the existing commune stories.
Living in a city doesn't always work out, you lose your dream and settle down for a job you desperately hate, for a place you hardly can call home. I can see how one can be tempted to run away and start up a different life. Something to really believe in, to see as a more meaningful approach towards living. Only you cannot always escape from yourself, from the need to work on your relationships. It would be naive to hope that every possible problem would be magically solved in a new environment.
This commune is a sort of utopian model of the world, where the unwanted aspects are hidden behind the black curtain or muffled with a "Soviet hat". Though they cannot hide the rest of the world, especially from the teenagers and children who are curious about it and want to somehow fit in. This story seems to be a game of hide-and-seek between the commune and our reality - trying to stay as far as possible from each other to later find out that they are now so different.
It's an interesting idea for a book, but most of the characters are weak and not compelling enough to believe in them.
Living in a city doesn't always work out, you lose your dream and settle down for a job you desperately hate, for a place you hardly can call home. I can see how one can be tempted to run away and start up a different life. Something to really believe in, to see as a more meaningful approach towards living. Only you cannot always escape from yourself, from the need to work on your relationships. It would be naive to hope that every possible problem would be magically solved in a new environment.
This commune is a sort of utopian model of the world, where the unwanted aspects are hidden behind the black curtain or muffled with a "Soviet hat". Though they cannot hide the rest of the world, especially from the teenagers and children who are curious about it and want to somehow fit in. This story seems to be a game of hide-and-seek between the commune and our reality - trying to stay as far as possible from each other to later find out that they are now so different.
It's an interesting idea for a book, but most of the characters are weak and not compelling enough to believe in them.
January 20, 2012
Smart, moody people living on their own sort of commune in Wales. Hippies are not always easy to live with. This book is about people growing out of things, letting go of things. Freya wants out of her marriage with Don. Patrick wants out of the commune. Teenager Kate wants to go to college. And eleven-year-old Albert is convinced the world is ending. Albert's lack of coping skills eventually takes over the story, and I'm left feeling incredibly sorry for him.
This reads like a screenplay--lots of quick but memorable scenes, good dialog, no bogging down in description, well timed laughs. My writing quibble here is that I never understood why the characters were behaving the way they were. Suddenly one was moving somewhere, so that others may/not follow, but just as suddenly all of them came back to the commune, so they could have some sort of big showdown there. Motivations not clear.
If you like Tom Perrotta's or Jonathan Coe's books, you might enjoy this. At times, I also was reminded of the non-fiction book, "Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co." because of the quirky free-spiritedness.
This reads like a screenplay--lots of quick but memorable scenes, good dialog, no bogging down in description, well timed laughs. My writing quibble here is that I never understood why the characters were behaving the way they were. Suddenly one was moving somewhere, so that others may/not follow, but just as suddenly all of them came back to the commune, so they could have some sort of big showdown there. Motivations not clear.
If you like Tom Perrotta's or Jonathan Coe's books, you might enjoy this. At times, I also was reminded of the non-fiction book, "Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co." because of the quirky free-spiritedness.
July 26, 2017
Gently satirical novel about the discontented existences of a group of people who have dedicated their lives to living in a commune in the countryside. Some parts of this are sharply drawn and humorous, but other parts flit around too much instead of staying with the perspective and actions of a single character; this has the effect of painting a portrait of a place, but it also inhibited my ability to care about what happened. Although the story is centered on the children of the arrogant commune patriarch, my favorite character in this novel was Patrick, the commune's main financial backer, an insecure longtime stoner paranoid that no one really likes him.
This second novel by the author of Submarine (which was turned into a quirky, delightful movie) is hit-or-miss but worth reading. It also will make a good movie.
This second novel by the author of Submarine (which was turned into a quirky, delightful movie) is hit-or-miss but worth reading. It also will make a good movie.
March 21, 2017
I should really have considered it fair warning when I realised the top quote on the back of the book jacket was by Nick Hornby.
Like I imagine many other readers, I read this having previously enjoyed Joe Dunthorne's debut novel, Submarine. While Wild Abandon seemingly has quite a lot in common with Submarine - a quirky, dark sense of humour; a dryly witty, apathetic teenage boy; depressing Welsh Welsh things - it lacks the plot and character investment. Honestly, it wasn't bad enough to give up on but I just couldn't care less what happened to anybody. Which by the way, nothing did. Nothing happened to anybody.
I would struggle to recommend this, even though there are plenty of funny, likeable passages it just doesn't hold together for me.
Like I imagine many other readers, I read this having previously enjoyed Joe Dunthorne's debut novel, Submarine. While Wild Abandon seemingly has quite a lot in common with Submarine - a quirky, dark sense of humour; a dryly witty, apathetic teenage boy; depressing Welsh Welsh things - it lacks the plot and character investment. Honestly, it wasn't bad enough to give up on but I just couldn't care less what happened to anybody. Which by the way, nothing did. Nothing happened to anybody.
I would struggle to recommend this, even though there are plenty of funny, likeable passages it just doesn't hold together for me.
April 26, 2019
An interesting read that drew me in but left me over all disappointed, it has a quirky feel to it and some clever writing with some string central characters, but I had a feeling of lost time when I finished it.
June 11, 2012
I gave up on Love in the Time of Cholera for the time being. Found this in the Lucky Day section at the library and already like it after 20 pages.
December 18, 2016
tijdverspilling
February 23, 2017
Joe's writing was fantastic. The plot, so so. The ending, ridiculous.
October 9, 2019
Tedious and a struggle to keep reading through without getting bored. Really enjoyed Submarine but this seems like a pointless read!
February 10, 2021
I found this book a bit chaotic in that there were several characters to keep straight and also that the author never quite finished a thought. At least at the time that he was talking about it. For example in one part of the book we have the 11 year old protagonist holding a bolt gun to the head of a goat ready to kill it for slaughter and then the paragraph ends as does the chapter and we move on to something else. It is not until much later in the story that we find out that the young lad could not pull the trigger. Everything in its time I guess.
I think by the end of this book I realized it was a coming of age story but that was hard to decide on given the numbers of characters. It is a story of a commune run by Don and his wife Freya and they have two children Kate who is almost 17 and Albert the above mentioned 11 year old. We also meet Janet and Patrick who are also the founders of this commune. Thrown into the story are various members of the commune, notably Marina and her son Issacs, who have an impact on Albert. The story begins with Albert telling his sister how the earth will end. In between we learn all about the family and the reasons for living or running a commune in Wales. I won't go into any details about their stories but some of them are interesting and their actions all have bearing on how poor Albert envisions the end of time.
In some ways this is a very sad story but in others it is a very happy story. It turned out to be better than I anticipated
I think by the end of this book I realized it was a coming of age story but that was hard to decide on given the numbers of characters. It is a story of a commune run by Don and his wife Freya and they have two children Kate who is almost 17 and Albert the above mentioned 11 year old. We also meet Janet and Patrick who are also the founders of this commune. Thrown into the story are various members of the commune, notably Marina and her son Issacs, who have an impact on Albert. The story begins with Albert telling his sister how the earth will end. In between we learn all about the family and the reasons for living or running a commune in Wales. I won't go into any details about their stories but some of them are interesting and their actions all have bearing on how poor Albert envisions the end of time.
In some ways this is a very sad story but in others it is a very happy story. It turned out to be better than I anticipated
June 27, 2015
For every book we read during the book club, one of our book club members will write a review. This way anyone who couldn't be there, can still join in with the fun! Our third review is of Wild Abandon by Joe Dunthorne written by Roy den Boer.
Joe Dunthorne's Wild Abandon takes place in Blaen-y-Lin, a commune in Wales that appears to be on its last legs. Membership is down, there are almost no children to provide a future for the commune, and resentments have been building up toward the boiling point for over seventeen years. The novel mostly focuses on the main family in the commune. Don, the father, and Freya, the mother, are founding members of the commune. Their seventeen year old daughter, Kate, was conceived around the beginning of the commune and her impending birth provided impetus to quickly get the commune up and running. Their eleven year old son, Albert, is one of only two children left in the commune. The main characters of the novel are Kate, Albert and Don. Freya is second tier along with Patrick, another founding member of the commune.
The 336 pages of Wild Abandon have to carry all three of the main characters, these two secondary characters and then another three to five characters that each have their own thing going for the six month period (maybe more) that we follow these characters. The narrative flicks back and forth, mostly between Don, Kate and Albert but switching to a few others when deemed necessary. Add a chapter dedicated to a flashback pre-commune and there isn't a lot of real estate to go around.
Let's take Kate's story. Kate is going to an actual outside-the-commune school for the first time in her life and is forced to test the ideals her parents forced on her. Is she trying to prove them right or trying to prove them wrong? Does Kate really know? The novel chooses to follow Kate for moments of action rather than reflection. This decision gives the novel a nice propulsive feel that lends to readability, but also robs it of any emotional heft. Any moments to actually analyze the implications of Kate's actions will require you to take a break from reading and really think about what is happening between the shards of story we are getting. Is this subtle or vacuous? Is this the author allowing us to think for ourselves or is it the author simply sidestepping the 'hard' parts? One can go either way on these questions, but I came away from the book feeling like the book had been emotionally insincere. Wild Abandon ends up reading like something much lighter than the actual content requires.
Big questions are raised in Wild Abandon, but big questions aren't really explored. The uneven tone is enhanced when the bookjakcet hails Wild Abandon as some hilarious comedy, when the actual characters are all going through very sad and uncertain phases. The style of writing provides a sense of levity that the story might be better without.
The tone isn't where Wild Abandon lost me, though. It lost me by mistreating Don. Don Riley is the patriarch of the family and de facto leader of this leaderless commune. The novel emphasizes from the very beginning how Don corrects others and how he gives longwinded speeches that haven't changed for over a decade. Freya wants to leave him, Patrick hates him, Kate is embarrased by him and Albert feels abandoned by him. Everybody hates Don. I did not hate Don. Don has his flaws, because he's human. All the other characters have flaws too, but somehow Don is punished throughout the book for all his sins. The commune that he built is falling apart, his marriage is falling apart, Patrick absolutely hates him and his daughter isn't talking to him. All Don tries to do is bring people back together. He tries to fix every situation presented to him in the most positive manner available and somehow the book still doesn't seem on his side at any point. As his storyline played out I felt evermore distanced from Wild Abandon. It seemed like Dunthorne wanted to me to feel something I wasn't feeling.
Albert, the eleven-year-old, is feeling restless as his sisters is going off the school and spending less time with him. He becomes obsessed with the idea that the world is going to end soon under the influence of Marina, a somewhat recent member of the commune and a kook. His storyline seems to be setting up some end-of-the-world scenario that doesn't jibe with any of the other storylines. When entrenched in his narrative you wonder: is the apocalypse really coming? But it never feels convincing, because all the other plotlines would have to be abandoned suddenly in a manner that would make little narrative sense. So you're left with Albert spinning his wheels for a long time before going out of control. It just didn't connect with the rest of the novel for me.
Kate's or Albert's stories would have worked fine if they didn't have to coexist with the others and were given room to breathe and develop, but Wild Abandon feels overstuffed. There's a lot going on and it doesn't quite fit together. I ended up feeling like the author liked the idea for the setting and couldn't think of one fully realized character and overcompensated with five half baked ones. The first chapter shows that it could have worked, because we switch back and forth quite smoothly as all the characters somehow interact. We're given their actions, how they got there and how they feel. It works fine, but as the characters move apart physically and emotionally there's simply too much ground to cover effectively. If you're completely on one page with Dunthorne on all these characters, then this book would work extremely well for you. I needed a little more illumination and Dunthorne simply doesn't provide that. Wild Abandon is very readible, but not very worthy of reading.
Roy den Boer
Joe Dunthorne's Wild Abandon takes place in Blaen-y-Lin, a commune in Wales that appears to be on its last legs. Membership is down, there are almost no children to provide a future for the commune, and resentments have been building up toward the boiling point for over seventeen years. The novel mostly focuses on the main family in the commune. Don, the father, and Freya, the mother, are founding members of the commune. Their seventeen year old daughter, Kate, was conceived around the beginning of the commune and her impending birth provided impetus to quickly get the commune up and running. Their eleven year old son, Albert, is one of only two children left in the commune. The main characters of the novel are Kate, Albert and Don. Freya is second tier along with Patrick, another founding member of the commune.
The 336 pages of Wild Abandon have to carry all three of the main characters, these two secondary characters and then another three to five characters that each have their own thing going for the six month period (maybe more) that we follow these characters. The narrative flicks back and forth, mostly between Don, Kate and Albert but switching to a few others when deemed necessary. Add a chapter dedicated to a flashback pre-commune and there isn't a lot of real estate to go around.
Let's take Kate's story. Kate is going to an actual outside-the-commune school for the first time in her life and is forced to test the ideals her parents forced on her. Is she trying to prove them right or trying to prove them wrong? Does Kate really know? The novel chooses to follow Kate for moments of action rather than reflection. This decision gives the novel a nice propulsive feel that lends to readability, but also robs it of any emotional heft. Any moments to actually analyze the implications of Kate's actions will require you to take a break from reading and really think about what is happening between the shards of story we are getting. Is this subtle or vacuous? Is this the author allowing us to think for ourselves or is it the author simply sidestepping the 'hard' parts? One can go either way on these questions, but I came away from the book feeling like the book had been emotionally insincere. Wild Abandon ends up reading like something much lighter than the actual content requires.
Big questions are raised in Wild Abandon, but big questions aren't really explored. The uneven tone is enhanced when the bookjakcet hails Wild Abandon as some hilarious comedy, when the actual characters are all going through very sad and uncertain phases. The style of writing provides a sense of levity that the story might be better without.
The tone isn't where Wild Abandon lost me, though. It lost me by mistreating Don. Don Riley is the patriarch of the family and de facto leader of this leaderless commune. The novel emphasizes from the very beginning how Don corrects others and how he gives longwinded speeches that haven't changed for over a decade. Freya wants to leave him, Patrick hates him, Kate is embarrased by him and Albert feels abandoned by him. Everybody hates Don. I did not hate Don. Don has his flaws, because he's human. All the other characters have flaws too, but somehow Don is punished throughout the book for all his sins. The commune that he built is falling apart, his marriage is falling apart, Patrick absolutely hates him and his daughter isn't talking to him. All Don tries to do is bring people back together. He tries to fix every situation presented to him in the most positive manner available and somehow the book still doesn't seem on his side at any point. As his storyline played out I felt evermore distanced from Wild Abandon. It seemed like Dunthorne wanted to me to feel something I wasn't feeling.
Albert, the eleven-year-old, is feeling restless as his sisters is going off the school and spending less time with him. He becomes obsessed with the idea that the world is going to end soon under the influence of Marina, a somewhat recent member of the commune and a kook. His storyline seems to be setting up some end-of-the-world scenario that doesn't jibe with any of the other storylines. When entrenched in his narrative you wonder: is the apocalypse really coming? But it never feels convincing, because all the other plotlines would have to be abandoned suddenly in a manner that would make little narrative sense. So you're left with Albert spinning his wheels for a long time before going out of control. It just didn't connect with the rest of the novel for me.
Kate's or Albert's stories would have worked fine if they didn't have to coexist with the others and were given room to breathe and develop, but Wild Abandon feels overstuffed. There's a lot going on and it doesn't quite fit together. I ended up feeling like the author liked the idea for the setting and couldn't think of one fully realized character and overcompensated with five half baked ones. The first chapter shows that it could have worked, because we switch back and forth quite smoothly as all the characters somehow interact. We're given their actions, how they got there and how they feel. It works fine, but as the characters move apart physically and emotionally there's simply too much ground to cover effectively. If you're completely on one page with Dunthorne on all these characters, then this book would work extremely well for you. I needed a little more illumination and Dunthorne simply doesn't provide that. Wild Abandon is very readible, but not very worthy of reading.
Roy den Boer
July 19, 2017
Some of the best sentences from "Wild Abandon":
She was so lithe as to be, Don later claimed, ‘indistinguishable from the water she passed through’.
‘You thought it was chemical attraction; she thought it was paint fumes.’
Back in the house, they found Kit Lintel pouring orange juice into Kit Lintel’s father’s laptop.
In the live music yurt, a man was either doing a very downbeat, a cappella, unplugged version of ‘Help!’ by The Beatles or he was genuinely asking for assistance.
All in all, it's very hard to categorize Dunthorne's works. They have moments of greatness; but are often lost in between. "Wild Abandon" is about what happens after the hippie dream dies. It's about a commune falling apart, and how the different members deal with it. It's about the fact that life has no happy ever after, unless we find it ourselves.
She was so lithe as to be, Don later claimed, ‘indistinguishable from the water she passed through’.
‘You thought it was chemical attraction; she thought it was paint fumes.’
Back in the house, they found Kit Lintel pouring orange juice into Kit Lintel’s father’s laptop.
In the live music yurt, a man was either doing a very downbeat, a cappella, unplugged version of ‘Help!’ by The Beatles or he was genuinely asking for assistance.
All in all, it's very hard to categorize Dunthorne's works. They have moments of greatness; but are often lost in between. "Wild Abandon" is about what happens after the hippie dream dies. It's about a commune falling apart, and how the different members deal with it. It's about the fact that life has no happy ever after, unless we find it ourselves.
January 13, 2020
I am rating Wild Abandon immediately after my first read through. What an absolutely terrible slowly paced waste of time book that lead to nothing. Except for. . .*SPOILER* zombies? Around page 293 is where things get frustratingly stupid and nonsensical. I have really enjoyed Ari Asters films Hereditary and Midsommar for their bright upbeat scenery and unique effervescent story telling style with a horribly creepy scabbed over and ripped open again rawness that really resonates with me. This book shot for that and fell so very flat on its' face in its attempts. I so badly wanted to love this book, because it started off so strongly, but it petered out quickly. I dont need that many named characters to tell a story that ultimately doesn't tell anything worth saying! I hated this and it wouldn't even be interesting enough to recommend to someone whose time I was trying to waste!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2013
Philip Larkin’s bitter poem about the influence of our parents — “They [mess] you up, your mum and dad” — could be the epigraph of Joe Dunthorne’s second novel, “Wild Abandon.” But Dunthorne marinates dysfunction in sweet absurdity to produce a wry comedy, the latest addition to that black-sheep genre known as Quirky Families. You’ve seen these people: They’re staples of indie films such as “Little Miss Sunshine” or novels such as Kevin Wilson’s recent “The Family Fang.” In such stories, psychological abuse or parental neglect that should poison precocious children is somehow ameliorated by affection and irony. On good days, that strikes me as a perfectly realistic view, and Dunthorne is one of its wittiest proponents. His first novel, “Submarine” (2008), was enthusiastically compared to “The Catcher in the Rye” and attracted even more attention when Richard Ayoade’smovie adaptation was released last year.
While “Submarine” stayed locked in the hilarious diary voice of a 15-year-old boy, “Wild Abandon” moves through the eccentrics at a dying commune in South Wales with the tortured Welsh name of Blaen-y-Llyn. As a locale for satire, that’s pretty much shooting freaks in a barrel, but Dunthorne never reduces these characters entirely to farce. He’s more interested in the common comedy of their lives than in their bizarre peculiarities, although they certainly sport those.
Founded two decades ago in the early 1990s, this self-sustaining 50-acre farm is a cookie jar of weirdos who make their own shampoo and drink goat’s milk. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) “The combination of a ruthless selection process and a high likelihood of mental illness among the applicants” has produced a community of about 20 misfits, half of whom are just passing through as “wwoofers” — volunteers for “World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.”
“Wild Abandon” opens as the commune faces several existential threats, although everybody’s too cool or passive-aggressive to let on that anything’s wrong. Their money comes largely from Patrick, a retired greeting-card executive who lives in a decaying geodesic dome that “must have looked like the future when it was built.” When not pining for another one of the founding members who makes “proto-Gothic recycled jewelry,” Patrick is growing paranoid that the group tolerates his presence only because he’s wealthy. If he weren’t perpetually stoned, he might be able to think this through more clearly.
His pompous friend Don Riley is the group’s nominal leader and one of Dunthorne’s funniest creations. Like any good leftie commander, Don spurns actual work and spends most of his time in a blue kimono polishing inspirational phrases “in the well-attended auditorium of his mind.” He’s often moved to tears by his deeper-than-thou sensitivity.His far-more-grounded wife is growing increasingly frustrated by “the gap between Don as he viewed himself, and the reality.”
The real gems here, though, are Don’s two children, who quickly become the focus of the novel and confirm the evidence in “Submarine” that Dunthorne is a genius at depicting young people. Seventeen-year-old Kate is sharp enough to see this strange place for what it is, and she knows her civilian friends must never see her there. In the outside world her mother seems like a “woodland troll. . . . Her clothes looked sad — frowning, drooping, washed at low temperature.” But Kate’s secret apostasy is mitigated by a surprisingly mature affection for the people who’ve raised her. She’s won permission to attend school in town, where she can learn something besides the hodgepodge of home lessons on cinquecento Italian architecture, centrifugal force and TV advertising, and she’s eagerly planning her departure for college. But that means leaving behind her 11-year-old brother Albert, one of the funniest, most poignant kids I’ve run across in fiction.
Good novels about siblings are surprisingly rare considering how many of us have them and what a subtle, complex relationship they pose. The beauty of Dunthorne’s portrayal here is how well he captures Kate’s fraying sense of responsibility for her brother, an enthusiastic little boy who’s part action hero and part concierge. Achingly guileless, he’s an expert on how much dirt his belly button can hold, what lasers can kill dinosaurs and how to answer the phone properly: “You have reached the forefront of human development,” he calmly announces to anyone who calls.
His winning goofiness, though, is complicated by loneliness, an increasing awareness that, as he tells his sister, “I don’t have anything in common with people my own age.” Realizing that Kate is about to leave him and that his parents’ marriage is breaking up, Alfred grows obsessed with the imminent end of the world. That worrisome turn of mind drives the story close to tragedy, but Dunthorne keeps tight control and steers this endearing novel away from pathos or sentimentality right to the very last line.
With its frizzy comedy about real people emerging mournfully from an unreal place, “Wild Abandon” had me pestering my wife with favorite lines till she promised to read it. Dunthorne is best with those complications of family affection, that mingling of love and annoyance that can make you laugh and choke up even if you’ve never lived on a Welsh commune and harvested your own kale.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/20...
While “Submarine” stayed locked in the hilarious diary voice of a 15-year-old boy, “Wild Abandon” moves through the eccentrics at a dying commune in South Wales with the tortured Welsh name of Blaen-y-Llyn. As a locale for satire, that’s pretty much shooting freaks in a barrel, but Dunthorne never reduces these characters entirely to farce. He’s more interested in the common comedy of their lives than in their bizarre peculiarities, although they certainly sport those.
Founded two decades ago in the early 1990s, this self-sustaining 50-acre farm is a cookie jar of weirdos who make their own shampoo and drink goat’s milk. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) “The combination of a ruthless selection process and a high likelihood of mental illness among the applicants” has produced a community of about 20 misfits, half of whom are just passing through as “wwoofers” — volunteers for “World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.”
“Wild Abandon” opens as the commune faces several existential threats, although everybody’s too cool or passive-aggressive to let on that anything’s wrong. Their money comes largely from Patrick, a retired greeting-card executive who lives in a decaying geodesic dome that “must have looked like the future when it was built.” When not pining for another one of the founding members who makes “proto-Gothic recycled jewelry,” Patrick is growing paranoid that the group tolerates his presence only because he’s wealthy. If he weren’t perpetually stoned, he might be able to think this through more clearly.
His pompous friend Don Riley is the group’s nominal leader and one of Dunthorne’s funniest creations. Like any good leftie commander, Don spurns actual work and spends most of his time in a blue kimono polishing inspirational phrases “in the well-attended auditorium of his mind.” He’s often moved to tears by his deeper-than-thou sensitivity.His far-more-grounded wife is growing increasingly frustrated by “the gap between Don as he viewed himself, and the reality.”
The real gems here, though, are Don’s two children, who quickly become the focus of the novel and confirm the evidence in “Submarine” that Dunthorne is a genius at depicting young people. Seventeen-year-old Kate is sharp enough to see this strange place for what it is, and she knows her civilian friends must never see her there. In the outside world her mother seems like a “woodland troll. . . . Her clothes looked sad — frowning, drooping, washed at low temperature.” But Kate’s secret apostasy is mitigated by a surprisingly mature affection for the people who’ve raised her. She’s won permission to attend school in town, where she can learn something besides the hodgepodge of home lessons on cinquecento Italian architecture, centrifugal force and TV advertising, and she’s eagerly planning her departure for college. But that means leaving behind her 11-year-old brother Albert, one of the funniest, most poignant kids I’ve run across in fiction.
Good novels about siblings are surprisingly rare considering how many of us have them and what a subtle, complex relationship they pose. The beauty of Dunthorne’s portrayal here is how well he captures Kate’s fraying sense of responsibility for her brother, an enthusiastic little boy who’s part action hero and part concierge. Achingly guileless, he’s an expert on how much dirt his belly button can hold, what lasers can kill dinosaurs and how to answer the phone properly: “You have reached the forefront of human development,” he calmly announces to anyone who calls.
His winning goofiness, though, is complicated by loneliness, an increasing awareness that, as he tells his sister, “I don’t have anything in common with people my own age.” Realizing that Kate is about to leave him and that his parents’ marriage is breaking up, Alfred grows obsessed with the imminent end of the world. That worrisome turn of mind drives the story close to tragedy, but Dunthorne keeps tight control and steers this endearing novel away from pathos or sentimentality right to the very last line.
With its frizzy comedy about real people emerging mournfully from an unreal place, “Wild Abandon” had me pestering my wife with favorite lines till she promised to read it. Dunthorne is best with those complications of family affection, that mingling of love and annoyance that can make you laugh and choke up even if you’ve never lived on a Welsh commune and harvested your own kale.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/20...
April 21, 2019
Listened to as an audio book. I liked the reader, who could do the male adult and male children voices well. As usual, he lacked the vocal flexibility to do the women justice. His Welsh pronunciation seemed good to me ears. A story of a community in Wales with varied characters and interesting events. An adult story in a few places. Generally enjoyable. 3.5
November 28, 2020
The first fifty or so pages really caught my interest. I liked the language and occasional quirky phrase. However, as I read on, I never really engaged with any of the characters. I couldn't understand Patrick at all and felt like I was losing interest. I read on though as the story itself was more engaging.
After I'd finished the book I put it away and forgot about it.
After I'd finished the book I put it away and forgot about it.
October 27, 2021
3.5 stars.
I didn't hate it but I didn't love it.
It was one of my favourite topics (cults/communes) so that was super interesting. But it did also feel like nothing really happened? I got Jonathan Franzen vibes in the way they're both really good at writing relationships, but in stories without much going on (disclaimer: I've only read one Franzen novel haha).
I liked it though
I didn't hate it but I didn't love it.
It was one of my favourite topics (cults/communes) so that was super interesting. But it did also feel like nothing really happened? I got Jonathan Franzen vibes in the way they're both really good at writing relationships, but in stories without much going on (disclaimer: I've only read one Franzen novel haha).
I liked it though
September 2, 2023
I found this enjoyable. I thought it well observed and believable, at least at first. I find the characters strange but they were portrayed compassionately, even when they were displaying unpleasant traits. I enjoyed being the devise of being told about the same incidents or relationships from the point of view of different people.
October 1, 2018
I've finally read all of Joe Dunthorne's novels!
I think this is my least favourite but it is still an enjoyable read.
It has a 2012 cult; it has awkward adults and teenagers; it is also full of Joe Dunthorne's classic humour.
I think this is my least favourite but it is still an enjoyable read.
It has a 2012 cult; it has awkward adults and teenagers; it is also full of Joe Dunthorne's classic humour.
January 8, 2020
Interesting story
This book was an honest account of family love and pain. It was very relatable. The characters were believable and I like the way the author's omniscient perspective unfolded the story.
This book was an honest account of family love and pain. It was very relatable. The characters were believable and I like the way the author's omniscient perspective unfolded the story.
November 6, 2021
I did want to find out what happens to the characters...
I did enjoy the intricacies of the relationships between them...
Funny, dark and insightful in to communal living
Maybe I'm a tad bias as a Welshman though.
I did enjoy the intricacies of the relationships between them...
Funny, dark and insightful in to communal living
Maybe I'm a tad bias as a Welshman though.
couldn-t-finish
November 12, 2021I found this by accident while looking for something else. The plot description sounded interesting, but I didn't care enough about anyone to stick with it. I think I didn't even make my usual 100 pages that I set as my minimum before deciding whether to continue a book or not.
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