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Plume
‘It’s outstanding’ Mail on Sunday, Event Magazine
The dark, doomy humour of Care of Wooden Floors mixed with the fantastical, anarchic sense of possibility of The Way Inn , brought together in a fast moving story set in contemporary London.
Jack Bick is an interview journalist at a glossy lifestyle magazine. From his office window he can see a black column of smoke in the sky, the result of an industrial accident on the edge of the city. When Bick goes from being a high-functioning alcoholic to being a non-functioning alcoholic, his life goes into freefall, the smoke a harbinger of truth, an omen of personal apocalypse. An unpromising interview with Oliver Pierce, a reclusive cult novelist, unexpectedly yields a huge story, one that could save his job. But the novelist knows something about Bick, and the two men are drawn into a bizarre, violent partnership that is both an act of defiance against the changing city, and a surrender to its spreading darkness.
With its rich emotional palette, Plume explores the relationship between truth and personal truth, journalistic truth, novelistic truth. It is a surreal and mysterious exploration of the precariousness of life in modern London.
The dark, doomy humour of Care of Wooden Floors mixed with the fantastical, anarchic sense of possibility of The Way Inn , brought together in a fast moving story set in contemporary London.
Jack Bick is an interview journalist at a glossy lifestyle magazine. From his office window he can see a black column of smoke in the sky, the result of an industrial accident on the edge of the city. When Bick goes from being a high-functioning alcoholic to being a non-functioning alcoholic, his life goes into freefall, the smoke a harbinger of truth, an omen of personal apocalypse. An unpromising interview with Oliver Pierce, a reclusive cult novelist, unexpectedly yields a huge story, one that could save his job. But the novelist knows something about Bick, and the two men are drawn into a bizarre, violent partnership that is both an act of defiance against the changing city, and a surrender to its spreading darkness.
With its rich emotional palette, Plume explores the relationship between truth and personal truth, journalistic truth, novelistic truth. It is a surreal and mysterious exploration of the precariousness of life in modern London.
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First published May 16, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
May 22, 2021
Jack is the first person narrator of this tale, he's an unreliable narrator because he is an alcoholic and a journalist, both being mixers of the truth. Jack is also an unreliable narrator because he hasn't got a clue what is going on, and keeps on seeing a plume of smoke everywhere.
This is a clever and intriguing story set in 21st century London, with Jack having to complete two very important interviews, whilst trying to keep his alcoholism under wraps until.. well ...until he can't any longer. His interviews and professional relationships overlap as he starts becoming suspicious that there's more going on than meets the eye, in the world of literary writers, tech millionaires and the media's pen pushers... as he also tries to keep his job and maintain his addiction!
As someone who has recently passed the 150 days sober point after a heavy drinking decade, I had to applaud this take on alcoholism and how your entire day is fitted around it; I was never as deep in it as the main protagonist, but absolutely recognise the behaviours. This is such a thought provoking modern London (/urban) read, playing with and critiquing truth and fiction, the literati and the media; the tech moguls and their connections to the ruling status quo and more. An absorbing, accessible and important read on many levels. 8 out of 12.
This is a clever and intriguing story set in 21st century London, with Jack having to complete two very important interviews, whilst trying to keep his alcoholism under wraps until.. well ...until he can't any longer. His interviews and professional relationships overlap as he starts becoming suspicious that there's more going on than meets the eye, in the world of literary writers, tech millionaires and the media's pen pushers... as he also tries to keep his job and maintain his addiction!
As someone who has recently passed the 150 days sober point after a heavy drinking decade, I had to applaud this take on alcoholism and how your entire day is fitted around it; I was never as deep in it as the main protagonist, but absolutely recognise the behaviours. This is such a thought provoking modern London (/urban) read, playing with and critiquing truth and fiction, the literati and the media; the tech moguls and their connections to the ruling status quo and more. An absorbing, accessible and important read on many levels. 8 out of 12.
May 16, 2019
The whole time I was reading Plume, I kept thinking, I can't account for how compelling this is. All 350+ of its pages are devoted to events that unfold over a handful of days. The concept of a failing writer sliding into depression and personal chaos is not exactly unexplored territory for literary fiction. The narrator devotes whole paragraphs to describing mundane actions – a delayed journey to work, a gruelling meeting, the opening of a can of lager – with levels of detail that should be soporific. Yet it's all completely riveting.
Jack Bick is a journalist and alcoholic whose life is, to put it bluntly, falling apart. The luxury lifestyle magazine he writes for is struggling, and Jack, with his unmet deadlines and two-hour lunches, is an obvious candidate for redundancy (if he doesn't just get fired first). Though frequently distracted by alcohol, he develops a plan of action: profile Oliver Pierce, a reclusive writer who hasn't published so much as a tweet in four years. The interview yields an exclusive bigger than anything Jack could've imagined, but to actually pull it off, he'll need to outsmart his own addiction, persuade the reluctant Pierce out of hiding, and dodge the machinations of an all-seeing tech mogul known as F.A.Q.
And the title? First and foremost, it's a reference to an immense column of smoke towering over London, visible from Jack's office; the result of a huge fire in the east. Jack continues to be haunted by the smoke long after it disappears from the city's skyline. There are also the birds (cockatoos, specifically) Jack sees everywhere, a repeated reminder of a childhood lie, the first time he remembers inventing a story to make himself sound more interesting. It's also a nod to our narrator, whose name is a nom de plume. He was born James Bickerton, but Jack Bick sounds 'more Vice,' represents 'the young writer, the edgy journalist' he wishes to be perceived as.
The above description doesn't really do much justice to how enjoyable the novel is, though, because the magic is in the writing. Jack's narrative is urgent, funny and plaintive, a candid internal monologue studded with neologisms. It's no surprise that he saves his most poetic lines for the description of alcohol, 'the spreading, quenching coolth' of his beloved Stella Artois.
Plume sits at a particular juncture where stories about personal decline intersect with stories about contemporary Britain. I'm thinking of Keith Ridgway's Animals and Hawthorn & Child, particularly, but also Ned Beauman's Glow, Sam Byers' Perfidious Albion and Hugo Wilcken's The Execution. Like all of the above, Plume is excellent, combining a captivating narrative voice with just the right amount of weirdness.
I received an advance review copy of Plume from the publisher through NetGalley.
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Jack Bick is a journalist and alcoholic whose life is, to put it bluntly, falling apart. The luxury lifestyle magazine he writes for is struggling, and Jack, with his unmet deadlines and two-hour lunches, is an obvious candidate for redundancy (if he doesn't just get fired first). Though frequently distracted by alcohol, he develops a plan of action: profile Oliver Pierce, a reclusive writer who hasn't published so much as a tweet in four years. The interview yields an exclusive bigger than anything Jack could've imagined, but to actually pull it off, he'll need to outsmart his own addiction, persuade the reluctant Pierce out of hiding, and dodge the machinations of an all-seeing tech mogul known as F.A.Q.
And the title? First and foremost, it's a reference to an immense column of smoke towering over London, visible from Jack's office; the result of a huge fire in the east. Jack continues to be haunted by the smoke long after it disappears from the city's skyline. There are also the birds (cockatoos, specifically) Jack sees everywhere, a repeated reminder of a childhood lie, the first time he remembers inventing a story to make himself sound more interesting. It's also a nod to our narrator, whose name is a nom de plume. He was born James Bickerton, but Jack Bick sounds 'more Vice,' represents 'the young writer, the edgy journalist' he wishes to be perceived as.
The above description doesn't really do much justice to how enjoyable the novel is, though, because the magic is in the writing. Jack's narrative is urgent, funny and plaintive, a candid internal monologue studded with neologisms. It's no surprise that he saves his most poetic lines for the description of alcohol, 'the spreading, quenching coolth' of his beloved Stella Artois.
Plume sits at a particular juncture where stories about personal decline intersect with stories about contemporary Britain. I'm thinking of Keith Ridgway's Animals and Hawthorn & Child, particularly, but also Ned Beauman's Glow, Sam Byers' Perfidious Albion and Hugo Wilcken's The Execution. Like all of the above, Plume is excellent, combining a captivating narrative voice with just the right amount of weirdness.
I received an advance review copy of Plume from the publisher through NetGalley.
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August 17, 2020
Magazine writer and secret alcoholic Jack Bick is about to have an interesting week. He must interview two famous subjects and produce two draft features before week’s end - or maybe he’s fired? And then an actual fire erupts in London, giving off a plume of smoke. Except Jack sees smoke even when it’s not there. And cockatoos. There are plumes everyplace - plumes of smoke and the yellow plumes of cockatoos! Prize-winning novelists, real estate moguls and tech gurus - it’s all kicking off in Jack’s world just as his unbridled drinking spirals further out of control along with the hallucinations and his ability to function!
I’m a big fan of alcoholics in literature - Charles Bukowski and Hunter S. Thompson’s stories, Patrick DeWitt’s Absolution, Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square, Stephen King’s The Shining (and the brief autobiographical pieces about his substance abuse in On Writing), and the nonfiction memoirs of Augusten Burroughs’ Dry and Jack London’s John Barleycorn - so I was predisposed to like Will Wiles’ novel Plume. And I did - it’s an absolutely cracking novel!
Though I’m not an addict myself, I feel like I’ve got a good idea of an alcoholic’s experience from the many books I’ve read featuring them and Wiles portrayed the sordid day-to-day misery of it here convincingly and entertainingly. I was intrigued by the ominous and strange hallucinations Jack was seeing and what they meant, and wanted to find out the demons behind his drinking - what trauma drove him to this behaviour? - all of which Wiles teases out skilfully, hinting at this and that (I won’t mention any spoilers here).
There wasn’t much I wasn’t that taken with. I thought Jack and his writer subject Oliver Pierce’s jolly around town as material for the article Jack was trying to write was tedious and overlong. The ending was also underwhelming - in fact, everything involving the tech guru Quin and his social media app Tamesis felt superfluous. What’s that rule about editing - if you can cut it out and it doesn’t affect the story then it should be cut out? That’s basically this entire aspect of the book.
The novel would’ve been perfectly fine if it was just about an alcoholic writer trying to get usable material out of his two subjects while his life fell apart. The links between Pierce and Quin were tenuous at best and I wasn’t sure what Wiles was getting at with his ending - a dystopian-esque finale seemed silly and pointless. I guess Quin was sorta important in contributing to Pierce’s actions but, eh, it still seemed overly contrived and unnecessary.
Otherwise, it’s a compelling narrative. Jack’s time with Pierce unearths revelations about Pierce’s award-winning bestseller, Night Traffic, sending them on a shaky journey to the truth. Pierce is an amusing character who starts off seemingly normal and then gets rapidly more unstable by the chapter. Even the smug real estate mogul Alexander de Chauncey came across memorably - charming, if a little conceited, but vulnerable and human. The only character who seemed cartoonish was Quin, particularly at the end.
All of the office scenes were terrific and surprisingly exciting. Wiles throughout occasionally touches the zeitgeist with younger people feeling unmoored as getting on the property ladder, particularly in London, gets harder and harder and, beyond symbolising Jack’s deteriorating mental state, the spectre of Grenfell, though never explicitly mentioned, looms each time burning buildings and fires are mentioned. There’s at least one unexpected twist and a funny book-length joke set up right at the beginning and paid off near the end concerning Jack’s landlord. And Jack himself is a sympathetic and likeable trainwreck of a protagonist to spend the duration of the book with.
There’s a lot to enjoy in Plume and I certainly did. Will Wiles is a very talented writer and masterful storyteller. If you like alcoholic lit (“lit-lit”?) as I do, you’ll especially dig this novel but, even if you don’t, this is an enthralling story of desperate times as seen through the eyes of a desperate man - as grim as that may sound, great writing like this is always uplifting.
I’m a big fan of alcoholics in literature - Charles Bukowski and Hunter S. Thompson’s stories, Patrick DeWitt’s Absolution, Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square, Stephen King’s The Shining (and the brief autobiographical pieces about his substance abuse in On Writing), and the nonfiction memoirs of Augusten Burroughs’ Dry and Jack London’s John Barleycorn - so I was predisposed to like Will Wiles’ novel Plume. And I did - it’s an absolutely cracking novel!
Though I’m not an addict myself, I feel like I’ve got a good idea of an alcoholic’s experience from the many books I’ve read featuring them and Wiles portrayed the sordid day-to-day misery of it here convincingly and entertainingly. I was intrigued by the ominous and strange hallucinations Jack was seeing and what they meant, and wanted to find out the demons behind his drinking - what trauma drove him to this behaviour? - all of which Wiles teases out skilfully, hinting at this and that (I won’t mention any spoilers here).
There wasn’t much I wasn’t that taken with. I thought Jack and his writer subject Oliver Pierce’s jolly around town as material for the article Jack was trying to write was tedious and overlong. The ending was also underwhelming - in fact, everything involving the tech guru Quin and his social media app Tamesis felt superfluous. What’s that rule about editing - if you can cut it out and it doesn’t affect the story then it should be cut out? That’s basically this entire aspect of the book.
The novel would’ve been perfectly fine if it was just about an alcoholic writer trying to get usable material out of his two subjects while his life fell apart. The links between Pierce and Quin were tenuous at best and I wasn’t sure what Wiles was getting at with his ending - a dystopian-esque finale seemed silly and pointless. I guess Quin was sorta important in contributing to Pierce’s actions but, eh, it still seemed overly contrived and unnecessary.
Otherwise, it’s a compelling narrative. Jack’s time with Pierce unearths revelations about Pierce’s award-winning bestseller, Night Traffic, sending them on a shaky journey to the truth. Pierce is an amusing character who starts off seemingly normal and then gets rapidly more unstable by the chapter. Even the smug real estate mogul Alexander de Chauncey came across memorably - charming, if a little conceited, but vulnerable and human. The only character who seemed cartoonish was Quin, particularly at the end.
All of the office scenes were terrific and surprisingly exciting. Wiles throughout occasionally touches the zeitgeist with younger people feeling unmoored as getting on the property ladder, particularly in London, gets harder and harder and, beyond symbolising Jack’s deteriorating mental state, the spectre of Grenfell, though never explicitly mentioned, looms each time burning buildings and fires are mentioned. There’s at least one unexpected twist and a funny book-length joke set up right at the beginning and paid off near the end concerning Jack’s landlord. And Jack himself is a sympathetic and likeable trainwreck of a protagonist to spend the duration of the book with.
There’s a lot to enjoy in Plume and I certainly did. Will Wiles is a very talented writer and masterful storyteller. If you like alcoholic lit (“lit-lit”?) as I do, you’ll especially dig this novel but, even if you don’t, this is an enthralling story of desperate times as seen through the eyes of a desperate man - as grim as that may sound, great writing like this is always uplifting.
July 1, 2020
Rather pedestrian compared to my expectations which are often set by the cover quotes. In this case these quotes are either written by Mr Wiles' mates (both Adam Roberts and James Smyth are mentioned as friends in the acknowledgements) or wildy inaccurate (David Baddiel invokes Kafka for some reason when the book appears to have no connection to Kafka or his style whatsoever)
I also don't like this style of humour when we are asked to enjoy someone else's misfortune. The main character is an alcoholic who seems never far from another episode of embarassing vomiting. Not for me
I also don't like this style of humour when we are asked to enjoy someone else's misfortune. The main character is an alcoholic who seems never far from another episode of embarassing vomiting. Not for me
May 27, 2019
Plume, by Will Wiles, is set in contemporary London, albeit one that makes no reference to multiculturalism. Its protagonist is Jack Bick who works as an interview journalist for a glossy lifestyle magazine. It explores such fictions as: truth, memory, aspiration, and social media.
When Jack first moved to London it was still possible to get a foot in the door of journalism without first serving as an unpaid intern. It was possible to believe that, one day, he may become a home owner in the city. He mixed with the right people; moved into a rented flat with his girlfriend. The raw edges of his life could be smoothed over with a few drinks at the end of the day.
The story opens at a weekly work planning meeting. Jack is zoning out, not just from boredom but from the effort of not being found out for what he has become. His timekeeping is erratic; the work he submits unoriginal and shoddy. The word is that there will be cutbacks and he fears what this could mean for him.
The shockwave from an explosion in the east of the city barely registers initially but marks the beginning of what Jack believes may be the end of long desired possibilities.
He resents the rent he must pay for a dark little flat that suffers noise intrusion from neighbour’s building work. He resents that his ambition is growing ever further beyond his reach. Jack is an alcoholic. Hiding the effects of this from colleagues is becoming increasingly difficult.
Jack plans to interview a reclusive author, Oliver Pierce. Contact was made through a mutual acquaintance who has developed a new type of social media app, due to be rolled out further afield. Jack’s boss would prefer if he interviewed a property developer at the forefront of recent regeneration projects. Between them these people represent everything Jack has missed out on, including the financial success that would enable him to buy rather than rent.
A key character is the setting and the effect London has on its residents. As the plot and associated action moves between areas – the pockets of wealth and still dodgy streets – what is seen and what is believed is shown to be key to satisfaction and behaviour. Landlords look to enhance their assets with little regard for pesky tenants. Middlemen step in to assist those who can pay.
Jack is not the only man facing a crisis. Oliver has agreed to be interviewed because he wishes to atone for past behaviour – a lie he has been living that generated his success. Both men’s actions are erratic and often dangerous yet they are not as autonomous as they may wish to believe. There are manipulations from shady sources, and from the mirage of a lifestyle they are encouraged to pursue.
The author has captured the zeitgeist, particularly around Shoreditch, and presents it with wit and candour. Interspersed with keen imagery are nuggets of local reference to amuse. As a reader of Kit Caless’s book I was tickled by the man in Wetherspoons photographing his shoes. The Winterzone event that Jack and Oliver attend encapsulates the conflicting interests and benefits of widespread city regeneration.
Beneath the personal facade lies a yearning for rose tinted pasts and futures alongside a desire for authenticity, whatever that may mean. Yet life can only be enjoyed within the confines of personal comfort and security. London is an amalgam; it is alive and it is dirty. Those who pass through, however long for, see only fragments through a glass darkly.
The writing is fluid and entertaining, the characters well rendered if of a type. There is much to ponder, more to enjoy. Despite my reservations about breadth of representation, this is a piquant and recommended read.
When Jack first moved to London it was still possible to get a foot in the door of journalism without first serving as an unpaid intern. It was possible to believe that, one day, he may become a home owner in the city. He mixed with the right people; moved into a rented flat with his girlfriend. The raw edges of his life could be smoothed over with a few drinks at the end of the day.
The story opens at a weekly work planning meeting. Jack is zoning out, not just from boredom but from the effort of not being found out for what he has become. His timekeeping is erratic; the work he submits unoriginal and shoddy. The word is that there will be cutbacks and he fears what this could mean for him.
The shockwave from an explosion in the east of the city barely registers initially but marks the beginning of what Jack believes may be the end of long desired possibilities.
He resents the rent he must pay for a dark little flat that suffers noise intrusion from neighbour’s building work. He resents that his ambition is growing ever further beyond his reach. Jack is an alcoholic. Hiding the effects of this from colleagues is becoming increasingly difficult.
Jack plans to interview a reclusive author, Oliver Pierce. Contact was made through a mutual acquaintance who has developed a new type of social media app, due to be rolled out further afield. Jack’s boss would prefer if he interviewed a property developer at the forefront of recent regeneration projects. Between them these people represent everything Jack has missed out on, including the financial success that would enable him to buy rather than rent.
A key character is the setting and the effect London has on its residents. As the plot and associated action moves between areas – the pockets of wealth and still dodgy streets – what is seen and what is believed is shown to be key to satisfaction and behaviour. Landlords look to enhance their assets with little regard for pesky tenants. Middlemen step in to assist those who can pay.
Jack is not the only man facing a crisis. Oliver has agreed to be interviewed because he wishes to atone for past behaviour – a lie he has been living that generated his success. Both men’s actions are erratic and often dangerous yet they are not as autonomous as they may wish to believe. There are manipulations from shady sources, and from the mirage of a lifestyle they are encouraged to pursue.
The author has captured the zeitgeist, particularly around Shoreditch, and presents it with wit and candour. Interspersed with keen imagery are nuggets of local reference to amuse. As a reader of Kit Caless’s book I was tickled by the man in Wetherspoons photographing his shoes. The Winterzone event that Jack and Oliver attend encapsulates the conflicting interests and benefits of widespread city regeneration.
Beneath the personal facade lies a yearning for rose tinted pasts and futures alongside a desire for authenticity, whatever that may mean. Yet life can only be enjoyed within the confines of personal comfort and security. London is an amalgam; it is alive and it is dirty. Those who pass through, however long for, see only fragments through a glass darkly.
The writing is fluid and entertaining, the characters well rendered if of a type. There is much to ponder, more to enjoy. Despite my reservations about breadth of representation, this is a piquant and recommended read.
October 24, 2023
What on Earth are those quotes on the cover? "Funniest book I've ever read"? "Joy unconfined"?? Did they actually read the novel, or are they just bona fide psychopaths?
This is a novel about a journalist descending into alcoholism and madness, and the machinations of corporations, and a quasi-dystopic Black Mirror-esque app that feels all too real. There were some mildly funny black humour moments here and there, but that isn't the overall tone, and whereas I enjoyed the novel very much, it certainly didn't make me feel joy - it made me feel overarching dread.
But then, again, the "joy unconfined" quote is from the Spectator, so that explains everything, really.
This is a novel about a journalist descending into alcoholism and madness, and the machinations of corporations, and a quasi-dystopic Black Mirror-esque app that feels all too real. There were some mildly funny black humour moments here and there, but that isn't the overall tone, and whereas I enjoyed the novel very much, it certainly didn't make me feel joy - it made me feel overarching dread.
But then, again, the "joy unconfined" quote is from the Spectator, so that explains everything, really.
April 29, 2019
I was drawn to this by the description, but unfortunately it's not for me. Other reviewers found it to be fast-moving and witty. I found it repetitive and lacking in charm. Did not finish, but I got nearly half-way so I think I gave it a good chance.
January 28, 2019
A city - and a story - spiral out of control.
Jack Bick is a high-functioning alcoholic though fast becoming a barely-functioning one. He works as a journalist interviewing notable luminaries of the London scene for “one of the few physical magazines that look certain to weather the eschaton of the analogue, because business-class lounges would always need something to go on their Noguchi coffee tables.” But he’s under pressure to produce two big pieces in a matter of days and that’s going to seriously interfere with his beer intake. First up is reclusive cult author Oliver Pierce and our narrator is about to get a solid-gold story. Shame he loses the evidence of his scoop…
Set in 2012 in a London beset by a distant smouldering fire, grimy industrial outer city vistas, increased muggings, rocketing house prices and ever-increasing surveillance by cameras and apps, Will Wiles sets the reader something of a challenging read. Initially, the feeling while reading is that one has discovered the ultimate state-of-the-city novel. But as elements of Knausgaard-style description start to creep in, as metaphorical visions darken and as the story becomes ever more convoluted, one somehow knows that one’s high expectations are about to be disappointed. And I’m afraid this is so. 3.5*
My thanks to 4th Estate for a review copy courtesy of NetGalley.
Jack Bick is a high-functioning alcoholic though fast becoming a barely-functioning one. He works as a journalist interviewing notable luminaries of the London scene for “one of the few physical magazines that look certain to weather the eschaton of the analogue, because business-class lounges would always need something to go on their Noguchi coffee tables.” But he’s under pressure to produce two big pieces in a matter of days and that’s going to seriously interfere with his beer intake. First up is reclusive cult author Oliver Pierce and our narrator is about to get a solid-gold story. Shame he loses the evidence of his scoop…
Set in 2012 in a London beset by a distant smouldering fire, grimy industrial outer city vistas, increased muggings, rocketing house prices and ever-increasing surveillance by cameras and apps, Will Wiles sets the reader something of a challenging read. Initially, the feeling while reading is that one has discovered the ultimate state-of-the-city novel. But as elements of Knausgaard-style description start to creep in, as metaphorical visions darken and as the story becomes ever more convoluted, one somehow knows that one’s high expectations are about to be disappointed. And I’m afraid this is so. 3.5*
My thanks to 4th Estate for a review copy courtesy of NetGalley.
January 29, 2020
Well that was a surprisingly fascinating journey. It’s amazing how compelling writing can be when one is drawn into someone else’s life.
The take on contemporary London is frightening, and sadly a lot of it is true. Thankfully there is also the almost dystopian aspect that Tamesis brings to the party, although it doesn’t take much imagination to envision a world where this is true (to be fair it is mostly true).
Jacks need to suppress reality is almost palpable. The portrayal of his alcoholism and downward spiral is so authentic that I can’t help liken it to Oliver Pierce’s portrayal of the mugging in Night Traffic. If it were to be portrayed as non-fiction I would certainly believe it.
Jack, from the start, acknowledges and even seems to accept that he is headed towards rock bottom, but does nothing to try and correct his path. Factors beyond his control however have different plans for him, and the journey we embark on, both retrospectively and played out over the following few days is captivating to say the least.
And then there is the Plume of course; ‘that was part of what made it impressive, the fact that it was so obviously distant yet so very prominent’. Much like the possibility of disaster within Jacks downward spiral, which of course the Need helps keep abstract, in the distance, anaesthetised, but still prominent.
Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for a review copy.
The take on contemporary London is frightening, and sadly a lot of it is true. Thankfully there is also the almost dystopian aspect that Tamesis brings to the party, although it doesn’t take much imagination to envision a world where this is true (to be fair it is mostly true).
Jacks need to suppress reality is almost palpable. The portrayal of his alcoholism and downward spiral is so authentic that I can’t help liken it to Oliver Pierce’s portrayal of the mugging in Night Traffic. If it were to be portrayed as non-fiction I would certainly believe it.
Jack, from the start, acknowledges and even seems to accept that he is headed towards rock bottom, but does nothing to try and correct his path. Factors beyond his control however have different plans for him, and the journey we embark on, both retrospectively and played out over the following few days is captivating to say the least.
And then there is the Plume of course; ‘that was part of what made it impressive, the fact that it was so obviously distant yet so very prominent’. Much like the possibility of disaster within Jacks downward spiral, which of course the Need helps keep abstract, in the distance, anaesthetised, but still prominent.
Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for a review copy.
February 17, 2021
This was a weird one for me because whilst reading it I would find it compelling, yet I would put it down for days on end and struggle to pick it back up again.
I think this novel suffers from a gross act of misinterpretation because it's been wrongly publicised as a comedic book. It's really not. A book about the downward spiral of a man's descent into alcoholism and the subsequent hallucinations he suffers? Not something to laugh at in my opinion. Just not for me.
I think this novel suffers from a gross act of misinterpretation because it's been wrongly publicised as a comedic book. It's really not. A book about the downward spiral of a man's descent into alcoholism and the subsequent hallucinations he suffers? Not something to laugh at in my opinion. Just not for me.
May 26, 2020
2.5 stars
My rating for this book could be attributed to reading during lock down! I couldn't associate with the characters, found myself too lost in the narrative to really understand the plot and after a while just desperate for it to end.
Perhaps during another time this book would have captured my attention more.
My rating for this book could be attributed to reading during lock down! I couldn't associate with the characters, found myself too lost in the narrative to really understand the plot and after a while just desperate for it to end.
Perhaps during another time this book would have captured my attention more.
February 23, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. Not my usual choice of book but it was very entertaining. It’s a book about alcoholism and the day to day life of an alcoholic. Enjoyable and gripping story. I really enjoy books set in London and I will be reading more books by Will Wiles.
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June 3, 2019I am at a loss for words. It was going so well...and then in the last 20% something happened, or didn't happen, to just throw me. I guess the final just didn't click for me...not that I was having a good idea of where the story was going, but the ending just left me confused. So confused in fact, that I have no idea what rating to give(and I've slept on it for days, but I am still as confused as after I've just finished it.)
In the grand scheme of things this is a cautionary tale about how data can be manipulated. In both directions: good or bad but ultimately an invasion of privacy and a force that can impact your life and your perception of everything. At the same time it is a book about alcoholism and its devastating effect. And it's a book about London and in particular about London's real estate market and its impact on people and mobility.
While arguably a slow paced novel - the entire plot happens just over a few days, less than a week. But as strange as it may seem, for me, it was a very fast, urgent novel, inexorably moving toward a finish, toward closure.
I've enjoyed the writing style, it kept me intrigued, gripped, I just had to find out how's Jake going to end up. The author did a brilliant job in evoking the haze and gloom of the main character's frame of mind. He is just floating through life and fast approaching an end that's either going to be his undoing or his salvation. I believe my confusion lies in the fact I am rather disappointed with the end. First it has a touch of fantastic or better said: reality is so stretched that's not really believable. But the main problem is that I was rather crossed with Jack's willingness to jump in Quin's boat when he is perfectly aware of Quin's treachery and willingness to do all that it takes, with no concern for those who will suffer! Where's his lesson learnt, eh?!
No matter what, the most amazing thing happened: the place that gets a good focus in this book is a place that I know well: the area between Mile End, Burdett Road and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. I worked at 91 Burdett Road and walked that area twice a day for months: Burdett Road, Bow common lane, along the rear of the cemetery and further towards my house. Definitely a rather "scary" area, especially in the evening, what with the wilderness of the cemetery on one side and the motorway bridge on the other, plus a rather shady council estate right at the end of the cemetery ...but surprisingly nothing happened..showing that crime truly is random...
In the grand scheme of things this is a cautionary tale about how data can be manipulated. In both directions: good or bad but ultimately an invasion of privacy and a force that can impact your life and your perception of everything. At the same time it is a book about alcoholism and its devastating effect. And it's a book about London and in particular about London's real estate market and its impact on people and mobility.
While arguably a slow paced novel - the entire plot happens just over a few days, less than a week. But as strange as it may seem, for me, it was a very fast, urgent novel, inexorably moving toward a finish, toward closure.
I've enjoyed the writing style, it kept me intrigued, gripped, I just had to find out how's Jake going to end up. The author did a brilliant job in evoking the haze and gloom of the main character's frame of mind. He is just floating through life and fast approaching an end that's either going to be his undoing or his salvation. I believe my confusion lies in the fact I am rather disappointed with the end. First it has a touch of fantastic or better said: reality is so stretched that's not really believable. But the main problem is that I was rather crossed with Jack's willingness to jump in Quin's boat when he is perfectly aware of Quin's treachery and willingness to do all that it takes, with no concern for those who will suffer! Where's his lesson learnt, eh?!
No matter what, the most amazing thing happened: the place that gets a good focus in this book is a place that I know well: the area between Mile End, Burdett Road and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. I worked at 91 Burdett Road and walked that area twice a day for months: Burdett Road, Bow common lane, along the rear of the cemetery and further towards my house. Definitely a rather "scary" area, especially in the evening, what with the wilderness of the cemetery on one side and the motorway bridge on the other, plus a rather shady council estate right at the end of the cemetery ...but surprisingly nothing happened..showing that crime truly is random...
February 2, 2019
Plume is a a novel about contemporary London, truth, and alcoholism, tinged with a darkly comic writing style and an ominous atmosphere. Jack Bick writes features for a magazine and pretends that his drinking isn't a problem. When a column of smoke appears on the London skyline outside his office, it feels like an omen, particularly along with Jack smelling smoke all the time. He tries to ignore this and goes to interview reclusive writer Oliver Pierce, who reveals a secret about his most popular book that could save Jack's job, if he can only get it written. Drawn into a partnership with Pierce against the city and tied to a new app that tracks people's location, Jack must work out what is real and what is only imagination.
This is a surprising novel in many ways. It was quite slow to start and felt like it could have sparks of brilliance without a compelling plot (particularly some laugh out loud imagery and cutting depictions of London), but then turned into something much better than it first seemed. Particularly the way in which Jack's alcoholism, which could've been a hackneyed trope that wasn't really dealt with properly, was crucial and faced full on. In fact, though the book could be marketed as one about modern London and about what is real, it could just as easily be seen as a book about addiction and about how it makes people view the world. The underlying message about tech companies and big data was perhaps more predictable, but it worked well with the other plot elements, turning psychogeography into the digital as a recommendations app looks for urban myth.
What could've been a dull story about trying to write turned into a gripping look at addiction and space, which satirises London media culture and gentrification whilst taking its topics seriously. The desperation of living in London and the pain of addiction seem to blur, showing the psychological effect of both whilst questioning the line between truth and lies. Plume felt more than its blurb, with an unnerving sense of smoke lingering after you put it down.
This is a surprising novel in many ways. It was quite slow to start and felt like it could have sparks of brilliance without a compelling plot (particularly some laugh out loud imagery and cutting depictions of London), but then turned into something much better than it first seemed. Particularly the way in which Jack's alcoholism, which could've been a hackneyed trope that wasn't really dealt with properly, was crucial and faced full on. In fact, though the book could be marketed as one about modern London and about what is real, it could just as easily be seen as a book about addiction and about how it makes people view the world. The underlying message about tech companies and big data was perhaps more predictable, but it worked well with the other plot elements, turning psychogeography into the digital as a recommendations app looks for urban myth.
What could've been a dull story about trying to write turned into a gripping look at addiction and space, which satirises London media culture and gentrification whilst taking its topics seriously. The desperation of living in London and the pain of addiction seem to blur, showing the psychological effect of both whilst questioning the line between truth and lies. Plume felt more than its blurb, with an unnerving sense of smoke lingering after you put it down.
September 27, 2019
I won't be the first to point out that this is 'Money', only with surveillance capitalism instead of Hollywood. Our duo-syllabic lead - Jake Bick - is at least as ruined (by drink in the form of endless cans of Stella, rather than by the high-end cocktail of intoxicants favoured by Amis's hero) and self-hating but perhaps a bit more sympathetic. The middle section is so miserable and stress-inducing (at least for this middle-aged man who makes his living in the media) that I could barely get through it - but the tension does lift and there's a redemption of sorts. Contemporary London is nicely done and the predatory 'entrepreneurs' and 'innovators' and the selfish writers and editors are all suitably hideous. It's not uplifting but it is kind of enlightening and it's full of ideas and whizzy language you'll want to nick.
November 2, 2020
Not what I expected...
From the cover, this novel was depicted as being a humorous read - which was how it accompanied me to the till. Expecting some kind of madcap read about a functioning alcoholic thrashing about, I was instead presented with a very dark story about the inner workings of present day London. It kept me gripped enough to get to the end, but overall, it wasn't what I'd been looking for. This is no fault of the writer, whom I suspect had little input into the boasts on the covers - but in these strange times, I would have fancied a bit more of a heads up. The edition I bought had a different cover to the one on display - so maybe this has already been picked up on. Strong, clever writing - but just not for me, in this current climate. Plenty of other people will surely love it.
From the cover, this novel was depicted as being a humorous read - which was how it accompanied me to the till. Expecting some kind of madcap read about a functioning alcoholic thrashing about, I was instead presented with a very dark story about the inner workings of present day London. It kept me gripped enough to get to the end, but overall, it wasn't what I'd been looking for. This is no fault of the writer, whom I suspect had little input into the boasts on the covers - but in these strange times, I would have fancied a bit more of a heads up. The edition I bought had a different cover to the one on display - so maybe this has already been picked up on. Strong, clever writing - but just not for me, in this current climate. Plenty of other people will surely love it.
October 8, 2019
I read an excerpt and interview with the author in the Guardian a few months ago, and was sufficiently intrigued to read the rest of the book. It is slow to get going, but somehow you feel compelled to keep on reading. The story is told from the point of view of Jack Bick, an investigative journalist and alcoholic, whose career is slowly going down the pan. For me, the writing is at its best when dealing with his addiction and how it affects every area of his life. I found the rest of the book a bit disjointed; despite introducing several important issues (perhaps too many?) facing the modern world, I’m not sure the various parts of the narrative hang together very well, but the quality of the writing more than makes up for it. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to review.
March 25, 2021
This book describes itself as a comedy, yet I didn't find it particularly funny. Rather it seems like a tragedy for the main character who is an alcoholic with few friends and close to losing his job.
I wanted to like this book and it had moments where I connected with the main character but on the whole it spent too long describing areas of London. If you have never lived in London parts of this book are boring, I don't care about the geography and social makeup of a city I don't live in. Also the author seems to assume that the all the problems, particularly of money, gentrification and housing, are London-centric, when they are obviously problems of the world as a whole and capitalism.
I wanted to like this book and it had moments where I connected with the main character but on the whole it spent too long describing areas of London. If you have never lived in London parts of this book are boring, I don't care about the geography and social makeup of a city I don't live in. Also the author seems to assume that the all the problems, particularly of money, gentrification and housing, are London-centric, when they are obviously problems of the world as a whole and capitalism.
August 4, 2019
My first book by Wiles, Plume can be seen in many ways as a companion piece to Sam Byers’ Perfidious Albion.
This is a story of a personal collapse, mapped out against the broader landscape of the ongoing collapse of society in the face of rampant capital and technology. Wiles has a good eye - his writing about Shoreditch and the changing East End is on the money, and there’s a darkly satirical project at work here.
It took me a little while to get momentum on this, but once I did it was unputdownable. Extra credit for the skewering of urban psychogeography.
This is a story of a personal collapse, mapped out against the broader landscape of the ongoing collapse of society in the face of rampant capital and technology. Wiles has a good eye - his writing about Shoreditch and the changing East End is on the money, and there’s a darkly satirical project at work here.
It took me a little while to get momentum on this, but once I did it was unputdownable. Extra credit for the skewering of urban psychogeography.
November 14, 2020
There’s nothing harder to look away from than a car crash unfolding in slow motion. At first I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this book as I had nothing in common with its protagonist - male, Londoner, alcoholic - except being a writer. But as Jack Bick gets sucked into the vortex of his own destruction it’s impossible to look away. From the halfway point I found it hard to put the book down. It’s a very intelligent look at modern life. I would have given it 5 stars but some bits are slightly far fetched and some metaphors overdone. But it’s a fantastic book and it will stay with me.
January 20, 2021
I don't get it! The main story-line - alcoholic journalist, blackmail, fighting for his job - has potential and I genuinely wanted to see Jack Bick succeed. The rest of it just baffled me! The smoke, the app, the mugging- too much going on for me and no real ending or 'solution'. Not a fan I'm afraid!
May 19, 2019
‘Here was the future, rising from every phone and computer and device like so much blinding smoke. I could confront it or ignore it, but it was coming. Or I could join it.’
Modern day London, and Jack Bick – journalist, alcoholic, cynic – barely makes it through the working day. His relationship has failed, his next-door neighbours are having building work done keeping him awake at all hours, and his bosses at the magazine where he works look pretty much certs to fire him in a downsizing operation. Promising his work 2 interviews, the book explores his desperate attempts to fashion a story from (sort of) recluse writer Oliver Pierce, and property tycoon Alexander De Chauncey. What follows is, well, in the immortal words of someone else, all rather confusing really. The plot hinges on truth and memory, on reality and virtual reality. Pierce made his name with a true-life account of having been mugged, but in an interview with Bick he reveals that he just made it all up. But – ah, here’s the twist – did he, or is he actually just making it up that he made it up….?
Behind the scenes, in a sort of Bond villainesque manner, is the shady figure of Francis Quin, who has developed an app called Tamesis, that seems to merge every form of social media/tracking device. He knows everyone’s secrets, and as the plot unravels, he seems to be controlling everyone involved. As I say, it descends into a lot of conspiracy theory, fear of modern technology, don’t trust anyone kind of book. Which is fine as it goes, but I didn’t really engage with the characters, especially the central figure of Bick who is just pretty pathetic, and whilst others have commented on the humour, I can’t actually remember raising a smile at any point.
It’s an engaging enough read, and it touches on several important themes regarding the way we interact in the modern age, the way we devour stories and the blurring between news and fake news. But, like the pall of smoke which hangs over east London and from which the novel takes its title, it’s all a bit hazy. Enjoyable, decently written, but not outstanding. A pretty average 3 stars from me.
Modern day London, and Jack Bick – journalist, alcoholic, cynic – barely makes it through the working day. His relationship has failed, his next-door neighbours are having building work done keeping him awake at all hours, and his bosses at the magazine where he works look pretty much certs to fire him in a downsizing operation. Promising his work 2 interviews, the book explores his desperate attempts to fashion a story from (sort of) recluse writer Oliver Pierce, and property tycoon Alexander De Chauncey. What follows is, well, in the immortal words of someone else, all rather confusing really. The plot hinges on truth and memory, on reality and virtual reality. Pierce made his name with a true-life account of having been mugged, but in an interview with Bick he reveals that he just made it all up. But – ah, here’s the twist – did he, or is he actually just making it up that he made it up….?
Behind the scenes, in a sort of Bond villainesque manner, is the shady figure of Francis Quin, who has developed an app called Tamesis, that seems to merge every form of social media/tracking device. He knows everyone’s secrets, and as the plot unravels, he seems to be controlling everyone involved. As I say, it descends into a lot of conspiracy theory, fear of modern technology, don’t trust anyone kind of book. Which is fine as it goes, but I didn’t really engage with the characters, especially the central figure of Bick who is just pretty pathetic, and whilst others have commented on the humour, I can’t actually remember raising a smile at any point.
It’s an engaging enough read, and it touches on several important themes regarding the way we interact in the modern age, the way we devour stories and the blurring between news and fake news. But, like the pall of smoke which hangs over east London and from which the novel takes its title, it’s all a bit hazy. Enjoyable, decently written, but not outstanding. A pretty average 3 stars from me.
May 30, 2019
This is a fantastically written book, that I personally found really difficult to get into. We meet Jack, our protagonist, and right from the outset, something is clearly wrong with him. He is an alcoholic, but a functioning one, or at least he is clinging on by his fingertips. The plume of smoke erupting from the other side of London grabs your attention and I was fully ready to be going on a dystopian ride, where something hideous is happening in London.
And something hideous is happening in London. But it's less literal and physical than the chemical fire burning miles away. Jack is involved with a tech mogul; one that has unlimited access to data, data that we provide to social apps ourselves. The parallels with real life were not lost on this reader. And he has plans for all this data...
The focus on Jack's alcoholism throughout the book borders on the obsessive. His downward spiral is documented in an incredibly detailed way and is gut wrenching to behold. It is such a realistic depiction of addiction and the lies people will tell themselves to justify the new levels they will sink to, in order to get the next fix. I was really invested in Jack's personal story and whether he would manage to turn it around.
However the other side of the story; Jack's interview and subsequent dealings with Oliver Pierce, the reclusive novelist, I found less enjoyable. For me, their interactions were too lengthy and indulgent and ultimately, too random to really feel believable.
And the 'Plume' of our book's title? Well, I'm still non-plussed about that. For something that plays such a huge part in the story and its title, it actually seemed inconsequential in the end. Perhaps this is a deeper metaphor that just wasn't realised for me. It's just that this event was hyped up so much at the beginning of the book and never really had an explanation or resolution.
Plume is a really strange but compelling character study of addiction, but I'm not sure all the parts of the story hung together as one sturdy whole.
Plume was released on 9th May 2019 by Random House UK, Vintage Publishing.
Big thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
And something hideous is happening in London. But it's less literal and physical than the chemical fire burning miles away. Jack is involved with a tech mogul; one that has unlimited access to data, data that we provide to social apps ourselves. The parallels with real life were not lost on this reader. And he has plans for all this data...
The focus on Jack's alcoholism throughout the book borders on the obsessive. His downward spiral is documented in an incredibly detailed way and is gut wrenching to behold. It is such a realistic depiction of addiction and the lies people will tell themselves to justify the new levels they will sink to, in order to get the next fix. I was really invested in Jack's personal story and whether he would manage to turn it around.
However the other side of the story; Jack's interview and subsequent dealings with Oliver Pierce, the reclusive novelist, I found less enjoyable. For me, their interactions were too lengthy and indulgent and ultimately, too random to really feel believable.
And the 'Plume' of our book's title? Well, I'm still non-plussed about that. For something that plays such a huge part in the story and its title, it actually seemed inconsequential in the end. Perhaps this is a deeper metaphor that just wasn't realised for me. It's just that this event was hyped up so much at the beginning of the book and never really had an explanation or resolution.
Plume is a really strange but compelling character study of addiction, but I'm not sure all the parts of the story hung together as one sturdy whole.
Plume was released on 9th May 2019 by Random House UK, Vintage Publishing.
Big thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 5, 2021
Jack Bick is in the process of self-destructing. An alcoholic who is barely continuing to function in his day-to-day life, he’s turning up late and taking conspicuously long lunches while sipping lager from his aluminium water bottle. At least one of his colleagues at the trendy magazine he works for appears to be keeping tabs on his lapses of performance, and he’s just waiting to be called out.
The quotes on the book jacket describe this as a funny book. I don’t agree. I find it desperately sad. I found it harder to read as a result, because I constantly felt that I was missing something. It was a bit like being handed a packet of crisps and being told they’re ready salted, only to eat one and taste salt and vinegar. The disconnect between what I was being told was between the pages, and what I actually found was quite unsettling.
Jack is clearly on the verge of a breakdown. Living from one drink to the next and barely able to maintain the pretence of caring about anything else. He needs help. He’s hallucinating cockatoos and plumes of smoke, and caught up in the machinations of a tech guru who is using Jack for his own ends. Jack’s attempt to hang on to his job, knowing that if he’s fired he has no chance of withstanding the call of the bottle (or in his case cans of lager), make him very vulnerable to being manipulated by the tech guru and another writer.
Strange adventures across London chasing smoke, a plot to get mugged or mug someone else for an authentic urban experience, and cockatoos which turn out to be plastic bags, street art and other innocent things are all symptoms of Jack’s increasingly poor sense of judgement and drink-addled mind. A strange, and at times unsettling, story, but not a funny one.
The quotes on the book jacket describe this as a funny book. I don’t agree. I find it desperately sad. I found it harder to read as a result, because I constantly felt that I was missing something. It was a bit like being handed a packet of crisps and being told they’re ready salted, only to eat one and taste salt and vinegar. The disconnect between what I was being told was between the pages, and what I actually found was quite unsettling.
Jack is clearly on the verge of a breakdown. Living from one drink to the next and barely able to maintain the pretence of caring about anything else. He needs help. He’s hallucinating cockatoos and plumes of smoke, and caught up in the machinations of a tech guru who is using Jack for his own ends. Jack’s attempt to hang on to his job, knowing that if he’s fired he has no chance of withstanding the call of the bottle (or in his case cans of lager), make him very vulnerable to being manipulated by the tech guru and another writer.
Strange adventures across London chasing smoke, a plot to get mugged or mug someone else for an authentic urban experience, and cockatoos which turn out to be plastic bags, street art and other innocent things are all symptoms of Jack’s increasingly poor sense of judgement and drink-addled mind. A strange, and at times unsettling, story, but not a funny one.
May 18, 2019
A fire somewhere in London attracts the people’s attention. Where is it exactly? What is burning? Is it dangerous? But Jack Bick has other problems. His alcohol consumption is totally out of control which highly impacts his job as a journalist at a lifestyle magazine. This has not gone unnoticed and his superiors virtually hold a pistol to his head: either he runs an interview with a real estate manager or he is out. Jack, instead, is highly fascinated by an author who hasn’t published anything for years. His sixth sense tells him that there is a story, but nobody wants to hear about it. Should he succumb or follow his instincts? Well, it’s not really a question for Bick and so a series of catastrophes starts-
I was totally hooked by the flap text which promised a novel about truth – personal truth, objective truth, journalistic truth and modern day London life. Well, yes, this is what it is about, but after a great start with the scene about the plume, the novel completely lost me. It had the impression that the plot did not advance but turn round itself all the time and the protagonist, whose addiction and sloppiness I highly detested, did not help either.
There were some great aspects, especially the question about creating reality and turning lies into facts. Also how real estate works in London and how ordinary tenants are treated just as objects you can make money with was certainly interesting. Yet, for me, the protagonist destroyed a lot and I had the impression that just as Jack Bick lost control of his life, the author also lost the red thread of the plot at times which made it hard to keep focused and go on reading for me.
I was totally hooked by the flap text which promised a novel about truth – personal truth, objective truth, journalistic truth and modern day London life. Well, yes, this is what it is about, but after a great start with the scene about the plume, the novel completely lost me. It had the impression that the plot did not advance but turn round itself all the time and the protagonist, whose addiction and sloppiness I highly detested, did not help either.
There were some great aspects, especially the question about creating reality and turning lies into facts. Also how real estate works in London and how ordinary tenants are treated just as objects you can make money with was certainly interesting. Yet, for me, the protagonist destroyed a lot and I had the impression that just as Jack Bick lost control of his life, the author also lost the red thread of the plot at times which made it hard to keep focused and go on reading for me.
May 21, 2019
Jack Bick is an interview journalist for an upmarket London magazine. He has a good track record, but the magazine seems to be drifting and Jack has the feeling that he's about to be let go. In what he expects to be his last week on the staff, he has two interviews to conduct: Oliver Pierce, a psychogeographical writer who hasn't had a follow-up to his bestselling work some years ago (Jack's idea); and an estate agent/property developer that his editor has told him to interview. Given the two options, Jack opts first for lager (the breakfast of champions) and then for Pierce. He and Pierce go off to explore Barking where a large plume of smoke is visible from all over London.
What follows is a meandering story of alcoholism, the seedy side of London life with dead-end jobs, half-fulfilled ideas and half-built properties. Jack is a whinging and unlikeable man who cadges off other people's goodwill. He is capricious and willing to throw anyone under the bus if there's a drink in it for him.
Plume is probably supposed to be both humorous and some kind of state of the nation piece. Unfortunately, the lack of plot or character development; the repetitiveness; the lack of any obvious motive behind any of the actions makes for quite a long and dull read. Some marks for ideas, the odd set piece and references to tube trains. Unfortunately, this just don't come together in a workable framework. The end, when it comes, goes off in a surreal direction that confuses more than it intrigues.
This is a shame, because Care of Wooden Floors was a superb, focused, funny novel that was well paced and spoke to this reader about the human condition. Plume doesn't.
What follows is a meandering story of alcoholism, the seedy side of London life with dead-end jobs, half-fulfilled ideas and half-built properties. Jack is a whinging and unlikeable man who cadges off other people's goodwill. He is capricious and willing to throw anyone under the bus if there's a drink in it for him.
Plume is probably supposed to be both humorous and some kind of state of the nation piece. Unfortunately, the lack of plot or character development; the repetitiveness; the lack of any obvious motive behind any of the actions makes for quite a long and dull read. Some marks for ideas, the odd set piece and references to tube trains. Unfortunately, this just don't come together in a workable framework. The end, when it comes, goes off in a surreal direction that confuses more than it intrigues.
This is a shame, because Care of Wooden Floors was a superb, focused, funny novel that was well paced and spoke to this reader about the human condition. Plume doesn't.
July 27, 2021
Unfortunately, I did want to enjoy this book, the cover quotes giving me hope and holding off reading it for a while. However, the main character is altogether unlikeable, narcissistic and rambling. This in of itself is not an issue if the book is well written, it's a common theme having flawed but dislikeable characters you can still route for but this is unfortunately not the case. The style of writing makes reading a grind. It feels as though very little ever happens in the story but the sheer amount of pages used to describe nothing happening feels like someone is just tying to add to a word count.
The main character is so wrapped up in his own head he's completely non-functional and not in a way that adds to his characterisation but in a way that makes you want him to hurry up and shut up. The adding in of his blatant alcoholism wasn't well managed either. I found myself routing for him to fail just so the book will hurry up and end which is not a good sign.
The book is often condescending and mocking and the jokes that are supposed to be hilarious fall flat. Maybe if there was a single worthwhile character in the book they may have landed better. I could not and would not recommend this to a friend. Another bad sign is when I looked up reviews of this from multiple newspapers I realised they had only read the first chapter. If the newspaper reviewers couldn't make it through despite supposedly reviewing the whole story I think there's a sign in that and it wasn't them trying to avoid spoilers.
Some seem to adore this book but for me this was a waste of time and energy.
The main character is so wrapped up in his own head he's completely non-functional and not in a way that adds to his characterisation but in a way that makes you want him to hurry up and shut up. The adding in of his blatant alcoholism wasn't well managed either. I found myself routing for him to fail just so the book will hurry up and end which is not a good sign.
The book is often condescending and mocking and the jokes that are supposed to be hilarious fall flat. Maybe if there was a single worthwhile character in the book they may have landed better. I could not and would not recommend this to a friend. Another bad sign is when I looked up reviews of this from multiple newspapers I realised they had only read the first chapter. If the newspaper reviewers couldn't make it through despite supposedly reviewing the whole story I think there's a sign in that and it wasn't them trying to avoid spoilers.
Some seem to adore this book but for me this was a waste of time and energy.
May 23, 2019
In Plume, Jack Bick is a journalist who is barely able to keep his life together. Every act is based around when and where he can get his next drink. Bick gets black-out drunk, which allows him to do things he forgets that push the plot along. It is inexplicable how he is hanging on to his job.
Jack has two interviews to turn things around, which is about two more than he can manage. He goes to interview Oliver Pierce, a novelist. A big story accidentally falls into his lap, and the reader is sure he will screw it up. As a metaphor for Bick's disarray, a plume of smoke from an industrial fire seems to follow him around, and infects his being.
Because of his drinking, Bick is easy to manipulate, and us drawn into a mystery he doesn't really understand. It is an intriguing journey which also acts as an exploration on how our personal data is repackaged and monetised. Four stars.
Jack has two interviews to turn things around, which is about two more than he can manage. He goes to interview Oliver Pierce, a novelist. A big story accidentally falls into his lap, and the reader is sure he will screw it up. As a metaphor for Bick's disarray, a plume of smoke from an industrial fire seems to follow him around, and infects his being.
Because of his drinking, Bick is easy to manipulate, and us drawn into a mystery he doesn't really understand. It is an intriguing journey which also acts as an exploration on how our personal data is repackaged and monetised. Four stars.
May 8, 2023
I bought this book as I wanted to add something humorous to my bookshelves, as a change from my usual crime, mystery and historical fiction, and at the time of purchase it ticked the boxes of funny and had a good average rating on goodreads.
Many months after its acquisition I finally selected Plume as my next book to read. Alas I have given up on it after around 20 pages. I didn't find it funny but rather a little difficult to follow and understand.
Maybe after just 20 pages it is a bit harsh to make a judgement but, I am generally into my books from the first couple of pages and with so many books to choose from I don't persevere if I am simply not enjoying a book.
Plume obviously has its fans and a number of critics seemed to have found it very funny - I must just have a very different sense of humour.
Many months after its acquisition I finally selected Plume as my next book to read. Alas I have given up on it after around 20 pages. I didn't find it funny but rather a little difficult to follow and understand.
Maybe after just 20 pages it is a bit harsh to make a judgement but, I am generally into my books from the first couple of pages and with so many books to choose from I don't persevere if I am simply not enjoying a book.
Plume obviously has its fans and a number of critics seemed to have found it very funny - I must just have a very different sense of humour.
December 8, 2024
All the rage of a renter in London:
"There were people and institutions who regarded ownership as a burden, that was the horror at the core of it, the gulf of understanding I could not cross -- and we call these people landlords. It was a chore, to them, to have the unbeatable investment asset of a London flat sullied by the vile needs of tenants. Not so much of a chore, of course, that they were ever prepared to give up the burden of ownership -- just enough to ensure that every human dignity could be considered moot."
It's crazy how plausible some of the concepts introduced in this book feel, 5 years later. yeah, some of the things in the actual plot are weaker, but it does really draw you in with the flaws of the main character and them struggling with the murkier bits of London life, the potential erasure of those, and the insight into the upper class who are in their own bubble of perception entirely
**the way this is strangely relevant to the recent unitedhealth incident is crazy btw
"There were people and institutions who regarded ownership as a burden, that was the horror at the core of it, the gulf of understanding I could not cross -- and we call these people landlords. It was a chore, to them, to have the unbeatable investment asset of a London flat sullied by the vile needs of tenants. Not so much of a chore, of course, that they were ever prepared to give up the burden of ownership -- just enough to ensure that every human dignity could be considered moot."
It's crazy how plausible some of the concepts introduced in this book feel, 5 years later. yeah, some of the things in the actual plot are weaker, but it does really draw you in with the flaws of the main character and them struggling with the murkier bits of London life, the potential erasure of those, and the insight into the upper class who are in their own bubble of perception entirely
**the way this is strangely relevant to the recent unitedhealth incident is crazy btw
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