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La gang del pensiero
Eddie Coffin, il protagonista del libro, è uno dei criminali più incredibili, geniali e divertenti della storia. Calvo e grassottello, di professione filosofo (per la precisione "ricercatore a Cambridge"), incline all'alcol, ex bancario fuori da ogni norma, sospetto di irriferibili reati sessuali e pericolosamente incline a farsi arrestare in costume adamitico, un bel giorno si trova talmente nei guai che deve lasciare la natia Gran Bretagna. Per il suo esilio sceglie la Francia, dove conosce Hubert, rapinatore sfortunato dalle mille protesi. E l'oltraggioso Eddie Coffin trova l'ispirazione per iniziare una strabiliante carriera di rapinatore e seduttore.
380 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
63 people are currently reading
1484 people want to read
About the author
Tibor Fischer
31 books164 followersTibor Fischer is a British novelist and short story writer. In 1993 he was selected by the influential literary magazine Granta as one of the 20 best young British writers.
Fischer's parents were Hungarian basketball players, who fled Hungary in 1956. The bloody 1956 revolution, and his father's background, informed Fischer's debut novel Under the Frog, a Rabelaisian yarn about a Hungarian basketball player surviving Communism. The title is derived from a Hungarian saying, that the worst possible place to be is under a frog's arse down a coal mine.
In 2009 Fischer became the Royal Literary Fund writing fellow at City and Guilds of London Art School.
Fischer's parents were Hungarian basketball players, who fled Hungary in 1956. The bloody 1956 revolution, and his father's background, informed Fischer's debut novel Under the Frog, a Rabelaisian yarn about a Hungarian basketball player surviving Communism. The title is derived from a Hungarian saying, that the worst possible place to be is under a frog's arse down a coal mine.
In 2009 Fischer became the Royal Literary Fund writing fellow at City and Guilds of London Art School.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
July 16, 2007
Don't ever try to read this book on an airplane. People will think you're crazy on accounts of your random bursts of hysterical laughter. It's weird, it's hysterical, it's wrong on many levels and it uses the letter "z" more than any other book in the history of novels. In short, it's perfect.
December 25, 2008
As an editor, how can I not like a novel in which an underachieving Oxford don is handcuffed to a radiator until he writes his manuscript? And then produces something so bad that his editor has to write the book?
Extraordinarily funny. Bank robbery on philosophical principles.
Extraordinarily funny. Bank robbery on philosophical principles.
August 2, 2012
First book I've opted for from my GR recommendations algorithm. And algy me old mate, you did a helluva job.
From page 1 Fisher's voice gets right inside you and carries you throughout its length. This book joining my select pantheon of books with a laugh out loud moment on virtually every page, along with "Karoo" and "A Fraction Of The Whole". No mean feat.
A middle aged loafer sybarite has conned his way from undergraduate to Cambridge philosophy Don. Unfortunately his predilections for alcohol, sex and mental blackout has rendered him needing to flee the British police.
He winds up in France, catastrophically loses all his possessions and cash and is held up by an equally luckless villain. But the two forge an offbeat friendship that soon develops into a flowering penchant for robbing banks with a philosophical flourish. "Brute force and rhetoric" thrust in the faces of bank tellers. They merrily dance around the police efforts to catch them. Their stunts get more and more outrageous. And our hero dimly searches for purpose and meaning in his life throughout.
Why is this book so engaging? it's the language. Flippantly acerbic, " Her thirteen year old son sat with the patience of someone who knows he only has to wait a few more years before he can join a death squad". The philosophy is debated but remains light and in context most of the time. And Fisher delights in perverting language, nouns like 'midwife' used as a verb, the same word used twice in the same sentence with two different meanings " standing at parties waiting for less fetching women to fetch him". Wonderful inventive word manglings such as 'inter ear banter' to mean thought processes. But it is the gleeful delight with which Fisher laces his story with improbable and obscure words beginning with the letter 'Z'. And he helpfully provides a glossary at the back just for these Z words, only as infuriating as philosophy itself, it is incomplete. Half the time you flick to the back pages, only to find the word isn't listed! I'm reminded of Shakespeare's quote "thou whoreson zed! thou unnecessary letter! " Sums the book up perfectly.
Than you GR for your recommendation.
From page 1 Fisher's voice gets right inside you and carries you throughout its length. This book joining my select pantheon of books with a laugh out loud moment on virtually every page, along with "Karoo" and "A Fraction Of The Whole". No mean feat.
A middle aged loafer sybarite has conned his way from undergraduate to Cambridge philosophy Don. Unfortunately his predilections for alcohol, sex and mental blackout has rendered him needing to flee the British police.
He winds up in France, catastrophically loses all his possessions and cash and is held up by an equally luckless villain. But the two forge an offbeat friendship that soon develops into a flowering penchant for robbing banks with a philosophical flourish. "Brute force and rhetoric" thrust in the faces of bank tellers. They merrily dance around the police efforts to catch them. Their stunts get more and more outrageous. And our hero dimly searches for purpose and meaning in his life throughout.
Why is this book so engaging? it's the language. Flippantly acerbic, " Her thirteen year old son sat with the patience of someone who knows he only has to wait a few more years before he can join a death squad". The philosophy is debated but remains light and in context most of the time. And Fisher delights in perverting language, nouns like 'midwife' used as a verb, the same word used twice in the same sentence with two different meanings " standing at parties waiting for less fetching women to fetch him". Wonderful inventive word manglings such as 'inter ear banter' to mean thought processes. But it is the gleeful delight with which Fisher laces his story with improbable and obscure words beginning with the letter 'Z'. And he helpfully provides a glossary at the back just for these Z words, only as infuriating as philosophy itself, it is incomplete. Half the time you flick to the back pages, only to find the word isn't listed! I'm reminded of Shakespeare's quote "thou whoreson zed! thou unnecessary letter! " Sums the book up perfectly.
Than you GR for your recommendation.
October 18, 2007
Late in this novel, just a few thousand thankful words away from the end, the narrator has this to say: The virtue of self-discipline is a great one, and one of my cheif deficiencies, . . This could be the engine that runs The Thought Gang. Not its plot so much but its style. Fischer doesn't know when to let an outlandish metaphor lie fallow. Or perhaps he does know but ignores good sense. Either way, the result is cacaphony and my inner ear was hurting by page something-teen. I had a headache through most of the reading and wouldn't have finished it at all if it weren't that every tenth or eleventh sentence was pretty good. Adding to this silly symphony was the narrator's (and therefore, the author's) obsession with the letter Z. An ugly letter, Z. Perhaps that's why it's not used all that much in English. Its a foreigner, pasted onto the end of the alphabet, an afterthought of order. But we all know that we can (almost) do without it. Fischer seems to have seen this as an injustice and so dredges up every Z-word he can find (there is a glossary at book's end), sprinkling them too liberally throughout the text. He even turns the final page into a typo-textual Z. And I can see why. Because except for the occaisional snicker and even rarer fine turn of phrase, The Thought Gang is one long zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
October 4, 2020
La doverosa premessa è che a me il surreale piace. Ci sguazzo proprio. L'ironia anche, l'umorismo pure. Tra i miei autori preferiti figurano Douglas Adams e Christopher Moore, diamine.
Però c'è una linea sottile tra quello che mi appare simpatico/divertente/ammiccante/geniale e il "adesso però anche basta".
Ecco, a mio parere ogni tanto Tibor Fischer oltrepassa questa linea.
Ci sono pagine che strappano una risata dietro l'altra e improvvisamente, subito dopo, altrettante in cui avrei voluto avere l'autore sottomano per prenderlo a testate fortissime.
Eddie Coffin e Hubert sono adorabili e la trama è sufficientemente assurda per suscitare curiosità (un docente di filosofia a Cambridge che si ritrova a rapinare banche nel sud della Francia insieme ad un ex galeotto con una sterminata serie di acciacchi), però a tratti il ritmo si perde, l'attenzione cala e subentra la (mia) irritazione.
Però c'è una linea sottile tra quello che mi appare simpatico/divertente/ammiccante/geniale e il "adesso però anche basta".
Ecco, a mio parere ogni tanto Tibor Fischer oltrepassa questa linea.
Ci sono pagine che strappano una risata dietro l'altra e improvvisamente, subito dopo, altrettante in cui avrei voluto avere l'autore sottomano per prenderlo a testate fortissime.
Eddie Coffin e Hubert sono adorabili e la trama è sufficientemente assurda per suscitare curiosità (un docente di filosofia a Cambridge che si ritrova a rapinare banche nel sud della Francia insieme ad un ex galeotto con una sterminata serie di acciacchi), però a tratti il ritmo si perde, l'attenzione cala e subentra la (mia) irritazione.
February 18, 2018
Esperaba otra cosa, tal vez esa sea la causa de la desilusión...Fischer construye una historia ágil, liviana, que queda en un segundo plano ante el lenguaje irónico acorde a los rasgos del cínico protagonista de la novela. Pero encuentro dos importantes inconvenientes: en primer lugar, el autor no tiene la brillantez de Óscar Wilde o Bernard Shaw para el empleo del sarcasmo. Y en segundo, la historia se alarga demasiado, y no alcanza con alguna frase ingeniosa cada tanto para mantener el interés de una obra de casi 400 páginas. Además, las referencias "filosóficas" son superficiales y apenas vinculadas con la trama. En fin, lo dicho, que no es el libro que esperaba.
July 5, 2011
Forget the book jacket netherworld, where "darkly comic," "sardonic," "sly," "witty," "riotous," and "uproarious" all mean "you won't laugh once."
End to end, only the opening of Todd McEwan's Arithmetic Town and Redmond O'Hanlon's travelogues rival this novel for laughs per page. Read this in public at your peril. You'll laugh. Out loud. Repeatedly.
The only caveats are 1) give it twenty pages, and 2) yes, there's one offputting, unfunny ten page stretch during the narrator's graduate school days.
The rest is a pageturning joy. Read it, read it, read it.
End to end, only the opening of Todd McEwan's Arithmetic Town and Redmond O'Hanlon's travelogues rival this novel for laughs per page. Read this in public at your peril. You'll laugh. Out loud. Repeatedly.
The only caveats are 1) give it twenty pages, and 2) yes, there's one offputting, unfunny ten page stretch during the narrator's graduate school days.
The rest is a pageturning joy. Read it, read it, read it.
August 22, 2022
Absürd denilen bir akım olmalı. Yoksa da ben oluşturdum. Ve yazarımız bu akımın önde gelenlerindendir; komik, sürükleyici, bağlantısız, derinlikli ve felsefi…absürd.
April 7, 2024
Sesli gülme garantisiyle piyasaya sürülmemiş olsa daha iyi bir kitap olurmuş valla zira bizim kültür için fazla yavan, insanın sürekli bu mu komik diye burun kıvırası geliyor.
Yurdum insanının sıradan twitter muhabbeti 1, Düşünce Çetesi 0.
Felsefeye özel bir ilgim yok bu kısımlarda bir noktadan sonra bana bi’ tık boğucu geldi.
Haricinde özellikle yazım stilini çok beğendim ben. Karakterleri de öyle, oldukça renkli ve eğlenceli.
Felsefesi az aksiyonu bol olsa tadından yenmezmiş bu arada ama- ay ndndkd böyle eleştiri olmaz olsun. Adı bile Düşünce Çetesi olan kitaba neler diyorum; yok öyle olsaymış yok böyle olsaymış. Olmamış işte kardeşim olmamış yallah ikile dkmdkfk niye zora koşuyorsun aaa!
Not: Buçuklu puan veremediğim için düz 3.
(Notun batsın)
Yurdum insanının sıradan twitter muhabbeti 1, Düşünce Çetesi 0.
Felsefeye özel bir ilgim yok bu kısımlarda bir noktadan sonra bana bi’ tık boğucu geldi.
Haricinde özellikle yazım stilini çok beğendim ben. Karakterleri de öyle, oldukça renkli ve eğlenceli.
Felsefesi az aksiyonu bol olsa tadından yenmezmiş bu arada ama- ay ndndkd böyle eleştiri olmaz olsun. Adı bile Düşünce Çetesi olan kitaba neler diyorum; yok öyle olsaymış yok böyle olsaymış. Olmamış işte kardeşim olmamış yallah ikile dkmdkfk niye zora koşuyorsun aaa!
Not: Buçuklu puan veremediğim için düz 3.
(Notun batsın)
February 17, 2020
Never in its 300 pages did I believe that any of what was written. It never even got to the point that I was able to suspend my disbelief. It was just words on paper.
March 17, 2020
Eddie Coffin è un filosofo completamente allo sbando che desidera soltanto uscire di scena, stordendosi con classe. Ma quando il destino, o l’indolenza, ci mettono lo zampino, i piani potrebbero saltare.
Così Eddie finisce per essere un filosofo allo sbando, ma senza più un soldo. Ed è proprio in quel momento che Hubert, dimostrando di avere un ottimo fiuto o forse solo un udito selettivo, tenta di rapinarlo.
Per Eddie quello con Hubert potrebbe essere un incontro come tanti, dato che la sua vita è stata costellata da episodi sui quali varrebbe la pena girare una serie tv, eppure.
Quello che saranno in grado di combinare è talmente assurdo che non è possibile raccontarlo, bisogna solo leggere il romanzo. Inizieranno a rapinare banche, si faranno chiamare “La Gang del pensiero” e il lettore non smetterà di scuotere la testa incredulo, pagina dopo pagina.
Per la recensione completa: https://www.silenziostoleggendo.com/2...
Così Eddie finisce per essere un filosofo allo sbando, ma senza più un soldo. Ed è proprio in quel momento che Hubert, dimostrando di avere un ottimo fiuto o forse solo un udito selettivo, tenta di rapinarlo.
Per Eddie quello con Hubert potrebbe essere un incontro come tanti, dato che la sua vita è stata costellata da episodi sui quali varrebbe la pena girare una serie tv, eppure.
Quello che saranno in grado di combinare è talmente assurdo che non è possibile raccontarlo, bisogna solo leggere il romanzo. Inizieranno a rapinare banche, si faranno chiamare “La Gang del pensiero” e il lettore non smetterà di scuotere la testa incredulo, pagina dopo pagina.
Per la recensione completa: https://www.silenziostoleggendo.com/2...
March 4, 2011
This is one of the most linguistically inventive and cleverly conceived books I've read. The real joy is in the language. Every sentence is a work of art (pop art, maybe). Tibor's phrases blend philosophy with lechery with alcoholism, and not a small amount of gluttony. The result is a supremely clever narrator who plays Twister with his words, but always in a forward-moving way. For a lingo-centric novel, the plot is more than approachable, the character deeply wrought. I'm impressed by the ease with which Fischer creates his world, one in which the normal rules don't quite apply, or in which the normal rules apply abnormally. I can't stress the brilliant language enough, and I recommend this book to any fan of the sentence.
August 26, 2012
Ahhhhhhh.. I am in love with Tibor Fischer's brain. His parents were both professional Hungarian basketball players. The guy has won literary awards, offended and delighted people with his book reviews (he isn't afraid to loose a job over an opinion). This book is such a freaking good tale, my sister and I read it aloud to oneanother on a 10 hour road trip to visit relatives in cajun country. You will laugh until a hernia pops out. I will not spoil it for you, find a copy and prepare to become a Fischer groupie.
December 20, 2018
What a strange and hilarious book! The Thought Gang is part witty comedy, part philosophical musings on life, and part brilliant contemporary fiction based on two of the most unlikely characters to embark on an epic bank robbery. There are a lot of laugh-out-loud moments that add a humorous twist to the backdrop of this off-beat and unconventional thriller. If you've been looking for a bank robbery story with a difference and are in need of a good laugh for the holidays, this is the book for you.
March 9, 2021
Che fatica!! "Le avventure del prof di filosofia e di come diventò un rapinatore di banche"
La filosofia applicata al crimine, se l'Universo è con te puoi fare qualsiasi cosa. A tratti spassosissimo, la ristrutturazione della casa del poliziotto, pieno di verità e di parole che non conoscevo, ma anche ripetitivo, la sfiga congenita del prof. quella del suo compare, di quanto sia singolare che riescano a realizzare i loro progetti. Lo humor inglese mi fa spesso questo effetto, vado in sovraccarico. Consigliato achi ha un'infarinatura migliore della mia in filosofia
La filosofia applicata al crimine, se l'Universo è con te puoi fare qualsiasi cosa. A tratti spassosissimo, la ristrutturazione della casa del poliziotto, pieno di verità e di parole che non conoscevo, ma anche ripetitivo, la sfiga congenita del prof. quella del suo compare, di quanto sia singolare che riescano a realizzare i loro progetti. Lo humor inglese mi fa spesso questo effetto, vado in sovraccarico. Consigliato achi ha un'infarinatura migliore della mia in filosofia
March 3, 2008
I bought this book in London (I think used) and read it on the plane. It went from my eyes to some place lost .... Nevertheless I enjoyed it, but maybe more for the idea of bank robbers who are philosphers. I like the idea of it, which is fantastic. But is the idea better than this book? Perhaps so, but nevertheless I enjoyed the read - which made the travel more... focused on the book then the plan delays, etc.
June 9, 2025
Started and finished date - 05.06.25 to 07.06.25.
My rating - Two Stars.
This book was okay read but found it bit boring and dull and the cover of book was okay. The writing was okay but it hard to follow and it took time get used to also the ending of was fine. The atmosphere was fine. The paced of plot was rush and I would have like the book be longer. I had mixed feeling about the characters and I think they needed flash out bit more.
My rating - Two Stars.
This book was okay read but found it bit boring and dull and the cover of book was okay. The writing was okay but it hard to follow and it took time get used to also the ending of was fine. The atmosphere was fine. The paced of plot was rush and I would have like the book be longer. I had mixed feeling about the characters and I think they needed flash out bit more.
March 29, 2016
L'idea è geniale. Un filosofo cialtrone, truffatore e amante della bella vita incontra un rapinatore menomato ma affamato di conoscenza, e i due si uniscono per rapinare banche allo scopo di riempirsi le tasche e diffondere la zetetica (onorata branca della filosofia).
Il libro è divertente, ma purtroppo spesso ripetitivo e i tentativi di risolvere alcune situazioni con un fraseggio mirabolante alla lunga stancano.
Da leggere, ma difficilmente da rileggere.
Il libro è divertente, ma purtroppo spesso ripetitivo e i tentativi di risolvere alcune situazioni con un fraseggio mirabolante alla lunga stancano.
Da leggere, ma difficilmente da rileggere.
Currently reading
August 4, 2023THIS IS HILARIOUS, DRY, FULL OF PROTAGONIST SELF-DEPRECATION BUT ALSO HUBRIS, AND MAKES ME FEEL INTELLECTUALLY INFERIOR (let's face it, my dream genre).
The plot is two guys traipsing through France robbing banks for the lolz, but a lot of very random commentary is drip fed to you about anything from philosophy to cheese sandwiches.
Best thing I bought in New York, after flicking through it in a book shop and taking too many photos of chuckle-worthy passages.
The plot is two guys traipsing through France robbing banks for the lolz, but a lot of very random commentary is drip fed to you about anything from philosophy to cheese sandwiches.
Best thing I bought in New York, after flicking through it in a book shop and taking too many photos of chuckle-worthy passages.
May 3, 2012
E' stata una lettura altalenante tra parti che mi hanno divertito e altre che ho trovato decisamente più pesanti.
Probabilmente (la pesantezza) è anche dovuta al fatto che non mi sono mai affezionata alla filosofia, quindi molte parti del romanzo riflettevano la mia totale ignoranza in materia.
Probabilmente (la pesantezza) è anche dovuta al fatto che non mi sono mai affezionata alla filosofia, quindi molte parti del romanzo riflettevano la mia totale ignoranza in materia.
October 4, 2017
"Being a being is tiring enough for me." (p. 187)
April 2, 2025
This is one of those rare books that I found impossible to decide whether I loved it or hated it.
It's clearly an attempt to be clever, and that effort is totally exhausting at times. Often, I found myself upset that the plot got interesting because I considered not finishing it. But the plot is what saved it each time. Though absurd, it's absolutely amusing. None of the characters are likeable, and yet, you're rooting for them throughout the story.
This is not a book I recommend, but I don't regret reading it either. Maybe I'm a snob, but it's far better than any booktok recommendations so if you're looking for something that frustrates you into feeling smart, this will scratch that itch.
It's clearly an attempt to be clever, and that effort is totally exhausting at times. Often, I found myself upset that the plot got interesting because I considered not finishing it. But the plot is what saved it each time. Though absurd, it's absolutely amusing. None of the characters are likeable, and yet, you're rooting for them throughout the story.
This is not a book I recommend, but I don't regret reading it either. Maybe I'm a snob, but it's far better than any booktok recommendations so if you're looking for something that frustrates you into feeling smart, this will scratch that itch.
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April 26, 2021Libro che mi ha fatto incazzare. Non si capisce niente, scritto con i piedi e con flashback e flashforword messi a caso sul testo che interrompono in continuazione il ritmo di lettura e confondono il lettore. Aggiungo anche che è un testo decisamente banale, più che filosofo il protagonista sembra un povero scappato di casa che non ha veramente nulla da dire se non considerazioni che in continuazione fanno pensare a “E quindi?” senza avere delle risposte. Un libro che mi ha annoiato, disturbato e che vorrei volentieri scambiare con qualcosa di più emozionante.
October 26, 2020
Hmm. Loved the idea. Great characters and plot. At times very funny. But overall it was trying too hard. Wore its cleverness too much on its sleeve. I was often reminded of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas...but every time I caught a glimpse of FALILV I wanted to put this down and pick that up. It feels as though there is a better - less self-conscious - book lurking inside this.
July 10, 2024
(A few corrections made in July 2024).
"...A black comedy in the grand tradition of word-drunk intellectuals-en-dementia, The Thought Gang follows the larcenous adventures of blackout alcoholic philosopher Eddie Coffin who, in the wake of scandal, flees his professorship in England to begin the next logical step...robbery.
"Coffin and his...partner in crime and metaphysics, Hubert the one-armed robber, roadtrip (sic) across the Continent (wrong, the Thought Gang activities all take place in France - Liam) in a spree of crime and epistemology, arguing a cracked history of Western philosophy and plumbing the meaning of life." (Goodreads description for the 1994 Vintage paperback).
"...The Thought Gang is an unabashedly comic novel of ideas and uncertainty. It is a philosophical novel (or perhaps just a novel about a philosopher). It is also an unusually cinematic novel. As the Sunday Telegraph said, "There are novels which are crying out so loudly to be made into films that you cannot read them without a cinematic version taking shape in your mind, frame by frame, as you turn the pages. Tibor Fischer' The Thought Gang is one of them." Perhaps it could best be described (not by me - Liam) as Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction crossed with Woody Allen's classic comedy Love and Death . The setting is France; our hero, a washed-up middle-aged British philosopher named Eddie Coffin. Broke and unsure as to his next meal, he meets Hubert, an incompetent, freshly released, one-armed robber, and the "thought gang" is born. Applying philosophy to larceny, these unlikely bandits question the meaning of life, the value of money, and the role of banks as they wind their way from Montpellier to Toulon in search of the greatest heist in history. Unexpected and volatile, The Thought Gang is the hilarious and thought-provoking story of their travails." (Goodreads description for the 1994 Hardback edition from The New Press).
"France. A skint, clapped-out British philosopher meets an incompetent, freshly released, one-armed, armed robber. The Thought Gang is born as the duo blag their way from Montpellier to Toulon for the ultimate bank robbery. Ferociously funny..." (Goodreads description for the 2018 Kindle edition).
Three descriptions, all relatively accurate, but the best is the shortest and the last. What can I say about this novel that hasn't already been said? Nothing, but I will repeat the obvious - it is hysterically funny and it staggers me that I have now read two gut wrenchingly funny novels about philosophy and Cambridge philosophy dons in a matter of weeks (Lars Iyer's 'Wittgenstein Jr' is the other), who would have thought it was possible to write let alone have published two comic novels about philosophy and Cambridge dons? Maybe there is a whole genre of novels on this subject - but I find it hard to imagine that anyone will better these novels.
'The Thought Gang' is perfect in every way, it also manages to use more words beginning with the letter 'Z' then any other book written in English (that I am aware of) which may be not as hard as writing a novel without any words using the letter 'E' (see 'Gadsby' by Ernest Vincent Wright published 1939) but far more fun and enjoyable.
This book may not be for everyone but if you:
- Find the comparison of the police to Zaporogues conquering Azov in 1641 and the mere mention of Zenobia and her generals Zabbay and Zabda is the sort of thing that makes roll you off the sofa laughing as tears pour down your cheeks
- Think lists of a) The bad boys of Greek philosophy b) Lists of the philosophers and schools of philosophical thought banned by the emperor Justinian after closing the Academy in Athens in 529 AD (surprisingly there is no overlap between the two) - are the sort of thing you would definitely love spending on hours Googling every entrant
- Enjoy reflections such as "All in all, when you ponder how men get women, and women get men, it seems rather unfair, The nullipara stalking the nullity's stalk" and list of the various absurd things the 'great' philosophers have said (pages 148-49) including Diderot pontificating, 1754, that mathematical science would soon come to standstill having run out of things to say or do; and Fourier's notion that the seas would turn into orangeade in the new era of justice; make you so happy to be alive and want to marry the author then this book is for you.
I can only repeat - wonderful, funny, hysterically funny, drop dead funny, a brilliant clever and amusing and a book that you want to fall in love with, that makes you want to have a pet rat named Thales, that proves that the novel is alive and those who doubted it are idiots. Read this book and fall in love with drunkenness, laziness, prison life, good food and the redemptive power of thought.
"...A black comedy in the grand tradition of word-drunk intellectuals-en-dementia, The Thought Gang follows the larcenous adventures of blackout alcoholic philosopher Eddie Coffin who, in the wake of scandal, flees his professorship in England to begin the next logical step...robbery.
"Coffin and his...partner in crime and metaphysics, Hubert the one-armed robber, roadtrip (sic) across the Continent (wrong, the Thought Gang activities all take place in France - Liam) in a spree of crime and epistemology, arguing a cracked history of Western philosophy and plumbing the meaning of life." (Goodreads description for the 1994 Vintage paperback).
"...The Thought Gang is an unabashedly comic novel of ideas and uncertainty. It is a philosophical novel (or perhaps just a novel about a philosopher). It is also an unusually cinematic novel. As the Sunday Telegraph said, "There are novels which are crying out so loudly to be made into films that you cannot read them without a cinematic version taking shape in your mind, frame by frame, as you turn the pages. Tibor Fischer' The Thought Gang is one of them." Perhaps it could best be described (not by me - Liam) as Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction crossed with Woody Allen's classic comedy Love and Death . The setting is France; our hero, a washed-up middle-aged British philosopher named Eddie Coffin. Broke and unsure as to his next meal, he meets Hubert, an incompetent, freshly released, one-armed robber, and the "thought gang" is born. Applying philosophy to larceny, these unlikely bandits question the meaning of life, the value of money, and the role of banks as they wind their way from Montpellier to Toulon in search of the greatest heist in history. Unexpected and volatile, The Thought Gang is the hilarious and thought-provoking story of their travails." (Goodreads description for the 1994 Hardback edition from The New Press).
"France. A skint, clapped-out British philosopher meets an incompetent, freshly released, one-armed, armed robber. The Thought Gang is born as the duo blag their way from Montpellier to Toulon for the ultimate bank robbery. Ferociously funny..." (Goodreads description for the 2018 Kindle edition).
Three descriptions, all relatively accurate, but the best is the shortest and the last. What can I say about this novel that hasn't already been said? Nothing, but I will repeat the obvious - it is hysterically funny and it staggers me that I have now read two gut wrenchingly funny novels about philosophy and Cambridge philosophy dons in a matter of weeks (Lars Iyer's 'Wittgenstein Jr' is the other), who would have thought it was possible to write let alone have published two comic novels about philosophy and Cambridge dons? Maybe there is a whole genre of novels on this subject - but I find it hard to imagine that anyone will better these novels.
'The Thought Gang' is perfect in every way, it also manages to use more words beginning with the letter 'Z' then any other book written in English (that I am aware of) which may be not as hard as writing a novel without any words using the letter 'E' (see 'Gadsby' by Ernest Vincent Wright published 1939) but far more fun and enjoyable.
This book may not be for everyone but if you:
- Find the comparison of the police to Zaporogues conquering Azov in 1641 and the mere mention of Zenobia and her generals Zabbay and Zabda is the sort of thing that makes roll you off the sofa laughing as tears pour down your cheeks
- Think lists of a) The bad boys of Greek philosophy b) Lists of the philosophers and schools of philosophical thought banned by the emperor Justinian after closing the Academy in Athens in 529 AD (surprisingly there is no overlap between the two) - are the sort of thing you would definitely love spending on hours Googling every entrant
- Enjoy reflections such as "All in all, when you ponder how men get women, and women get men, it seems rather unfair, The nullipara stalking the nullity's stalk" and list of the various absurd things the 'great' philosophers have said (pages 148-49) including Diderot pontificating, 1754, that mathematical science would soon come to standstill having run out of things to say or do; and Fourier's notion that the seas would turn into orangeade in the new era of justice; make you so happy to be alive and want to marry the author then this book is for you.
I can only repeat - wonderful, funny, hysterically funny, drop dead funny, a brilliant clever and amusing and a book that you want to fall in love with, that makes you want to have a pet rat named Thales, that proves that the novel is alive and those who doubted it are idiots. Read this book and fall in love with drunkenness, laziness, prison life, good food and the redemptive power of thought.
September 21, 2007
Tibor Fischer's novel Thought Gang presents, for me, a reader's paradox. On one hand, it is incredibly well written, genuinely funny and the plot premise is incredible.
Allow me a quick synopsis.
A terminal slacker, drunkard, balding philosophy professor/philosopher named Eddie (our protagonist) sets out to flee his native London in the face of professional doom and pending legal action as he is found naked and hung over in a room full of child porn (no explanation on how or why he is there is ever provided).
He chooses France as his refuge as W) it is not London, X) he speaks French fluently, Y) there is an ample supply of wine and Z) Eddie is something of a foodie and France is the place to be if one is afflicted of this.
Once there, Eddie loses his luggage and most of his money. While trying to check into a cheap motel, he is the victim of an attempted mugging by an ex-convict named Hubert. Eddie had nothing to give Hubert, and the would-be mugger then becomes a guest Eddie's room.
Note on Hubert: he spent more than a decade in prison for bank robbery after his get-away car was stolen while it was parked outside the bank, and he only has one arm and one leg.
Penniless, Eddie decides to rob a bank with Hubert's guns (against his urging otherwise), and it goes splendidly. Hubert is then enamored by his philosophizing accomplice and subsequently declares himself a study of philosophy. Thus, there bank-robbing crew begins, and Hubert dubs their duo the Thought Gang.
In summary, the book seems compelling. In exercise, it is something else. While the story has all the ammunition for a wild ride through philosophy and literature, the author often becomes mired in his own prose.
Admittedly, this sort of novel requires a length of narrative interjection, and I doubt few authors could pull-it-off better than Fischer. In this regard, the best thing about this novel is that Fischer wrote it.
In terms of the narrative voice, the worse thing about this novel is that Fischer wrote it. He is obviously a capable author, wonderfully verbose and very knowledgeable in the field of philosophy.
So knowledgeable, in fact, that his playfulness with the field of philosophy can easily be considered grand standing - which also does the novel injustice by bringing the narrative to a complete stand still.
This stated, there is something endearing about the Thought Gang and I'd recommend it to others ... sort of.
Allow me a quick synopsis.
A terminal slacker, drunkard, balding philosophy professor/philosopher named Eddie (our protagonist) sets out to flee his native London in the face of professional doom and pending legal action as he is found naked and hung over in a room full of child porn (no explanation on how or why he is there is ever provided).
He chooses France as his refuge as W) it is not London, X) he speaks French fluently, Y) there is an ample supply of wine and Z) Eddie is something of a foodie and France is the place to be if one is afflicted of this.
Once there, Eddie loses his luggage and most of his money. While trying to check into a cheap motel, he is the victim of an attempted mugging by an ex-convict named Hubert. Eddie had nothing to give Hubert, and the would-be mugger then becomes a guest Eddie's room.
Note on Hubert: he spent more than a decade in prison for bank robbery after his get-away car was stolen while it was parked outside the bank, and he only has one arm and one leg.
Penniless, Eddie decides to rob a bank with Hubert's guns (against his urging otherwise), and it goes splendidly. Hubert is then enamored by his philosophizing accomplice and subsequently declares himself a study of philosophy. Thus, there bank-robbing crew begins, and Hubert dubs their duo the Thought Gang.
In summary, the book seems compelling. In exercise, it is something else. While the story has all the ammunition for a wild ride through philosophy and literature, the author often becomes mired in his own prose.
Admittedly, this sort of novel requires a length of narrative interjection, and I doubt few authors could pull-it-off better than Fischer. In this regard, the best thing about this novel is that Fischer wrote it.
In terms of the narrative voice, the worse thing about this novel is that Fischer wrote it. He is obviously a capable author, wonderfully verbose and very knowledgeable in the field of philosophy.
So knowledgeable, in fact, that his playfulness with the field of philosophy can easily be considered grand standing - which also does the novel injustice by bringing the narrative to a complete stand still.
This stated, there is something endearing about the Thought Gang and I'd recommend it to others ... sort of.
November 3, 2019
Though it winds down to a mystifyingly dull end, this is one of my favorite books. I had so much fun reading it, laughed out loud so many times. Eddie Coffin's voice prattles on, arch, funny, self-excoriating, self-justifying, showing off and witheringly observant, and yet always basically humble. I actually took notes while reading, and folded so many pages that it wasn't easy to single out and write down the memorable parts. This is in part because Eddie is the master of the one-liner. He should obviously have given up philosophy in favor of stand-up long ago. Maybe the only irritating thing about the book is the poor copy editing, surprising in a press run out of CUNY and distributed by W.W. Norton.
So the book is about what is life about, and reviews as much Greek philosophy as a novel can stand, maybe revealing the limits of the Greeks no matter how Eddie truly believes that they came up with it all. For Eddie never finds, or acknowledges, love, either in his life or in his epistemology. (Though there's the confusing and unconvincing discussion of his lifelong devotion to Zoe very near the end of the book.) In his nihilistic acceptance of his mortality (until some real test of it comes along), he never looks at the Christian possibility: that it's not the end. The plans with Gerard to prove the afterlife never considers Jesus's prior demonstration of that trick and the meaning that the world took from it.
But that probably has to do with Eddie being at the end. He's so down, so out, that he's emptied out the bottom of the dictionary--x,y,z. As the New Yorker review said, "All those zeds!" Ed is zed, but the z's are a game, and Eddie is, at core, serious: "But useful though pessimism is, it can't cover it all." (p. 216) "I wish I'd done more god. I'd gladly sacrifice myself to sprinkle some redemption onto others. To give them protection..." (p. 225) It's this seriousness that gives counterweight to the lightness of the comedy--which is wonderful and never hollow.
So the book is about what is life about, and reviews as much Greek philosophy as a novel can stand, maybe revealing the limits of the Greeks no matter how Eddie truly believes that they came up with it all. For Eddie never finds, or acknowledges, love, either in his life or in his epistemology. (Though there's the confusing and unconvincing discussion of his lifelong devotion to Zoe very near the end of the book.) In his nihilistic acceptance of his mortality (until some real test of it comes along), he never looks at the Christian possibility: that it's not the end. The plans with Gerard to prove the afterlife never considers Jesus's prior demonstration of that trick and the meaning that the world took from it.
But that probably has to do with Eddie being at the end. He's so down, so out, that he's emptied out the bottom of the dictionary--x,y,z. As the New Yorker review said, "All those zeds!" Ed is zed, but the z's are a game, and Eddie is, at core, serious: "But useful though pessimism is, it can't cover it all." (p. 216) "I wish I'd done more god. I'd gladly sacrifice myself to sprinkle some redemption onto others. To give them protection..." (p. 225) It's this seriousness that gives counterweight to the lightness of the comedy--which is wonderful and never hollow.
April 17, 2016
I found my copy of The Thought Gang at a used book fair in Cambridge- rather fitting I soon discovered, as it chronicles the accidental bank-robbing adventures of an ex-Cambridge philosophy professor and his one armed, one legged, hemophiliac partner in-crime.
To be fair, I can easily see this book taking a lot of flack for its pretentious use of words- not only those beginning with "z" (which the narrator is quite delighted by), but also the numerous others which far surpass the vocabulary of the average post-graduate student. Fortunately, Tibor keeps you laughing so consistently that it's easy to overlook the fact that there's at least one word that you've never seen before used on nearly every page. With regards to the "z" words that many reviewers seem to have found so frustrating- that's a plot device, not just a fixation of the authors'. Acquaint yourself with nonce symbolism, then come back to comment. (Although as nonce symbolism goes, this is about as obnoxious as it gets).
All in all, The Thought Gang is a marvelous romp through pre-millenium France, narrated by a witty but occasionally irritating philosophy burnout. He muses about philosophy, love, war, sex and aging, juxtaposing the comical with the profound with neither diminishing the other. He falls in love, robs multiple banks, drinks copious amounts of wine and expensive liquor and makes some highly questionable decisions. The Thought Gang delights and confounds, brings many laughs and greatly expands the reader's vocabulary. It can occasionally try your patience, but if you can put up with Tibor's flagrant pretension, it's worth every minute of your time.
To be fair, I can easily see this book taking a lot of flack for its pretentious use of words- not only those beginning with "z" (which the narrator is quite delighted by), but also the numerous others which far surpass the vocabulary of the average post-graduate student. Fortunately, Tibor keeps you laughing so consistently that it's easy to overlook the fact that there's at least one word that you've never seen before used on nearly every page. With regards to the "z" words that many reviewers seem to have found so frustrating- that's a plot device, not just a fixation of the authors'. Acquaint yourself with nonce symbolism, then come back to comment. (Although as nonce symbolism goes, this is about as obnoxious as it gets).
All in all, The Thought Gang is a marvelous romp through pre-millenium France, narrated by a witty but occasionally irritating philosophy burnout. He muses about philosophy, love, war, sex and aging, juxtaposing the comical with the profound with neither diminishing the other. He falls in love, robs multiple banks, drinks copious amounts of wine and expensive liquor and makes some highly questionable decisions. The Thought Gang delights and confounds, brings many laughs and greatly expands the reader's vocabulary. It can occasionally try your patience, but if you can put up with Tibor's flagrant pretension, it's worth every minute of your time.
November 19, 2018
I was supposed to read this book for school several weeks ago, but only got about halfway through and just BSed my way through the week, and I have a terrible excuse as to why I did not finish in time: it's a dense, very complex read, and I was lazy and didn't want to. lol. But I've let very few books unfinished, because it's just a compulsion that a lot of people have, including me. Soooo I have reluctantly finished.
-The high point of the book for me was the diction. The phrases Fischer used throughout the books were so defamiliarized and really cool. Even though I did not particularly enjoy the read, I at least learned something from it. The way he put words together was actually surprising; something that simple being so surprising to me and making such of an impact was an important. Why not take such an easy to use, creative tool and use it to your advantage? Basically I was just really impressed by his mastery of the English language, really impressive stuff.
-However, like I said I did not like the book as a whole. The plot was all together boring and even confusing at times. The characters were neither believable or compelling. I don't know what about the cover of the book made me want the main character to be a stronger than he was, but for some reason I found him especially weak willed and a real baby at times.
-I did not really like this book, obviously, since it really became a struggle picking this book up and finishing it, but I did get something out of it, so it was not a lost cause. I cannot think of anyone I could recommend this to though. I just say skip this one.
-The high point of the book for me was the diction. The phrases Fischer used throughout the books were so defamiliarized and really cool. Even though I did not particularly enjoy the read, I at least learned something from it. The way he put words together was actually surprising; something that simple being so surprising to me and making such of an impact was an important. Why not take such an easy to use, creative tool and use it to your advantage? Basically I was just really impressed by his mastery of the English language, really impressive stuff.
-However, like I said I did not like the book as a whole. The plot was all together boring and even confusing at times. The characters were neither believable or compelling. I don't know what about the cover of the book made me want the main character to be a stronger than he was, but for some reason I found him especially weak willed and a real baby at times.
-I did not really like this book, obviously, since it really became a struggle picking this book up and finishing it, but I did get something out of it, so it was not a lost cause. I cannot think of anyone I could recommend this to though. I just say skip this one.
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