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Life Knocks
Alternate Cover Image.
ASIN: B005JU92GO
Life Knocks is the autobiographical story of how it’s possible to lose love on the beautiful shores of Hawaii, but find it again in the milky eyes of an old man on the other side of a door, on the wet concrete streets of North London.
Life Knocks is Craig Stone’s second novel. It’s the memoir of the British author and his struggle with love, friendship and isolation in his mid-twenties. When he was 24, he worked in an office and dreamt of living a life. Anxious he was already trapped in a life he hated forever, he quit his job to seek a life less travelled. He fell in love, lived in Hawaii and travelled Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. By the age of 28, he’s back in London and living in Willesden Green. He’s back working in an office and living in a small studio flat after battling homelessness, drugs, poverty, alcohol and life again. He can’t figure out how to fit back into London life, but finds solace and companionship in an unlikely friendship with the man he hates the most in the world: his racist, homophobic, bastard landlord Mohammad. Mohammad is elderly, lonely, bitter and suffering possible dementia. Colossus (the name of the main character) wants to be a recluse, to drink and wallow in the misery of youth, but Mohammad wants to make him his best friend, and he only lives in the flat downstairs. Colossus and Mohammad are alone, but they soon discover in this life of love lost and friendships gained, that they have a lot more in common than either knows how to face...
AWARDS
Life Knocks was shortlisted for the world respected Dundee International Book Prize.
ASIN: B005JU92GO
Life Knocks is the autobiographical story of how it’s possible to lose love on the beautiful shores of Hawaii, but find it again in the milky eyes of an old man on the other side of a door, on the wet concrete streets of North London.
Life Knocks is Craig Stone’s second novel. It’s the memoir of the British author and his struggle with love, friendship and isolation in his mid-twenties. When he was 24, he worked in an office and dreamt of living a life. Anxious he was already trapped in a life he hated forever, he quit his job to seek a life less travelled. He fell in love, lived in Hawaii and travelled Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. By the age of 28, he’s back in London and living in Willesden Green. He’s back working in an office and living in a small studio flat after battling homelessness, drugs, poverty, alcohol and life again. He can’t figure out how to fit back into London life, but finds solace and companionship in an unlikely friendship with the man he hates the most in the world: his racist, homophobic, bastard landlord Mohammad. Mohammad is elderly, lonely, bitter and suffering possible dementia. Colossus (the name of the main character) wants to be a recluse, to drink and wallow in the misery of youth, but Mohammad wants to make him his best friend, and he only lives in the flat downstairs. Colossus and Mohammad are alone, but they soon discover in this life of love lost and friendships gained, that they have a lot more in common than either knows how to face...
AWARDS
Life Knocks was shortlisted for the world respected Dundee International Book Prize.
- GenresContemporary
Unknown Binding
First published August 28, 2011
5 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
Craig Stone
5 books1,523 followersCraig Stone left school at sixteen with a head full of rocks, a general dislike towards anyone telling him what to do and a belief none of it mattered - because one day he would write the greatest book in the world. He is still trying to write the greatest book in the world.
Craig moved to Spain and worked for a man with a missing finger called Juan, a short gangster who owned the town. The morning after he was almost killed by a freight train trying to find Perpignan airport, he thought he should start writing some of his adventures down; but he was sixteen, so his writing only existed on the back of chewed beer mats.
A decade later, around the age of 26, Craig found his first literary agent Patrick Janson-Smith, from The Christopher Little Agency. Together, they found Craig his first book deal with Val Hudson at Headline UK for the novelty book How to Hide from Humans.
A few year later, Craig returned from living in Kauai, Hawaii, to find himself homeless. He lived in a garage, on a few sofa’s and eventually Gladstone Park in North London. While in Gladstone Park Craig wrote his first novel, The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness. He self-published this book from his sister’s spare bedroom, and received hundreds of five star reviews.
Patrick left Christopher Little and Craig needed to find a new agent. He soon found Sonia Land at Sheil Land Associates – the oldest Literary agency in London. Meanwhile, his future wife read The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness and slid into his DM’s on Twitter.
Armed with his new agent, Craig Stone’s second novel, Life Knocks, was shortlisted for the 2012 Dundee International Book Prize, judged by Stephen Fry and Philip Pullman.
Today, Craig is married with two children and lives in Kingston, West London. He is a mental health advocate and writes for the likes of The Guardian and Al Jazeera. His third novel was titled Deep in the Bin of Bob, and his fourth novel is due to be published in 2023, titled The Last March of the Pirate Snails.
The Last March of the Pirate Snails entirely rhymes, and is the first novel of its kind.
If every tale needs a meaning, then Craig’s life story has taught him this: don't sell your dreams for the illusion of safety. We’re all going to die, but before that, is opportunity – life, is not a queue to pointless oblivion. If you want to be a writer, write. If you want to be a doctor, get doctoring. Better to fail at something, than live for nothing.
Thank you for your interest in his writing.
Craig moved to Spain and worked for a man with a missing finger called Juan, a short gangster who owned the town. The morning after he was almost killed by a freight train trying to find Perpignan airport, he thought he should start writing some of his adventures down; but he was sixteen, so his writing only existed on the back of chewed beer mats.
A decade later, around the age of 26, Craig found his first literary agent Patrick Janson-Smith, from The Christopher Little Agency. Together, they found Craig his first book deal with Val Hudson at Headline UK for the novelty book How to Hide from Humans.
A few year later, Craig returned from living in Kauai, Hawaii, to find himself homeless. He lived in a garage, on a few sofa’s and eventually Gladstone Park in North London. While in Gladstone Park Craig wrote his first novel, The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness. He self-published this book from his sister’s spare bedroom, and received hundreds of five star reviews.
Patrick left Christopher Little and Craig needed to find a new agent. He soon found Sonia Land at Sheil Land Associates – the oldest Literary agency in London. Meanwhile, his future wife read The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness and slid into his DM’s on Twitter.
Armed with his new agent, Craig Stone’s second novel, Life Knocks, was shortlisted for the 2012 Dundee International Book Prize, judged by Stephen Fry and Philip Pullman.
Today, Craig is married with two children and lives in Kingston, West London. He is a mental health advocate and writes for the likes of The Guardian and Al Jazeera. His third novel was titled Deep in the Bin of Bob, and his fourth novel is due to be published in 2023, titled The Last March of the Pirate Snails.
The Last March of the Pirate Snails entirely rhymes, and is the first novel of its kind.
If every tale needs a meaning, then Craig’s life story has taught him this: don't sell your dreams for the illusion of safety. We’re all going to die, but before that, is opportunity – life, is not a queue to pointless oblivion. If you want to be a writer, write. If you want to be a doctor, get doctoring. Better to fail at something, than live for nothing.
Thank you for your interest in his writing.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 17, 2013
This review was originally posted on my blog.
I wasn't sure whether I would like Life Knocks or not before starting to read it, and I am still not sure.
The narrator, named Colossus, is at a low point in his life. He is living in a low quality bedsit, unable to connect with anyone he meets, with the exception of his unpleasant landlord (who is a Muslim version of Riggsby from seventies sitcom Rising Damp, with even less charm and fewer redeeming qualities.
This life forms one of two interwoven narrative streams, being labelled Present whenever it occurs. The other, labelled Past, describes an idyllic affair with a woman named Lily, and how Colossus basically this part of his life away. Lily is the only truly sympathetic character in the novel. The separate narratives work very well, and make Life Knocks read rather like an Iain Banks novel, Dead Air being the one which sprang to mind,, though without some of his quirkiness.
It is clear, even only from the quotations on the cover image, that Life Knocks is a novel which many of its readers find extremely funny. The humour here did not really appeal to me (which is one reason why I am not sure I liked the novel as a whole). Basically, it consists of watching Colussus finding more and more ways to mess things up - something which I found more excruciating than funny. But tastes differ...
Perhaps I invested more in the character than other readers have done, and so found his mistakes unbearable, but the fact that I did so was a tribute to the quality of Stone's writing. It is really easy to enter into the world in which Colossus lives, in both phases of his life. That is part of the problem - I didn't want bad things to happen.
In the end, I would say that I admired Life Knocks a lot more than I enjoyed reading it. If this kind of humour is your kind of thing, you will love it; if not, you will probably react much as I did.
I wasn't sure whether I would like Life Knocks or not before starting to read it, and I am still not sure.
The narrator, named Colossus, is at a low point in his life. He is living in a low quality bedsit, unable to connect with anyone he meets, with the exception of his unpleasant landlord (who is a Muslim version of Riggsby from seventies sitcom Rising Damp, with even less charm and fewer redeeming qualities.
This life forms one of two interwoven narrative streams, being labelled Present whenever it occurs. The other, labelled Past, describes an idyllic affair with a woman named Lily, and how Colossus basically this part of his life away. Lily is the only truly sympathetic character in the novel. The separate narratives work very well, and make Life Knocks read rather like an Iain Banks novel, Dead Air being the one which sprang to mind,, though without some of his quirkiness.
It is clear, even only from the quotations on the cover image, that Life Knocks is a novel which many of its readers find extremely funny. The humour here did not really appeal to me (which is one reason why I am not sure I liked the novel as a whole). Basically, it consists of watching Colussus finding more and more ways to mess things up - something which I found more excruciating than funny. But tastes differ...
Perhaps I invested more in the character than other readers have done, and so found his mistakes unbearable, but the fact that I did so was a tribute to the quality of Stone's writing. It is really easy to enter into the world in which Colossus lives, in both phases of his life. That is part of the problem - I didn't want bad things to happen.
In the end, I would say that I admired Life Knocks a lot more than I enjoyed reading it. If this kind of humour is your kind of thing, you will love it; if not, you will probably react much as I did.
March 16, 2012
During work I sat. Every time I glanced in the direction of the Kindle icon on my desktop, like a 2yo asking "why" repeatedly, the icon queried "Is it 5 o'clock yet?" Between feedings, my brain rumbled for more & my eyes, set loose in the evening on "Life Knocks", consumed its words like a ½-starved bird flapping & flailing at a seed feeder. Or perhaps more accurately, like a cat tearing at a catnip sack.
When they were handing out politeness or conscientiousness before incarnation to earth, whoever was charged with the task must have tripped, spilling it on the autobiographical character, Colossus, who wound up overdosed. This, along with happenstance and at times an alcohol/drug-infused brain, land him in some of the most uncomfortable, dodgy, and comical predicaments: wresting the arm of a suicidal German on a Cambodian beach, mouthing off to the head of the Cambodian mafia and near-drowned in the Indian Ocean;
compassion--with an ability to walk around in others shoes whilst sometimes forgetting his own---provides a counselor's ear for a homicidal drunk in a bar, a racist, meshuga landlord with high-octane boundary issues with his tenants, & anyone seemingly in need of one (with patience for that mad landlord that deserves nothing short of canonization).
He must have some sort of serious angel on his shoulder. Though I think for the period in time covered in this book, the angel must have called in a brigade of reinforcements. With mind-blowing powers of observation & bare honesty, so empathetically-placed was I, frequently nervously in the moment with him, I quite frankly wished I could reach in and pluck Colossus out of the story; but then, I was eager to see how the story unfolded.
He loses himself in love, loses love and is adrift without it; but the message ultimately is optimistic, assuring us that we're firmly moored on the shores of hope. There is a personal love story here but I feel the real love story is the adventure of life itself somehow perfect in all its imperfections, its ups and downs ("knocks"), and the humor found in it all; and that how we see Life is how we choose to look at it. "We can see life as a mountain; or we can see life as land that moves upwards with an awesome view."
The book succeeded further for me as a reminder to view the rough, cold, patch of concrete I live on--where angry, apathetic, weary, disappointed (even despairing) feet of residents pound hope out of the pavement every day - with softer eyes of equanimity.
"I wanted to tell him life is thinking you are a broken kettle; until it rains, a fish falls from the sky and you realise you were always an awesome goldfish bowl." We know without a doubt from the start "Life Knocks" is an awesome goldfish bowl. Jolly-good. Buy it, read it, enjoy the ride laughing along the way. You won't regret it.
And on Craig Stone's writing, I leave the words to David Foster Wallace: "What the really great artists do is ......They're entirely themselves, they've got their own vision...and if it's authentic and true, you will feel it in your nerve endings."
Consider my nerve endings: felt.
When they were handing out politeness or conscientiousness before incarnation to earth, whoever was charged with the task must have tripped, spilling it on the autobiographical character, Colossus, who wound up overdosed. This, along with happenstance and at times an alcohol/drug-infused brain, land him in some of the most uncomfortable, dodgy, and comical predicaments: wresting the arm of a suicidal German on a Cambodian beach, mouthing off to the head of the Cambodian mafia and near-drowned in the Indian Ocean;
compassion--with an ability to walk around in others shoes whilst sometimes forgetting his own---provides a counselor's ear for a homicidal drunk in a bar, a racist, meshuga landlord with high-octane boundary issues with his tenants, & anyone seemingly in need of one (with patience for that mad landlord that deserves nothing short of canonization).
He must have some sort of serious angel on his shoulder. Though I think for the period in time covered in this book, the angel must have called in a brigade of reinforcements. With mind-blowing powers of observation & bare honesty, so empathetically-placed was I, frequently nervously in the moment with him, I quite frankly wished I could reach in and pluck Colossus out of the story; but then, I was eager to see how the story unfolded.
He loses himself in love, loses love and is adrift without it; but the message ultimately is optimistic, assuring us that we're firmly moored on the shores of hope. There is a personal love story here but I feel the real love story is the adventure of life itself somehow perfect in all its imperfections, its ups and downs ("knocks"), and the humor found in it all; and that how we see Life is how we choose to look at it. "We can see life as a mountain; or we can see life as land that moves upwards with an awesome view."
The book succeeded further for me as a reminder to view the rough, cold, patch of concrete I live on--where angry, apathetic, weary, disappointed (even despairing) feet of residents pound hope out of the pavement every day - with softer eyes of equanimity.
"I wanted to tell him life is thinking you are a broken kettle; until it rains, a fish falls from the sky and you realise you were always an awesome goldfish bowl." We know without a doubt from the start "Life Knocks" is an awesome goldfish bowl. Jolly-good. Buy it, read it, enjoy the ride laughing along the way. You won't regret it.
And on Craig Stone's writing, I leave the words to David Foster Wallace: "What the really great artists do is ......They're entirely themselves, they've got their own vision...and if it's authentic and true, you will feel it in your nerve endings."
Consider my nerve endings: felt.
Read
January 18, 2013I'm torn. Definitely not a book that appeals to me; it spends 99% of it's prose in one simile or another and the story is well, a might depressing. The lead spends way too much time either drunk or high for my tastes. But buried in all of that is a story of human existence that I think is well written. The author has skill; his phrasing, pacing, format and descriptions (did I mention this is where similes came to breed?) are very well done.
However, I got to the end and began wondering if this wasn't more publicity stunt than actual work or fiction. I mean, I was waiting for someone to pop out and tell me I'd just read an elaborate hoax. Not sure why that feeling came up, but it's here. Guess I'm just going to roll with it.
Overall, I'd love to read what others thought - the back matter says it's gotten over 80 five star reviews. Really?
However, I got to the end and began wondering if this wasn't more publicity stunt than actual work or fiction. I mean, I was waiting for someone to pop out and tell me I'd just read an elaborate hoax. Not sure why that feeling came up, but it's here. Guess I'm just going to roll with it.
Overall, I'd love to read what others thought - the back matter says it's gotten over 80 five star reviews. Really?
February 19, 2013
While reading Life Knocks, I had a sense of unease at witnessing the main character's life slowly crumble. My discomfort was intensified when I learned that most of the story was based on the author's life.
I grew up believing that our shortcomings should be kept to ourselves, but Craig Stone lays himself bare for all to see.
To compensate for putting the reader through his painful experiences, Stone soothes with his special brand of imaginative prose. He is thought-provoking, hilarious, insightful, and brilliant.
`Perhaps if we choose to not actively participate in life, eventually life knocks.'
I highly recommend this book. Just don't hold out for the happy ending. It's not coming.
I grew up believing that our shortcomings should be kept to ourselves, but Craig Stone lays himself bare for all to see.
To compensate for putting the reader through his painful experiences, Stone soothes with his special brand of imaginative prose. He is thought-provoking, hilarious, insightful, and brilliant.
`Perhaps if we choose to not actively participate in life, eventually life knocks.'
I highly recommend this book. Just don't hold out for the happy ending. It's not coming.
August 14, 2014
Craig Stone writes in a circular fashion, interspersing the on-going story with thoughts in Colossus’s head.
Read full review in the 2012 September issue of InD’tale Magazine.
Read full review in the 2012 September issue of InD’tale Magazine.
November 10, 2013
Undoubtedly five stars. Love this book, fantastic writing, great story. Give it a read.
March 11, 2015
So, Life Knocks. Sometimes life knocks on your door, expecting you to open it and experience wondrous things, then again sometimes life simply knocks you down.
I had to really scratch my thoughts until I realized the ambiguous meaning of this book's title, can you imagine?
The blurb's saying this is part of the author's memoirs (the sequel being The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness). The narrator's name, however, is Colossus Sosloss, so you may wonder how much of Craig Stone is in Colossus Sosloss? I asked the author this question on Twitter, and he kindly answered it (re-printed here without permission):
Now that this is settled what is this book about? We followCraig Stone's Colossus Sosloss' journeys, inner and outer, through life for a couple of years. The chapters are alternately titled Past and Present, giving this book two separate story lines. And as it is with the story lines in books: In the end, they run together and the past becomes the present; the then present of course, which, in the meantime, has turned to past again.
You can only tell so much of your life in the limited space of a book. Colossus' outer journeys take us from London to such exotic places like Hawaii and Thailand before he eventually returns to London ... homeless.
Along the way he receives quite some knocks of both of the aforementioned kinds. Telling you about those though would totally spoil the experience. Only Craig Stone can aptly describe Colussus' predicaments and successes - his hits and misses.
Here are just two of my favorites, just to wet your appetite.
In the Present when Colossus saves his paranoid somalian-phobic landlord from the violent revenge of a streetwalker using only his phone.
In the Past when Colossus and his girlfriend managed to get lost in paradise (and almost died) ... [and the story starring a leech].
Craig Stone's prose is probably not everyone's cuppa tea. I for one love it! His long and winding metaphors are really hard to beat [follow @craigstone_ on Twitter and you'll see what I mean]. Oddly enough here's also my only small point of criticism: There are just too many of those metaphors, especially in the first third of the book. Each any every one is a gem, but when the density gets too high it leaves this reader too little time to breath through and relax.
There are, of course, not only metaphors. The prose in this book is an excellent candidate for the altered words challenge I take from time to time: Finding poem-like sentences in the subtext of books by marking only the "right" words giving them some additional or other meaning. So, here's one from a page from Life Knocks.
In case you wonder what the point is to all those weird photos: Those are, I think, the most essential props from the book, which I hope you'll check out at some time [or any other book by this amazing author].
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
I had to really scratch my thoughts until I realized the ambiguous meaning of this book's title, can you imagine?
The blurb's saying this is part of the author's memoirs (the sequel being The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness). The narrator's name, however, is Colossus Sosloss, so you may wonder how much of Craig Stone is in Colossus Sosloss? I asked the author this question on Twitter, and he kindly answered it (re-printed here without permission):
Now that this is settled what is this book about? We follow
You can only tell so much of your life in the limited space of a book. Colossus' outer journeys take us from London to such exotic places like Hawaii and Thailand before he eventually returns to London ... homeless.
Along the way he receives quite some knocks of both of the aforementioned kinds. Telling you about those though would totally spoil the experience. Only Craig Stone can aptly describe Colussus' predicaments and successes - his hits and misses.
Here are just two of my favorites, just to wet your appetite.
In the Present when Colossus saves his paranoid somalian-phobic landlord from the violent revenge of a streetwalker using only his phone.
In the Past when Colossus and his girlfriend managed to get lost in paradise (and almost died) ... [and the story starring a leech].
Craig Stone's prose is probably not everyone's cuppa tea. I for one love it! His long and winding metaphors are really hard to beat [follow @craigstone_ on Twitter and you'll see what I mean]. Oddly enough here's also my only small point of criticism: There are just too many of those metaphors, especially in the first third of the book. Each any every one is a gem, but when the density gets too high it leaves this reader too little time to breath through and relax.
There are, of course, not only metaphors. The prose in this book is an excellent candidate for the altered words challenge I take from time to time: Finding poem-like sentences in the subtext of books by marking only the "right" words giving them some additional or other meaning. So, here's one from a page from Life Knocks.
In case you wonder what the point is to all those weird photos: Those are, I think, the most essential props from the book, which I hope you'll check out at some time [or any other book by this amazing author].
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
October 29, 2012
I absolutely loved this book. The writing style was such that I was unable to put it down. I was absolutely distraught when my Kindle broke halfway through and I had to wait for my new Kindle to arrive so I could continue reading. This book has laugh-out-loud moments which can lead to slightly embarrassing moments in public, but trust me, they're worth it.
This book is both hilarious and touching. Stone's writing style is almost poetic at places and he has a talent for coming up with the most amazing metaphors and descriptions. Look at the quote below:
'He has a boxer's nose that rests violently across his cheek and his old bald head is littered with dents and divots as if his favourite past time is rubbing his own face with a cheese grater then trying to iron out the grazes with a hot iron.'
It starts of quite normally, but then just turns into what would seem absurd wasn't it for the fact you can completely imagine how it looks. I loved reading these kind of descriptions because this is how I think. The awkwardness of some of the moments was very recognizable whereas other moments were simply aspirational.
The book has almost too much to offer. It is funny, emotional, slightly heart-breaking and enraging. It is like life. At the beginning the narrative structure, the switching back and forth between past and present, was a bit confusing, but halfway through I really started to appreciate it. In life, we always look back on our past experiences in the hope to find some kind of sense or reason for why we are where we are now. Perhaps a warning here is in place. If you object to recreational drug use, drinking or general life enjoyment, this might not be your book. In which case you should really question your own sense of reality. Missing out on a book like this would be an utter shame.
I haven't read 'The Squirrel That Dreamt of Madness', Craig Stone's first book, but am seriously considering buying it. I don't think I have ever read anything quite like Stone's writing. It is funny, witty and deeply insightful. Stone describes life itself beautifully and despite the depressing moments in the book, life is definitely winning. In a literary scene where a lot of books are written by formula and where authors use stereotypical expressions, it is amazing to find something this refreshing and authentic.
If you are looking for an intelligent, hilarious read this is your book. Colossus' story could be yours and Stone's writing style allows the reader to be very close to his life and create a truly enjoyable reading experience. I recommend this to...well, everyone really. I can't imagine who wouldn't want to read this.
This book is both hilarious and touching. Stone's writing style is almost poetic at places and he has a talent for coming up with the most amazing metaphors and descriptions. Look at the quote below:
'He has a boxer's nose that rests violently across his cheek and his old bald head is littered with dents and divots as if his favourite past time is rubbing his own face with a cheese grater then trying to iron out the grazes with a hot iron.'
It starts of quite normally, but then just turns into what would seem absurd wasn't it for the fact you can completely imagine how it looks. I loved reading these kind of descriptions because this is how I think. The awkwardness of some of the moments was very recognizable whereas other moments were simply aspirational.
The book has almost too much to offer. It is funny, emotional, slightly heart-breaking and enraging. It is like life. At the beginning the narrative structure, the switching back and forth between past and present, was a bit confusing, but halfway through I really started to appreciate it. In life, we always look back on our past experiences in the hope to find some kind of sense or reason for why we are where we are now. Perhaps a warning here is in place. If you object to recreational drug use, drinking or general life enjoyment, this might not be your book. In which case you should really question your own sense of reality. Missing out on a book like this would be an utter shame.
I haven't read 'The Squirrel That Dreamt of Madness', Craig Stone's first book, but am seriously considering buying it. I don't think I have ever read anything quite like Stone's writing. It is funny, witty and deeply insightful. Stone describes life itself beautifully and despite the depressing moments in the book, life is definitely winning. In a literary scene where a lot of books are written by formula and where authors use stereotypical expressions, it is amazing to find something this refreshing and authentic.
If you are looking for an intelligent, hilarious read this is your book. Colossus' story could be yours and Stone's writing style allows the reader to be very close to his life and create a truly enjoyable reading experience. I recommend this to...well, everyone really. I can't imagine who wouldn't want to read this.
September 18, 2012
It is the story of Collossus that is narrated through this story. We follow him through his numerous adventures – right from quitting his job to finding love to his depressions. From the highest point to the lowest of low point of his life, Collossus realizes that no matter what, one cannot stop life from moving on. This is a story of the highs and the lows, of love and of loneliness, of laughter and of tears and it will have you riding through all of it with a smile on your face – whether hysterical laughter or just a sad smile.
The book begins with Collossus’s letter to the ‘management’ informing them that he is quitting the job. And with that very letter I got hooked on. There’s been so many times in our lives that we have wished we could say a few choice of words to our bosses/colleagues but never could manage. Reading that letter just cracked me up. Then there is his love interest, Lily, who captured & trampled on his heart. But his dedication towards her is remarkable. His interaction with other characters in the book are also quite interesting. Then there’s also a segment about drug addiction/alcoholism. Though under the influence, he lands himself in quite a few predicaments – all of a sudden not everything was funny anymore – at least for me. Overall though, the message in the book was very optimistic.
The author’s style of writing is pretty simple yet indulging. By writing in first person, Craig Stone has managed to add a personal touch to the story. His sense of humour is really something. I have cracked up laughing at the most appropriate and inappropriate places. At the same time he managed to touch that sentimental & emotional chords of my heart with his portrayal of what ‘reality’ is like.
I love getting lost in mystery/thrillers and in the fantasy world of magic, faeries and werewolves. This book was a good change as it managed to bring me back right into the real world where disappointment, failure and heartache awaits everyone. When ‘life knocks’ & it invariably will, we can choose to hide or welcome with open arms. The important thing is how we deal with it. We just need to take the lemons and make a lemonade out of it.
The book begins with Collossus’s letter to the ‘management’ informing them that he is quitting the job. And with that very letter I got hooked on. There’s been so many times in our lives that we have wished we could say a few choice of words to our bosses/colleagues but never could manage. Reading that letter just cracked me up. Then there is his love interest, Lily, who captured & trampled on his heart. But his dedication towards her is remarkable. His interaction with other characters in the book are also quite interesting. Then there’s also a segment about drug addiction/alcoholism. Though under the influence, he lands himself in quite a few predicaments – all of a sudden not everything was funny anymore – at least for me. Overall though, the message in the book was very optimistic.
The author’s style of writing is pretty simple yet indulging. By writing in first person, Craig Stone has managed to add a personal touch to the story. His sense of humour is really something. I have cracked up laughing at the most appropriate and inappropriate places. At the same time he managed to touch that sentimental & emotional chords of my heart with his portrayal of what ‘reality’ is like.
I love getting lost in mystery/thrillers and in the fantasy world of magic, faeries and werewolves. This book was a good change as it managed to bring me back right into the real world where disappointment, failure and heartache awaits everyone. When ‘life knocks’ & it invariably will, we can choose to hide or welcome with open arms. The important thing is how we deal with it. We just need to take the lemons and make a lemonade out of it.
February 25, 2015
Life Knocks is a book with an almost avante garde feel, which some readers may really like. It is a very different type of read than what I'm used to. Some of the writing is absolutely brilliant, but some people may find it hard to get through as it is a very descriptive book with not much dialogue. I'm a dialogue-driven reader (and writer) myself, and don't like reading too many descriptive paragraphs, so this was a little difficult for me.
The story is about a man called Colossus, his girlfriend Lily (who, in present day isn't his girlfriend anymore but we get to know her through several "past" chapters) and a host of other interesting characters including Mohammad, Colossus's paranoid and xenophobic landlord. The book actually is more of a character sketch than anything else; there is no solid plot, it is comprised of snippets describing different people Colossus meets and events that he wanders through.
I did have a struggle reading this book. I didn't mind the blatent drug use or sexual references or that kind of content, it fits what the book is about, but I think the writing is a bit overdone. Stone writes very cleverly, but there's too much cleverness, if that makes any sense. And some topics are little overdone. The first chapter introducing Mohammad I thought was absolutely hilarious and well-done, but when the guy shows up almost every other chapter, I got tired of his exploits. I ended up skimming some of the chapters just to get on to something else. This happened a bit in different scenes too, where some just dragged out for too many pages and I found myself paging forward to get to something else.
I enjoyed the chapters where Colossus was with Lily in Hawaii, where they crashed a New Year's Eve party in Thailand, where they swim from island to island and almost drowned. Those, to me, were the best chapters. I even enjoyed some of the present day scenes in London, but several scenes just never seemed to lead anywhere in particular.
So this book was a mixed bag for me. I'd recommend it because it's different, and it will appeal to some people. But some folks may have a tougher time getting through it.
The story is about a man called Colossus, his girlfriend Lily (who, in present day isn't his girlfriend anymore but we get to know her through several "past" chapters) and a host of other interesting characters including Mohammad, Colossus's paranoid and xenophobic landlord. The book actually is more of a character sketch than anything else; there is no solid plot, it is comprised of snippets describing different people Colossus meets and events that he wanders through.
I did have a struggle reading this book. I didn't mind the blatent drug use or sexual references or that kind of content, it fits what the book is about, but I think the writing is a bit overdone. Stone writes very cleverly, but there's too much cleverness, if that makes any sense. And some topics are little overdone. The first chapter introducing Mohammad I thought was absolutely hilarious and well-done, but when the guy shows up almost every other chapter, I got tired of his exploits. I ended up skimming some of the chapters just to get on to something else. This happened a bit in different scenes too, where some just dragged out for too many pages and I found myself paging forward to get to something else.
I enjoyed the chapters where Colossus was with Lily in Hawaii, where they crashed a New Year's Eve party in Thailand, where they swim from island to island and almost drowned. Those, to me, were the best chapters. I even enjoyed some of the present day scenes in London, but several scenes just never seemed to lead anywhere in particular.
So this book was a mixed bag for me. I'd recommend it because it's different, and it will appeal to some people. But some folks may have a tougher time getting through it.
April 18, 2013
I’m not quite sure where I should begin with the review this week. Even though I finished Craig Stone’s Life Knocks a few days ago now I still don’t feel like the dust has quite settled yet. There are so many questions and philosophical points from it that are still going around and around in my head...
So I’ll try starting from the beginning (duh). For a good first chunk of this book you will probably not know what is going on or where it is leading. We start off with an email that Colossus Sosloss sent to his bank colleagues in 2004 the day he decided to quit the rat race and embark on a new life of freedom - something most of us have fantasised about doing at one point or another. The rest of the story then alternates between that time period, slowly moving up through the years and 2010 when Colossus moves into a new flat.
If you are still unsure what it is about I’ll tell you now. The book is about life and the ups, downs, mistakes, luck and love of an ordinary man. It is also a very honest look at life and while some people may find a few of the characters in the story outrageous and unbelievable, I will say this; I believe in all of them. I have met some people in my own life which defy belief...but that’s a story for another time.
Throughout the narrative, you sometimes hear Colossus’s thoughts and his philosophical musings on life or certain situations.
Though my favourite has to be one regarding a certain Hawaii sunset; I have never before heard a sunset being described as a child smashing crayons into god’s face before - but it works and it made me laugh.
One of my few complaints about the novel is grammar and typing errors. While I have always found a few in every self-published novel or traditional novel that I have ever read I felt there was a few too many in Life Knocks. I’m not meaning errors on epic proportions here but it could maybe use a second look.
Yet besides that this is a personal story well told with a lot of imagery, humour and philosophical musings on everyday life which we can all relate to on some level.
So I’ll try starting from the beginning (duh). For a good first chunk of this book you will probably not know what is going on or where it is leading. We start off with an email that Colossus Sosloss sent to his bank colleagues in 2004 the day he decided to quit the rat race and embark on a new life of freedom - something most of us have fantasised about doing at one point or another. The rest of the story then alternates between that time period, slowly moving up through the years and 2010 when Colossus moves into a new flat.
If you are still unsure what it is about I’ll tell you now. The book is about life and the ups, downs, mistakes, luck and love of an ordinary man. It is also a very honest look at life and while some people may find a few of the characters in the story outrageous and unbelievable, I will say this; I believe in all of them. I have met some people in my own life which defy belief...but that’s a story for another time.
Throughout the narrative, you sometimes hear Colossus’s thoughts and his philosophical musings on life or certain situations.
Though my favourite has to be one regarding a certain Hawaii sunset; I have never before heard a sunset being described as a child smashing crayons into god’s face before - but it works and it made me laugh.
One of my few complaints about the novel is grammar and typing errors. While I have always found a few in every self-published novel or traditional novel that I have ever read I felt there was a few too many in Life Knocks. I’m not meaning errors on epic proportions here but it could maybe use a second look.
Yet besides that this is a personal story well told with a lot of imagery, humour and philosophical musings on everyday life which we can all relate to on some level.
July 31, 2012
“Love is like being in a bath of beans with a pig dressed as a clown and a naked farm girl. Pretty much amazing, once you get over the shock.”
This is one of the many quotes that lie within the pages of Craig Stone’s book, “Life Knocks.” This is a book that made me laugh so hard at times, I would literally throw my head back and drop my kindle because I was so amused by his sense of humor and his words.
Craig Stone is a master of the metaphor and simile. His sense of humor is one that takes a bit to get used to (at least a few pages), but once you do, you’re along for a very fun ride through the eyes of an enormously funny writer.
In addition to the wonderful humor of this story, however, is a hidden gem: a genuine love story between Craig and Lily—a woman who captures his heart, who overwhelms and amazes him and who he shares his life with for a time. Heartfelt, wonderful scenes involve Craig’s outpour of emotions for Lily---elation, devotion, fear and heartache.
“A watched pot never boils but if I took my eyes from these negative thoughts for a second they would lurch rapidly towards becoming words that spill over the edges of my lips and boil the beautiful moment alive as we lived it.”---WOW! I read this passage over and over and over again…it may very well be my favorite in the book.
The author bounces around between dates in the book—so you never know quite which stage of his life you will be reading about, and I truly loved that about this book.
This book is considered the prequel to “The Squirrel------Madness”, however, being a prequel, it is not necessary to have read the other book first.
This book is definitely one that was “stepping out of the box” for me…and it may be for you, as well, but it is certainly worth the read.
This is one of the many quotes that lie within the pages of Craig Stone’s book, “Life Knocks.” This is a book that made me laugh so hard at times, I would literally throw my head back and drop my kindle because I was so amused by his sense of humor and his words.
Craig Stone is a master of the metaphor and simile. His sense of humor is one that takes a bit to get used to (at least a few pages), but once you do, you’re along for a very fun ride through the eyes of an enormously funny writer.
In addition to the wonderful humor of this story, however, is a hidden gem: a genuine love story between Craig and Lily—a woman who captures his heart, who overwhelms and amazes him and who he shares his life with for a time. Heartfelt, wonderful scenes involve Craig’s outpour of emotions for Lily---elation, devotion, fear and heartache.
“A watched pot never boils but if I took my eyes from these negative thoughts for a second they would lurch rapidly towards becoming words that spill over the edges of my lips and boil the beautiful moment alive as we lived it.”---WOW! I read this passage over and over and over again…it may very well be my favorite in the book.
The author bounces around between dates in the book—so you never know quite which stage of his life you will be reading about, and I truly loved that about this book.
This book is considered the prequel to “The Squirrel------Madness”, however, being a prequel, it is not necessary to have read the other book first.
This book is definitely one that was “stepping out of the box” for me…and it may be for you, as well, but it is certainly worth the read.
August 2, 2012
I started reading this book with very high expectations, and it didn't disappoint me. The only "negative" thing about this book, and that's why I cannot give it 5 stars, is that it contains typos, misspellings, and even missing words. The positive things clearly outnumber the negative things, so I strongly recommend this book.
What makes this book even more interesting is the fact that the story is the real story of the author. It is one of the most honest books telling a real story that I have ever read. Ever. The story is very clever, told alternatively at different moments in the life of Colossus. In that way, we can see the process of falling in love, moving to Hawaii, falling out of love, almost becoming an alcoholic, a strange friendship with his crazy landlord, till finally getting a job and then deciding to leave it to go to live in a park (but that's another book, The Squirrel Who Dreamt of Madness; a brilliant book that you should read too).
It is a very enjoyable story of depression, love, and reflections about life. The story of how life knocks at certain point in our lives, and we just have to react to its knocking, and act accordingly. When life knocks, there is nothing else we can do. It has an ironic touch all over the book that makes it funny at times, even if the events that are being recalled are kind of dramatic. And the tone is a positive one, after all. Life can be hard, but there is always a silver lining. Craig Stone is a master of metaphors and images that are very easy to understand, since he uses very recognizable references.
A book that everybody who have felt a bit lost in life should read. Life is a rollercoaster, but we are not all the time at the bottom. Read this book.
What makes this book even more interesting is the fact that the story is the real story of the author. It is one of the most honest books telling a real story that I have ever read. Ever. The story is very clever, told alternatively at different moments in the life of Colossus. In that way, we can see the process of falling in love, moving to Hawaii, falling out of love, almost becoming an alcoholic, a strange friendship with his crazy landlord, till finally getting a job and then deciding to leave it to go to live in a park (but that's another book, The Squirrel Who Dreamt of Madness; a brilliant book that you should read too).
It is a very enjoyable story of depression, love, and reflections about life. The story of how life knocks at certain point in our lives, and we just have to react to its knocking, and act accordingly. When life knocks, there is nothing else we can do. It has an ironic touch all over the book that makes it funny at times, even if the events that are being recalled are kind of dramatic. And the tone is a positive one, after all. Life can be hard, but there is always a silver lining. Craig Stone is a master of metaphors and images that are very easy to understand, since he uses very recognizable references.
A book that everybody who have felt a bit lost in life should read. Life is a rollercoaster, but we are not all the time at the bottom. Read this book.
March 16, 2021
I recently read and loved Craig Stones' The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness, so was interested to read Life Knocks, which is essentially the prequel to Squirrel (although he wrote Life Knocks second).
Stone is a writer who completely ignores the "rules" of writing, usually to great effect. He has a distinctive writing style that shouldn't work, and yet it does. The main character and narrator, Colossus Sosloss, is a no hoper who can't get out of his own way. Theoretically, it's no fun to read about a man who continues to self sabotage in the most ridiculous ways, who spirals into drunkeness and drug abuse, and never really seems to find his way. But Colossus is such a sympathetic character, I felt myself wanting to read on in his story while simultaneously wanting to slap him for being such an idiot.
Life Knocks doesn't have the same insane energy of Squirrel, and personally I liked Squirrel more as a novel than Life Knocks, but there is no doubt that Stone is a talented writer who draws you into the messed up world of his anti-hero, and keeps you there, even when you're sure you should leave. Despite Colossus making the same stupid mistakes, I wanted to cheer him on to see if he could make some sense of the life he'd so well and truly screwed up. I think this is because Stone has true empathy for his characters, and his writing is direct and honest in a way that's rarely seen. It's not easy to pull off writing like this, but Stone does a great job. It sounds like a cliche, but his writing has heart: Stone is not afraid to play with lanaguage, twist words and phrases into forms that would confuse a yogi, and to put himself on the page warts and all.
There's no pretence, artifice, or cleverness for its own sake. Life Knocks just is, and it's pretty damn good.
Stone is a writer who completely ignores the "rules" of writing, usually to great effect. He has a distinctive writing style that shouldn't work, and yet it does. The main character and narrator, Colossus Sosloss, is a no hoper who can't get out of his own way. Theoretically, it's no fun to read about a man who continues to self sabotage in the most ridiculous ways, who spirals into drunkeness and drug abuse, and never really seems to find his way. But Colossus is such a sympathetic character, I felt myself wanting to read on in his story while simultaneously wanting to slap him for being such an idiot.
Life Knocks doesn't have the same insane energy of Squirrel, and personally I liked Squirrel more as a novel than Life Knocks, but there is no doubt that Stone is a talented writer who draws you into the messed up world of his anti-hero, and keeps you there, even when you're sure you should leave. Despite Colossus making the same stupid mistakes, I wanted to cheer him on to see if he could make some sense of the life he'd so well and truly screwed up. I think this is because Stone has true empathy for his characters, and his writing is direct and honest in a way that's rarely seen. It's not easy to pull off writing like this, but Stone does a great job. It sounds like a cliche, but his writing has heart: Stone is not afraid to play with lanaguage, twist words and phrases into forms that would confuse a yogi, and to put himself on the page warts and all.
There's no pretence, artifice, or cleverness for its own sake. Life Knocks just is, and it's pretty damn good.
October 30, 2013
There are some books that have me hooked from the first page, others take a while longer and I dip in and out for a bit until one day I realise the ten minute read before I start the dinner has turned into an hour and I've forgotten to feed the children. Life Knocks was that sort of book for me.
Craig Stone has a quirky style of writing with a particularly unique eye for an unusual metaphor; "Love is a bath of beans with a pig dressed as a clown and a naked farm girl; pretty much amazing when you get over the shock." This is a book that is far more than its metaphors though. With any character driven book it's vital that I engage with the main protagonist and I soon warmed to Colossus Sosloss (really!). There were times I wanted to shake him, to tell him to shut up or to speak up but throughout the book I cared about what happened to him. The other characters too were sympathetically written, even the racist, sexist, homophobic landlord, Mohammed has moments where I felt real warmth towards him.
The book swaps between the past and present (I seem to have read a few books like this recently) and sometimes with a switching narrative I find I'm more interested in one period than the other. Not so with Life Knocks, I was as captivated by Colossus' past as his present and following his journey to discover how one led to the other was a fascinating, hilarious, tear jerking yet uplifting rollercoaster of a read.
If you like contemporary fiction that doesn't pull any punches then I think you'll find Life Knocks a refreshing read. I know I did and am looking forward to reading the sequel, The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness (actually published before Life Knocks) very soon.
Craig Stone has a quirky style of writing with a particularly unique eye for an unusual metaphor; "Love is a bath of beans with a pig dressed as a clown and a naked farm girl; pretty much amazing when you get over the shock." This is a book that is far more than its metaphors though. With any character driven book it's vital that I engage with the main protagonist and I soon warmed to Colossus Sosloss (really!). There were times I wanted to shake him, to tell him to shut up or to speak up but throughout the book I cared about what happened to him. The other characters too were sympathetically written, even the racist, sexist, homophobic landlord, Mohammed has moments where I felt real warmth towards him.
The book swaps between the past and present (I seem to have read a few books like this recently) and sometimes with a switching narrative I find I'm more interested in one period than the other. Not so with Life Knocks, I was as captivated by Colossus' past as his present and following his journey to discover how one led to the other was a fascinating, hilarious, tear jerking yet uplifting rollercoaster of a read.
If you like contemporary fiction that doesn't pull any punches then I think you'll find Life Knocks a refreshing read. I know I did and am looking forward to reading the sequel, The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness (actually published before Life Knocks) very soon.
September 10, 2012
It was a thrill to "discover" writer Craig Stone -- kind of like being in on the ground floor of an Apple stock offering. Life Knocks covers about 6 years in the life of the 20-something writer -- years in which he bounced back and forth between the ridiculous and the sublime in a life constructed atop a passion for alcohol and drugs. It's a slice of life just made for a writer, and Craig hits a home run in his recollections of it. His descriptions of people and events are spot-on; his characterizations show remarkable insight into himself as well as those he interacts with. He doesn't shy away from describing his own vulnerabilities and weaknesses. At times hilarious and at times heartbreaking, it's an always entertaining and well-written narrative from a writer I expect to hear a lot more from in the future.
So why didn't I give this wonderful book the top rating? Because it suffers from the need for a solid professional edit. While Craig demonstrates his ability to craft an apt metaphor, a great many of his metaphors are simply overwrought and do not quite hit the mark. A good editor would clean up some grammatical and punctuation errors sprinkled throughout the book. I suspect an editor would also shorten some of the longer passages, such as his lengthy dialogues with Lily.
So why didn't I give this wonderful book the top rating? Because it suffers from the need for a solid professional edit. While Craig demonstrates his ability to craft an apt metaphor, a great many of his metaphors are simply overwrought and do not quite hit the mark. A good editor would clean up some grammatical and punctuation errors sprinkled throughout the book. I suspect an editor would also shorten some of the longer passages, such as his lengthy dialogues with Lily.
September 2, 2012
I received this book from the author for an honest review. This book follows the life of Colossus as he quits his job and shows how he he had depression, love, drugs and so much more go on in his life. It starts out with a very funny letter to his boss as he quits his job. This letter is what we all have felt like saying to our bosses all through our lives. It draws you right into the story. You get to see him interact with his landlord even though all he wants to do is ignore the man. Friends try to draw him out and he never seems to be able to tell these people no. It also tells of how he found his short lived love Lily and some of what they go through. Plus tells so much more. The humor at times in this book will have you busting out laughing. It adds such a great touch to the story. Craig Stone has a very sharp mind for writing this book. It is masterfully written. You find yourself drawn into the world Colossus lives in where all you want to do is help him escape it and on to a better life. If you are looking for a story about a real life situations and one persons struggle you need to pick this up. You soon won't forget the story of Colossus.
July 26, 2013
Life Knocks follows our narrator, Colossus, through both the past and the present as he wonders how he ended up where he has and what he managed to gain and lose along the way. We discover his frustrations at his current situation and his longing for the past he had all the while trying to hold down some kind of job and avoiding his strange over-bearing landlord who has a rather unnatural obsession with Somalians. This book is written in an open and forthright way which really makes you believe you are listening to the inner ramblings of a man pushed to his limit by life, love and everything in between creating a work that takes the reader on a journey that goes to show how twisted yet fascinating life can be. The only reason this didn't get the full five stars is because Colossus himself is so damn frustrating at times I couldn't bring myself to give five stars to the man (yes I realize he is not real but its the principle of the thing). The ending of the book pulls together past and present beautifully and leaves the reader wanting to know more and determined to find out what Colossus does next and whether his stupidity once again gets the better of him.
July 6, 2012
First of all, this is not the kind of book I normally read, so I am probably not the best judge, but here are my impressions.
Craig Stone is indeed a brilliant author. I would not be surprised if, 50 years from now, he ends up being considered one of the classic writers of our day. Much of his writing shows incredible depth of insight into human nature and relationships. The main character's retrospective explanation of the big fight with his girlfriend is especially profound. I found the journey into the mind of a recreational drug user/alcoholic to be very interesting and eye-opening.
On the other hand...
The humor in this book most often plunged into the realm of potty humor or def comedy. Many of the situations presented tended to reinforce certain negative stereotypes. I also found the tendency of the MC to criticize other characters for being critical, as well as a rant or two, irritating.
Craig Stone is indeed a brilliant author. I would not be surprised if, 50 years from now, he ends up being considered one of the classic writers of our day. Much of his writing shows incredible depth of insight into human nature and relationships. The main character's retrospective explanation of the big fight with his girlfriend is especially profound. I found the journey into the mind of a recreational drug user/alcoholic to be very interesting and eye-opening.
On the other hand...
The humor in this book most often plunged into the realm of potty humor or def comedy. Many of the situations presented tended to reinforce certain negative stereotypes. I also found the tendency of the MC to criticize other characters for being critical, as well as a rant or two, irritating.
August 24, 2012
The book begins with a letter to management resigning his position at a bank. He pretty much says everything everyone has wanted to say at some point in their lives but was too afraid to say. I laughed so hard and so much I had to read it three times. After Colossus (yeah, that's his name... not kidding here) walks away from the world of employment which I like to refer to as “The Wheel of Hell” to become a writer his journey begins…and what an interesting journey it is.
Craig Stone is sharing a part of his life in similes and metaphors and I was laughing, smiling, sad, and at times wondering WTH? He shows us that for every decision we make there are consequences and possibly even repercussions - these are his. I can't wait to read his book "The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness” this story begins where “Life Knocks” leaves off.
Craig Stone is sharing a part of his life in similes and metaphors and I was laughing, smiling, sad, and at times wondering WTH? He shows us that for every decision we make there are consequences and possibly even repercussions - these are his. I can't wait to read his book "The Squirrel that Dreamt of Madness” this story begins where “Life Knocks” leaves off.
August 11, 2016
I'd read Stone's previous book, "The Squirrel That Dreamt of Madness," and liked it. This one is somewhat related, maybe a prequel, but it's very different. It's more memoir and less whimsical. Stone is still entertainingly imaginative in his descriptions, but the story he tells is very real and realistic. There's a tragic love story, and a story of substance abuse, and a story of a man awkwardly torn between compassion and repulsion toward a lonely landlord who is also paranoid and bigoted. But Stone's books are much more than the plots. They're about a person finding himself, trying to figure out how to live and make a living, how to be in relationship with other people. He's not afraid to show his weaknesses, or to criticize himself, and he does it all in a highly engaging and entertaining way.
July 29, 2013
It took me a little bit to get into this book initially, and I found the vast number of metaphors a bit distracting. However, once I got a bit further into it, it all flowed a bit more and I could really enjoy the story and the writing. I did like the way the story moved back and forward through time, gradually revealing how Colossus had got to the current point in his life.
Colossus, and the characters around him were complex and interesting, and the story and his trials developed from his own decisions and character flaws. Likewise, any resolutions felt like they were the result of his choices, which I enjoyed.
Colossus, and the characters around him were complex and interesting, and the story and his trials developed from his own decisions and character flaws. Likewise, any resolutions felt like they were the result of his choices, which I enjoyed.
February 1, 2016
This could have been a riveting read if it had been written by someone else, or at least proofed by someone other than the author. The story kept being forced into irrelevance by exasperating grammatical errors, typos, spelling errors and nonsensical metaphors. It feels like the author is clearly delighted with his own wit, and many reviews I've read are suspiciously like his own work. It does gain an extra star, however, because I found myself thinking about the story between readings a lot, but failed to get a third because I asked myself too many times whether I should just give up half way through.
August 25, 2012
Craig Stone knows his way around a metaphor and can describe even mundane moments in life in a fresh & exciting way. Told in 1st POV in present tense, the style may be jarring for some as he jumps through his life - but I loved it! It made me feel as if I was on the roller coaster of life with him. And his life is plentiful and wild. I recommend this read for those willing to step into a world that may be very contrary from their own.
April 26, 2014
I was looking for something different & decided to give 'life knocks,' a read. I wished I hadn't. It was boring, and smacked of self indulgence especially with it's long-winded metaphors. I didn't really care for any of the characters or it's main one Colossus and by that I mean I literally didn't care one way or the other. The story doesn't go anywhere and I found myself switching off. Probably one of the most boring books that I have the misfortune to read.
March 18, 2013
It's self-published and it shows and I think if a good editor gave it a going over, it would be a better book, but it's definitely worth reading. There's an original honest talent there and some bits of it are very funny.
August 14, 2013
This book is amazing. The balance of both sadness and lightheartedness is perfect. Highly recommend to all. The main character is hilarious and his mental landlord even better. One book I will definitely read again.
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April 14, 2013Got bored of this book and didn't finish it...
March 19, 2014
I read this book after reading some fantastic reviews but unfortunately I just didnt get it.
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