What do you think?
Rate this book
Sirds ielauzās
Beka Šeperda ir malārijas pētniece, kura spītīgi iet savas pārliecības vadītu ceļu. Ričijs, viņas brālis, ir panākumu apreibināts TV pusaudžu talantu šova producents, kuram šķiet, ka attiecīgā veiksmes pakāpē atļauts ir jau teju viss. Ričija jaunības draugs, zinātnieks Alekss, ir uz pēdām nemirstības formulai. Un jebkurai rīcībai ir sekas... Frāze “sirds ielauzās”, ko autors licis romāna nosaukumā izskan vien kādā otrā plāna sarunā par cilvēka orgānu evolūciju, taču apbrīnojami precīzi uzrāda gan vēstījuma centrālā konflikta, gan tā grūti risināmā konflikta dabu.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
55 people are currently reading
1660 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
February 21, 2016
I suppose minor spoilers ahead for anyone planning on reading this, which is, oh, no-one? Thought so. Good choice, everyone!
Sleazy ex-popstar turned sleazy reality show producer Ritchie Shepherd cheats on his wife with a 15 year old girl (not the first time either) and gets blackmailed by his sister’s jilted lover, newspaper mogul Val Oatman. Ritchie has to give up dirt on his sister Bec or Val will reveal his crime and Ritchie loses it all.
That sort of sounds like a semi-interesting storyline, doesn’t it – gives the impression of a driving plotline? That’s actually just the frame of this bloated 550 page novel. James Meek’s The Heart Broke In mostly follows the interminably meandering courtship of Alex Comrie, former drummer of Ritchie’s band, and Bec, Ritchie’s sister. The two are scientists who improbably become famous and fall in love. If only Alex and Bec weren’t such ordinary, forgettable protagonists you might not feel the frustratingly plodding pace of the narrative so much! Hundreds and hundreds of pages wasted on these wet-paper-bag characters, my word…
What annoyed me the most is how irrelevant the majority of this novel is. Chapters wasted on: Alex and his soon-to-be-ex Maria trying to get pregnant; on Bec and her malaria research around the world; Alex’s dying uncle Harry and his tedious final days; a former IRA scumbag turned poet; all of these parts add up to nothing and go on and on. They’re not interesting nor do they contribute anything to the plot that couldn’t have been done in a paragraph or two in passing.
It’d be good if it felt like Meek was doing something interesting or artful with the material but he’s not. Bec hosts a parasite for a while, foreshadowing her pregnancy later in the book – oh, wonderful, how clever, how… pointless. I think Meek’s trying to say something about morality but I didn’t care about his two-dimensional characters’ choices, I just wanted to see them all blown up with a bazooka.
Meek doesn’t feel like he’s writing anything substantial or about real characters at all. Instead the novel reads like a cheesy contrived soap for pretentious twits who think they’re above Eastenders. This person’s cheating on this person who’s borrowing money and getting into trouble here, who’s sleeping with this person there – is that really it? It is. Very disappointing stuff from a supposedly lofty prize-winning writer.
Then there’s the razor-thin plot that kicked off the novel, revisited some 450-500 pages(!) later and it’s completely nonsensical resolution. Val Oatman, former head of a national gossip rag, lost his mind and got fired, then surreptitiously started up a gossip website called the Moral Foundation. This blog reveals secrets on public figures and apparently it’s got the whole nation’s knickers in a knot. Except… why would a newly started up no-name blog spreading unsubstantiated rumours get so much attention and credibility from everyone? Couldn’t their bullshit – whether real or not – be easily refuted by anyone they’re accusing? The Moral Foundation is not at all believable and yet the whole novel hinges on this retarded detail.
There’s no story, it’s overlong by several hundred pages, it’s missing a point, a purpose, it’s not at all engaging, and it’s full of dreary, despicable characters. Meek can write competently but his chosen subjects in The Heart Broke In are dealt with in an utterly bloodless, empty and immensely boring style leaving no impression on the reader whatsoever, especially with that terrible ending.
The Heart Broke In, This Shit Got Out – avoid!
Sleazy ex-popstar turned sleazy reality show producer Ritchie Shepherd cheats on his wife with a 15 year old girl (not the first time either) and gets blackmailed by his sister’s jilted lover, newspaper mogul Val Oatman. Ritchie has to give up dirt on his sister Bec or Val will reveal his crime and Ritchie loses it all.
That sort of sounds like a semi-interesting storyline, doesn’t it – gives the impression of a driving plotline? That’s actually just the frame of this bloated 550 page novel. James Meek’s The Heart Broke In mostly follows the interminably meandering courtship of Alex Comrie, former drummer of Ritchie’s band, and Bec, Ritchie’s sister. The two are scientists who improbably become famous and fall in love. If only Alex and Bec weren’t such ordinary, forgettable protagonists you might not feel the frustratingly plodding pace of the narrative so much! Hundreds and hundreds of pages wasted on these wet-paper-bag characters, my word…
What annoyed me the most is how irrelevant the majority of this novel is. Chapters wasted on: Alex and his soon-to-be-ex Maria trying to get pregnant; on Bec and her malaria research around the world; Alex’s dying uncle Harry and his tedious final days; a former IRA scumbag turned poet; all of these parts add up to nothing and go on and on. They’re not interesting nor do they contribute anything to the plot that couldn’t have been done in a paragraph or two in passing.
It’d be good if it felt like Meek was doing something interesting or artful with the material but he’s not. Bec hosts a parasite for a while, foreshadowing her pregnancy later in the book – oh, wonderful, how clever, how… pointless. I think Meek’s trying to say something about morality but I didn’t care about his two-dimensional characters’ choices, I just wanted to see them all blown up with a bazooka.
Meek doesn’t feel like he’s writing anything substantial or about real characters at all. Instead the novel reads like a cheesy contrived soap for pretentious twits who think they’re above Eastenders. This person’s cheating on this person who’s borrowing money and getting into trouble here, who’s sleeping with this person there – is that really it? It is. Very disappointing stuff from a supposedly lofty prize-winning writer.
Then there’s the razor-thin plot that kicked off the novel, revisited some 450-500 pages(!) later and it’s completely nonsensical resolution. Val Oatman, former head of a national gossip rag, lost his mind and got fired, then surreptitiously started up a gossip website called the Moral Foundation. This blog reveals secrets on public figures and apparently it’s got the whole nation’s knickers in a knot. Except… why would a newly started up no-name blog spreading unsubstantiated rumours get so much attention and credibility from everyone? Couldn’t their bullshit – whether real or not – be easily refuted by anyone they’re accusing? The Moral Foundation is not at all believable and yet the whole novel hinges on this retarded detail.
There’s no story, it’s overlong by several hundred pages, it’s missing a point, a purpose, it’s not at all engaging, and it’s full of dreary, despicable characters. Meek can write competently but his chosen subjects in The Heart Broke In are dealt with in an utterly bloodless, empty and immensely boring style leaving no impression on the reader whatsoever, especially with that terrible ending.
The Heart Broke In, This Shit Got Out – avoid!
December 19, 2013
560 pages, yes, that explains a lot. You know what it's like when you turn the TV on and there's a game of footy about to start and the two teams come out and the first 30 minutes are a blistering end-to-end full-out attacking,skilful game, hugely enjoyable stuff. So you go to the fridge for a can of Stella, come back and in yr absence the game has changed considerably. The defenders have taken over, the strikers are lost somewhere, the wingers are off having a fag somewhere, you loose concentration, check twitter, update facebook, take another look at the game, still dull, check yr watch, 'when's this fucking game going to end?'. Finally it ends, thank god for that.
Executive Summary: Iris Murdoch-lite, basically.
Edit: But Iris could do all this kind of thing and keep you engaged, that's why she is a class act.
Executive Summary: Iris Murdoch-lite, basically.
Edit: But Iris could do all this kind of thing and keep you engaged, that's why she is a class act.
October 31, 2012
If you enjoyed Jonathan Franzen's THE CORRECTIONS, this British novel will likely appeal to you with its cast of emotionally blunted individuals. Most of them possess imaginative minds thwarted by a fatal flaw of some type of arrogance. It has that combination of rueful and smug, outspoken and dour that is similar to the American Midwest that Franzen portrayed. Moral ambiguity is the centrifuge of their everyday lives.
For example, has-been rocker of Great Britian's Lazygods, Rictchie Shepherd, married the more talented and feisty member of the band, Karin, and settled down with two kids in the country. Now, twenty years later, he produces a teen makeover show. He is attracted to self-sabotage and a sloth's life of greed and sexual depravity. Seeking to assuage his guilt, Ritchie wants to redeem himself by interviewing and possibly forgiving the prisoner turned poet ex-con guerilla soldier who killed his father. His sister, Bec, the near-altruist scientist, does not want to forgive her father's assassin.
Val Oatmen, a strident newspaper editor and Bec's ex-fiance, wants to punish people who are immoral or who have embarrassing mistakes in their past. His weapon of choice is exploitation and an amoral intimidation plan to achieve "Gotcha!"
Behaviorally, the action of the book (and characters) is tragically madcap and outrageously tender. The absurdity of a Kafka-esque social environment thrives in a tide of Weltschmerz. Most people in the story are blessed with formidable intelligence and/or shrewdness, but their world-weary knowingness and naivete clash. Jaded perceptions often underscore actions. Would you throw a family member under the bus to save your own hide from public shame and legal ramifications? Here are some characters with no backbone, some with no independent thought, mixed with ethical pioneers of progress, and peppered with visionaries who would willingly sacrifice others or themselves for the cause.
Matthew is ruled by his servitude to Christ and his Uncle Harry worships the sovereignty of science. And, snap, those two can go at it, and we see the emotional implosions this causes. The novel reads like a psychological thriller--he who has the best morals wins! Maybe.
The acerbic tone is mitigated by a few people who break through cynicism and actually love each other, and want to make a team of two and do their personal best not just for themselves, but for the world-at-large. An Aspergers-like young scientist and a donor for the malaria cause find their way to each other, meshing their dreams and smarts together. Meanwhile, what is a 40-something doing chasing a fifteen-year-old?
Humanists and sociopaths alike people this novel. Meek isn't wimpy about featuring villains authentically and robustly or pushing the envelope to the edges of human purpose and motivation. The central theme is about morality, but Meek doesn't rub our noses in it to prove an authorial point. Whether you are a cautionary tale or a noble martyr, you are not exempt from the mortal coil of pain and loss, suffering and obstinacy, and the Hail Mary hope of earthly or spiritual salvation.
The prose here is the first thing that reminded me of Franzen, a combination of frank and cheeky, with some winding, exuberantly long sentences just shy of purple, but controlled and fruit-bearing. He digresses with philosophical pathways, always bringing the reader back to the original point, or he shows us the paradox of judgment by way of demonstrating the error of statistics.
"Suppose we find out that everyone in the city who wears a red hat has gone crazy and is sabotaging the city's water supply. So we find a way to go in and put all the red-hatted citizens to sleep, and the water supply's safe. But then we find out these red-hatted saboteurs, as well as vandalizing the pipes, were the ones who were delivering bread around the city. So we've saved the city from being poisoned, but now we have to stop it starving."
Meek looks at old and new ideas from all sides, provoking the reader to arrive at unexpected conclusions about the moral environment. There's a little melodrama thrown in, but it is folded in with finesse, keeping the believability on tap and fluidly organic. This ranks on my top ten of the year, an impeccably measured howl of shame, a shrieking inside a whisper, a wolf in sheep's clothing, coming to swallow you whole with a smile.
For example, has-been rocker of Great Britian's Lazygods, Rictchie Shepherd, married the more talented and feisty member of the band, Karin, and settled down with two kids in the country. Now, twenty years later, he produces a teen makeover show. He is attracted to self-sabotage and a sloth's life of greed and sexual depravity. Seeking to assuage his guilt, Ritchie wants to redeem himself by interviewing and possibly forgiving the prisoner turned poet ex-con guerilla soldier who killed his father. His sister, Bec, the near-altruist scientist, does not want to forgive her father's assassin.
Val Oatmen, a strident newspaper editor and Bec's ex-fiance, wants to punish people who are immoral or who have embarrassing mistakes in their past. His weapon of choice is exploitation and an amoral intimidation plan to achieve "Gotcha!"
Behaviorally, the action of the book (and characters) is tragically madcap and outrageously tender. The absurdity of a Kafka-esque social environment thrives in a tide of Weltschmerz. Most people in the story are blessed with formidable intelligence and/or shrewdness, but their world-weary knowingness and naivete clash. Jaded perceptions often underscore actions. Would you throw a family member under the bus to save your own hide from public shame and legal ramifications? Here are some characters with no backbone, some with no independent thought, mixed with ethical pioneers of progress, and peppered with visionaries who would willingly sacrifice others or themselves for the cause.
Matthew is ruled by his servitude to Christ and his Uncle Harry worships the sovereignty of science. And, snap, those two can go at it, and we see the emotional implosions this causes. The novel reads like a psychological thriller--he who has the best morals wins! Maybe.
The acerbic tone is mitigated by a few people who break through cynicism and actually love each other, and want to make a team of two and do their personal best not just for themselves, but for the world-at-large. An Aspergers-like young scientist and a donor for the malaria cause find their way to each other, meshing their dreams and smarts together. Meanwhile, what is a 40-something doing chasing a fifteen-year-old?
Humanists and sociopaths alike people this novel. Meek isn't wimpy about featuring villains authentically and robustly or pushing the envelope to the edges of human purpose and motivation. The central theme is about morality, but Meek doesn't rub our noses in it to prove an authorial point. Whether you are a cautionary tale or a noble martyr, you are not exempt from the mortal coil of pain and loss, suffering and obstinacy, and the Hail Mary hope of earthly or spiritual salvation.
The prose here is the first thing that reminded me of Franzen, a combination of frank and cheeky, with some winding, exuberantly long sentences just shy of purple, but controlled and fruit-bearing. He digresses with philosophical pathways, always bringing the reader back to the original point, or he shows us the paradox of judgment by way of demonstrating the error of statistics.
"Suppose we find out that everyone in the city who wears a red hat has gone crazy and is sabotaging the city's water supply. So we find a way to go in and put all the red-hatted citizens to sleep, and the water supply's safe. But then we find out these red-hatted saboteurs, as well as vandalizing the pipes, were the ones who were delivering bread around the city. So we've saved the city from being poisoned, but now we have to stop it starving."
Meek looks at old and new ideas from all sides, provoking the reader to arrive at unexpected conclusions about the moral environment. There's a little melodrama thrown in, but it is folded in with finesse, keeping the believability on tap and fluidly organic. This ranks on my top ten of the year, an impeccably measured howl of shame, a shrieking inside a whisper, a wolf in sheep's clothing, coming to swallow you whole with a smile.
October 28, 2012
The Heart Is Broken is an astoundingly good book that focuses on two of the core questions of life: “What makes someone a good person? And when is a life truly worthwhile?”
In attempting to arrive at the answers, it takes the reader on a joyride of many of the hypocracies and peccadillos of our modern life: a frenzied media that creates instantly celebrities in all fields, only to take rapid pleasure in tearing them down…a hapless and hopeless quest for eternal life…a “moral majority” that takes distinct immoral pleasure in forcing others into its own narrow definitions of “being moral”…and the constant, pervasive presence of family dynamics in the mix.
I haven’t had this much fun with an epic since Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections… which is likely a litmus test of whether you will enjoy The Heart Is Broke or not.
The book’s central character are Ritchie Shepherd, one-time frontman for the famous rock group “Lazygods” and now the producer of a reality show called Teen Makeover. The only problem – as we learn in the opening pages – is that this family man is now sleeping with a shrewd 15-year-old contestant, which has the power to bring down his marriage and his professional endeavor.
His sister, Bec Shepherd, as no such problems. Single, intelligent, and beautiful to boot, she is closing in on finding a vaccine for malaria. A disgruntled lover describes her as, “an atheist prattling about love, a hedonist bragging about her good among the poor, an arrogant intellectual who thinks science has all the answers…” Bec’s “goodness” is anathema for those who aspire to it, think they have it, but really don’t.
Surrounding Ritchie and Bec are a bunch of other flawed and memorable characters: Alex Comrie, a gene therapist who once was the drummer in Ritchie’s band, his brilliant uncle who wants to forestall impending death, the uncle’s son Matt, a fundamentalist Christian who forces his family to embrace a “loving savior” while filling them with the terrors of hell if the don’t, and Colum Donobhan, the Northern Irish guerrilla who executed Ritchie and Bec’s father and is now giving poetry readings and latching on to his second chance at life.
This big-hearted epic – filled with shrewd and stunning writing – will make my personal list of Ten Best Books of 2012. I loved it.
In attempting to arrive at the answers, it takes the reader on a joyride of many of the hypocracies and peccadillos of our modern life: a frenzied media that creates instantly celebrities in all fields, only to take rapid pleasure in tearing them down…a hapless and hopeless quest for eternal life…a “moral majority” that takes distinct immoral pleasure in forcing others into its own narrow definitions of “being moral”…and the constant, pervasive presence of family dynamics in the mix.
I haven’t had this much fun with an epic since Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections… which is likely a litmus test of whether you will enjoy The Heart Is Broke or not.
The book’s central character are Ritchie Shepherd, one-time frontman for the famous rock group “Lazygods” and now the producer of a reality show called Teen Makeover. The only problem – as we learn in the opening pages – is that this family man is now sleeping with a shrewd 15-year-old contestant, which has the power to bring down his marriage and his professional endeavor.
His sister, Bec Shepherd, as no such problems. Single, intelligent, and beautiful to boot, she is closing in on finding a vaccine for malaria. A disgruntled lover describes her as, “an atheist prattling about love, a hedonist bragging about her good among the poor, an arrogant intellectual who thinks science has all the answers…” Bec’s “goodness” is anathema for those who aspire to it, think they have it, but really don’t.
Surrounding Ritchie and Bec are a bunch of other flawed and memorable characters: Alex Comrie, a gene therapist who once was the drummer in Ritchie’s band, his brilliant uncle who wants to forestall impending death, the uncle’s son Matt, a fundamentalist Christian who forces his family to embrace a “loving savior” while filling them with the terrors of hell if the don’t, and Colum Donobhan, the Northern Irish guerrilla who executed Ritchie and Bec’s father and is now giving poetry readings and latching on to his second chance at life.
This big-hearted epic – filled with shrewd and stunning writing – will make my personal list of Ten Best Books of 2012. I loved it.
December 25, 2022
Satira a fost interesantă, dar a devenit tot mai blândă pe parcurs, iar povestea, prea lungă.
,,Primul lucru pe care-l simți când te naști e timpul.''
,,Oamenii găsesc tot felul de metode ca să-i țină pe cei dragi printre cei vii, a spus el cu prudență. Copii. Amintiri. Nume de lucruri.''
,,Toată viața poate fi un război, dacă așa vrei tu.''
,,Primul lucru pe care-l simți când te naști e timpul.''
,,Oamenii găsesc tot felul de metode ca să-i țină pe cei dragi printre cei vii, a spus el cu prudență. Copii. Amintiri. Nume de lucruri.''
,,Toată viața poate fi un război, dacă așa vrei tu.''
September 12, 2012
James Meek is is very ambitious in tackling a vast array of topics in this family drama. You can't get a more ambitious character than one trying to possibly find the cure for aging.
It is all love and war, morality and pioneering discoveries. Among all the discoveries the characters wish to find they do successfully discover darker problems at home, these at times enlighten and at other times shock and awaken them from lies and learn of trust.
They discover real love amongst the failings that occur quite frequently in this story.
You will find death and cures with political wars and cancers to blame and research and forgiveness as the extinguisher of the blazing fires within these characters.
James Meek has chosen for the readers keen eye to partake in these occurrences. He successfully deals with contemporary issues around journalistic values and scandal in this story as well as more age old issues such as morality and faith against individualism, being a celebrity and science.
It's a slow read at times but the content is more than just simple storytelling he tries to leave the reader with more deep thought provoking questions on possibly how we lead our lives and possible avenues that may shape and change the future for us all.
He has successfully created characters with very human flaws but high aspirations and ambitions.
Review @ http://more2read.com/review/the-heart-broke-in-by-james-meek/
It is all love and war, morality and pioneering discoveries. Among all the discoveries the characters wish to find they do successfully discover darker problems at home, these at times enlighten and at other times shock and awaken them from lies and learn of trust.
They discover real love amongst the failings that occur quite frequently in this story.
You will find death and cures with political wars and cancers to blame and research and forgiveness as the extinguisher of the blazing fires within these characters.
James Meek has chosen for the readers keen eye to partake in these occurrences. He successfully deals with contemporary issues around journalistic values and scandal in this story as well as more age old issues such as morality and faith against individualism, being a celebrity and science.
It's a slow read at times but the content is more than just simple storytelling he tries to leave the reader with more deep thought provoking questions on possibly how we lead our lives and possible avenues that may shape and change the future for us all.
He has successfully created characters with very human flaws but high aspirations and ambitions.
Review @ http://more2read.com/review/the-heart-broke-in-by-james-meek/
October 21, 2012
A strange novel: so sweeping in its ambitions but so modest in its power. James Meek is undoubtedly a very, very good writer (this is the first time I've read him) - there are dozens of passages in this book that took my breath away, they were so vivid and resonant. (From short sentences to 3 or 4 page set pieces that dazzled.) But, in a novel that contains around 15 major characters, the author failed spectacularly to make me care enough about any of them. The only character who even came close was Bec/Rebecca. Her former rock star brother, on the other hand, is a very lazy piece of writing (befitting the name of his former band) and Alex (former Lazygods drummer and now groundbreaking scientist) is just plain dull. The family fights are barely believable, and so many other details just don't quite ring true. (The Moral Foundation, for example, never once persuaded me that it might exist - although the joke when it's first mentioned in the book is a very good one.) I don't know - it's a brave author who attempts one of these THIS IS HOW WE LIVE NOW novels so it feels harsh to be negative; I can just guarantee I won't remember anything of this book, a year from now.
November 23, 2012
I'm vacilating between 3 and 4 stars. It kept my interest but in the end left me wondering why it was written. It had a point but not a compelling one. Maybe it's just so dang depressing it was hard to enjoy.
The good news is this is book #100 for 2012!!!
The good news is this is book #100 for 2012!!!
January 16, 2013
I downloaded this book based solely on the fact that I really really liked The People's Act of Love by Meek. Thought it was fantastic. Wow, was I disappointed. I find it hard to believe this was written by the same person. I struggled to get through it. Not a likable character in the book. The story is all over the place and not really believable. And although I got to the end, I'm still not sure why it was written. Questions about loyalty. But not interesting ones. And lots of useless information about things thrown in which don't serve the story but allow the author to show off. Boring. I would actually recommend not bothering with this book.
December 11, 2018
“Right vs. Wrong”—a singular and ubiquitous concept that couples two subjective and relative ideas in an eternal struggle—is a well-travelled theme in literature. The moving and complex “moral thriller”* The Heart Broke In pulls the thread that ties this conceptual couple together, separates them and then precisely strips each component idea—“right” & “wrong”—into their respective pieces. Simply put: when it comes to human behavior and action, the idea of “right vs. wrong” is falsely binary, childishly simplistic, and hopelessly reductive.
I’ll leave explication of the plot to the book jacket and publisher’s press materials. While the story is tight and well-constructed by author James Meek, I’m more impressed by (and interested in writing about) the themes and ideas of the book. What Meek has to say is important, if not ground-breaking, but how Meek says it is masterful. The author takes a fairly standard intersecting-lives story structure and successfully uses his main characters to explore the motivations, environmental, social and cultural factors, relationships (both familial and romantic), competing values and needs, faiths, beliefs and worldviews that comprise the context in which an individual acts and reacts to another individual.
Three of the main characters are cellular biology researchers and Meek writes about the cell (structure, diseases, evolution of) with such ease and alacrity that it not only makes a difficult and esoteric subject accessible but more importantly enables him to unite the enormous (global epidemiology) and the personal (human behavior) with a single, deftly constructed metaphor. I.e., human behavior, when viewed at the cellular level is just as complex, interdependent, ineffable and mysterious as cancer is to the human body.
A person’s motivations for any given action is manifold and unknown to the outside—frequently unknown to that person him- or herself. The right motives can produce the wrong behaviors, depending on what vantage from which you view them. Wrong motives can result in the right action. Wrong motives and wrong action can create a good outcome—again, depending on who you are and where you’re viewing it. While this could descend into a hopeless morass of moral relativism, I would contend that Meek establishes a pretty clear moral framework that accepts the subjective needs and viewpoints of the actor and the complete lack of control that person has on the interpretation of his/her actions once completed.
The Heart Broke In is a cerebral exercise in exploring the heart of man. ** Getting to a person’s heart by way of the brain is a circuitous, confusing, difficult and necessary route. Approach it any other way and you’re dealing with a massive cluster of heart cells, not a human heart.
*The term “moral thriller” was cribbed from a blurb on the book’s jacket. The term was too apt to not reappropriate it.
**This review makes the book sound like a stuffy, pretentious and, most of all, boring tome. It is anything but. Engaging, deftly-paced, at times witty and utterly readable, The Heart Broke In sparkles like an ice sculpture (and is about as warm).
I’ll leave explication of the plot to the book jacket and publisher’s press materials. While the story is tight and well-constructed by author James Meek, I’m more impressed by (and interested in writing about) the themes and ideas of the book. What Meek has to say is important, if not ground-breaking, but how Meek says it is masterful. The author takes a fairly standard intersecting-lives story structure and successfully uses his main characters to explore the motivations, environmental, social and cultural factors, relationships (both familial and romantic), competing values and needs, faiths, beliefs and worldviews that comprise the context in which an individual acts and reacts to another individual.
Three of the main characters are cellular biology researchers and Meek writes about the cell (structure, diseases, evolution of) with such ease and alacrity that it not only makes a difficult and esoteric subject accessible but more importantly enables him to unite the enormous (global epidemiology) and the personal (human behavior) with a single, deftly constructed metaphor. I.e., human behavior, when viewed at the cellular level is just as complex, interdependent, ineffable and mysterious as cancer is to the human body.
A person’s motivations for any given action is manifold and unknown to the outside—frequently unknown to that person him- or herself. The right motives can produce the wrong behaviors, depending on what vantage from which you view them. Wrong motives can result in the right action. Wrong motives and wrong action can create a good outcome—again, depending on who you are and where you’re viewing it. While this could descend into a hopeless morass of moral relativism, I would contend that Meek establishes a pretty clear moral framework that accepts the subjective needs and viewpoints of the actor and the complete lack of control that person has on the interpretation of his/her actions once completed.
The Heart Broke In is a cerebral exercise in exploring the heart of man. ** Getting to a person’s heart by way of the brain is a circuitous, confusing, difficult and necessary route. Approach it any other way and you’re dealing with a massive cluster of heart cells, not a human heart.
*The term “moral thriller” was cribbed from a blurb on the book’s jacket. The term was too apt to not reappropriate it.
**This review makes the book sound like a stuffy, pretentious and, most of all, boring tome. It is anything but. Engaging, deftly-paced, at times witty and utterly readable, The Heart Broke In sparkles like an ice sculpture (and is about as warm).
Read
January 5, 2015Numit de Philip Pullman „un thriller moral”, cel mai recent roman al scriitorului britanic James Meek, Invaziile inimii (tradus în română la Humanitas Fiction, de Carmen Toader), propune o reconsiderare a grilei de valori morale, plasând personajele într-un relativism în care conceptele de bine, rău, adevăr sau minciună nu mai pot fi conţinute de o definiţie clară. Eroii – sau antieroii – lui James Meek trec „dincolo de bine şi de rău”, devin inclasificabili, singurul lor scop fiind acela de a îndemna la o judecată mai nuanţată şi mai puţin pripită a evenimentelor pe care le observăm.
Invaziile inimii poate fi considerat un macroroman, compus din mici nuclee ce pot dezvolta acţiuni de sine stătoare – este un roman construit pe structura grand histoire, James Meek recunoscând că şi-a propus să meargă pe linia naraţiunii de secol XIX, a realismului clasic, adus însă în context modern, în care confesiunea a fost înlocuită de dezvăluirea publică, iar intimismul, substituit de expunerea fără inhibiţii. În această nouă lume, ambiguitatea capătă un rol central, iar excesul de informaţii nu duce la clarificare, ci doar aruncă şi mai multe îndoieli asupra realităţii. Dacă acesta este cadrul în care povestea capătă formă, personajele, la rândul lor, sunt modelate după chipul şi asemănarea lumii lor, iar principala schimbare e faptul că nu mai pot fi încadrate în categorii, ele nu mai sunt bune şi rele, nu se mai despart în eroi sau antieroi. James Meek (interviu) face astfel încât cititorul trece de la iubire la ură faţă de personaje, pentru ca, în final, să nu poată să spună că vreunul dintre ele este total detestabil sau, dimpotrivă, perfect. Marea calitate a acestui roman este excepţionala nuanţare cu care James Meek îşi construieşte personajele, astfel încât afli ceva nou despre ele chiar şi în ultimele rânduri ale cărţii.
James Meek ştie să se joace abil cu perspectiva narativă, schimbând focusul exact atunci când premisele păreau a indica o anume direcţie centrală. Pe tot parcursul romanului, există o pendulare între centrele de greutate, personajele mişcându-se permanent între centru şi margini. Astfel, primele o sută de pagini par a oferi clar cadrul central al cărţii – Ritchie Shepherd, pe vremuri un star rock, organizează acum o emisiune pentru „tinere talente”, din rândul cărora şi-a şi găsit o amantă, deşi pozează în familistul perfect, cu o soţie superbă şi doi copii minunaţi. Iar ca scandalul să se profileze ca la carte, amanta sa nu are mai mult de cincispreze ani. Prima parte a romanului îl urmăreşte pe Ritchie, un Humbert Humbert modern, cum încearcă să găsească un echilibru între cele două vieţi pe care le duce. Aflat într-o tipică criză de vârstă de 40 de ani, Ritchie nu gestionează prea bine cele două lumi, care riscă oricând să se ciocnească între ele. Dar ar fi fost prea anost ca James Meek să rescrie pur şi simplu Lolita, chiar şi cu ironie post-postmodernă. În joc intră, exact atunci când te aşteptai ca Ritchie să alunece pe o pantă iremediabilă a dezastrului, alte personaje şi izbucnesc alte conflicte, care deschid romanul înspre multiple alte direcţii. În primul rând, sora sa, Bec, aparent la polul opus lui Ritchie – cercetătoare dedicată, capabilă să-şi pună propria sănătate în risc pentru a merge mai departe cu testele sale legate de o bacterie care ar putea elimina malaria. Dar Bec nu este o sfântă, cum nici Ritchie nu este un demon cu chip de om. În ambii se dă o luptă între ce ar fi bine să facă şi ce e mai simplu să facă. (continuarea cronicii: http://www.bookaholic.ro/james-meek-i...)
Invaziile inimii poate fi considerat un macroroman, compus din mici nuclee ce pot dezvolta acţiuni de sine stătoare – este un roman construit pe structura grand histoire, James Meek recunoscând că şi-a propus să meargă pe linia naraţiunii de secol XIX, a realismului clasic, adus însă în context modern, în care confesiunea a fost înlocuită de dezvăluirea publică, iar intimismul, substituit de expunerea fără inhibiţii. În această nouă lume, ambiguitatea capătă un rol central, iar excesul de informaţii nu duce la clarificare, ci doar aruncă şi mai multe îndoieli asupra realităţii. Dacă acesta este cadrul în care povestea capătă formă, personajele, la rândul lor, sunt modelate după chipul şi asemănarea lumii lor, iar principala schimbare e faptul că nu mai pot fi încadrate în categorii, ele nu mai sunt bune şi rele, nu se mai despart în eroi sau antieroi. James Meek (interviu) face astfel încât cititorul trece de la iubire la ură faţă de personaje, pentru ca, în final, să nu poată să spună că vreunul dintre ele este total detestabil sau, dimpotrivă, perfect. Marea calitate a acestui roman este excepţionala nuanţare cu care James Meek îşi construieşte personajele, astfel încât afli ceva nou despre ele chiar şi în ultimele rânduri ale cărţii.
James Meek ştie să se joace abil cu perspectiva narativă, schimbând focusul exact atunci când premisele păreau a indica o anume direcţie centrală. Pe tot parcursul romanului, există o pendulare între centrele de greutate, personajele mişcându-se permanent între centru şi margini. Astfel, primele o sută de pagini par a oferi clar cadrul central al cărţii – Ritchie Shepherd, pe vremuri un star rock, organizează acum o emisiune pentru „tinere talente”, din rândul cărora şi-a şi găsit o amantă, deşi pozează în familistul perfect, cu o soţie superbă şi doi copii minunaţi. Iar ca scandalul să se profileze ca la carte, amanta sa nu are mai mult de cincispreze ani. Prima parte a romanului îl urmăreşte pe Ritchie, un Humbert Humbert modern, cum încearcă să găsească un echilibru între cele două vieţi pe care le duce. Aflat într-o tipică criză de vârstă de 40 de ani, Ritchie nu gestionează prea bine cele două lumi, care riscă oricând să se ciocnească între ele. Dar ar fi fost prea anost ca James Meek să rescrie pur şi simplu Lolita, chiar şi cu ironie post-postmodernă. În joc intră, exact atunci când te aşteptai ca Ritchie să alunece pe o pantă iremediabilă a dezastrului, alte personaje şi izbucnesc alte conflicte, care deschid romanul înspre multiple alte direcţii. În primul rând, sora sa, Bec, aparent la polul opus lui Ritchie – cercetătoare dedicată, capabilă să-şi pună propria sănătate în risc pentru a merge mai departe cu testele sale legate de o bacterie care ar putea elimina malaria. Dar Bec nu este o sfântă, cum nici Ritchie nu este un demon cu chip de om. În ambii se dă o luptă între ce ar fi bine să facă şi ce e mai simplu să facă. (continuarea cronicii: http://www.bookaholic.ro/james-meek-i...)
December 17, 2012
The Heart Broke In is an exceptional novel about all the important things in life: marriage, love, death, and what it means to be a good person.
The primary characters are old brother Ritchie Shepherd and younger sister Bec, whose childhood experiences included losing their father to the war at a young age. Although siblings, Ritchie and Bec are nothing alike.
Ritchie is a famous singer turned television producer (of a BBC show called Teen Makeover), while Bec is a dedicated scientist working ont the cure for malaria. Ritchie is a weak man, yielding to his cravings for chocolate pudding, double whiskeys, and, apparently, 15 year old girls. Bec, on the other hand, while graced with a "spacious mind" unbound by social norms and conventions, has a fixed view of right and wrong shaped by careful moral reasoning.
Despite Ritchie's moral failings, as a husband, as a father, and as a brother, he manages to rationalize his behavior as necessary and regards himself as basically good. A revealing peek into Ritchie's mind occurs when we learn that "Ritchie saw the limits of Alex's means as the price he paid for the great honour of being virtuous, and his own success as compensation for being punished with the necessity to lie and deceive".
The moral tests and dilemamas that Meek sets up for his characters, and then lets unfold, are brilliant. In this regard, the book reminded me of Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities" or "A Man in Full". As each character receives his/her just deserts, we learn that even in a world in which God does not exist, moral failings do not go unpunished.
Pride, vanity, greed, lust, envy, and gluttony - all of which are prevalent - are met with private, if not public, disgrace.
I would submit that reading this book is a better way to learn moral philosphy than to read most ethics books that lines the shelves of philosophy departments at universities or colleges.
The primary characters are old brother Ritchie Shepherd and younger sister Bec, whose childhood experiences included losing their father to the war at a young age. Although siblings, Ritchie and Bec are nothing alike.
Ritchie is a famous singer turned television producer (of a BBC show called Teen Makeover), while Bec is a dedicated scientist working ont the cure for malaria. Ritchie is a weak man, yielding to his cravings for chocolate pudding, double whiskeys, and, apparently, 15 year old girls. Bec, on the other hand, while graced with a "spacious mind" unbound by social norms and conventions, has a fixed view of right and wrong shaped by careful moral reasoning.
Despite Ritchie's moral failings, as a husband, as a father, and as a brother, he manages to rationalize his behavior as necessary and regards himself as basically good. A revealing peek into Ritchie's mind occurs when we learn that "Ritchie saw the limits of Alex's means as the price he paid for the great honour of being virtuous, and his own success as compensation for being punished with the necessity to lie and deceive".
The moral tests and dilemamas that Meek sets up for his characters, and then lets unfold, are brilliant. In this regard, the book reminded me of Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities" or "A Man in Full". As each character receives his/her just deserts, we learn that even in a world in which God does not exist, moral failings do not go unpunished.
Pride, vanity, greed, lust, envy, and gluttony - all of which are prevalent - are met with private, if not public, disgrace.
I would submit that reading this book is a better way to learn moral philosphy than to read most ethics books that lines the shelves of philosophy departments at universities or colleges.
April 27, 2013
The Heart Broke In has a considerable amount of plot -- you'll be turning pages to see how various suspenseful dilemmas are resolved, and when a certain number of them turn out to be loose ends..., well, you'll already have raced through many hundreds of pages and may have forgetten all the balls in the air.
The problem is twofold: 1) despite many juicy elements - among others, an aging rockstar turned reality TV star with a taste for underage nookie, several brilliant and beautiful scientists on the brink of world-changing discoveries, a few twisted family trees with buried secrets, and a crazed Christian publisher of a thinly disguised Daily Mail who is bent on using the power of the paparazzi for his own warped ends, you will find yourself bored for extended stretches, because Meek has a taste for the (over)-extended scientific metaphor and a not very light hand in doing it and 2) none of these many characters are very likeable. I always say that a long book has to give you someone to root for, but the Heart Broke In doesn't quite manage, you're rooting AGAINST nearly everyone. I think Bec is supposed to be the heroine, but even she didn't grab me.
In the end, the book doesn't really suceed as either overarching examination of contemporary mores, the primal urges of parenthood and the fear of death and the moral emptiness at the heart of our media driven society -- i.e., as the BIG contemporary novel it clearly aspires to be, or as the voyeuristic romp through the lives of some very privileged and very screwed up Londoners it was almost tempted to be (and it could have been delightful if it gave in to its trashier side).
Why a 3? Well, it was a 2.5, and it might yet be a 2. But there was some wry observation, and I was in London while I was reading most of it, and the best parts of the book are a lovesong to London (maybe in the end London is the most likeable character!). I am getting to be a soft grader!!!!
The problem is twofold: 1) despite many juicy elements - among others, an aging rockstar turned reality TV star with a taste for underage nookie, several brilliant and beautiful scientists on the brink of world-changing discoveries, a few twisted family trees with buried secrets, and a crazed Christian publisher of a thinly disguised Daily Mail who is bent on using the power of the paparazzi for his own warped ends, you will find yourself bored for extended stretches, because Meek has a taste for the (over)-extended scientific metaphor and a not very light hand in doing it and 2) none of these many characters are very likeable. I always say that a long book has to give you someone to root for, but the Heart Broke In doesn't quite manage, you're rooting AGAINST nearly everyone. I think Bec is supposed to be the heroine, but even she didn't grab me.
In the end, the book doesn't really suceed as either overarching examination of contemporary mores, the primal urges of parenthood and the fear of death and the moral emptiness at the heart of our media driven society -- i.e., as the BIG contemporary novel it clearly aspires to be, or as the voyeuristic romp through the lives of some very privileged and very screwed up Londoners it was almost tempted to be (and it could have been delightful if it gave in to its trashier side).
Why a 3? Well, it was a 2.5, and it might yet be a 2. But there was some wry observation, and I was in London while I was reading most of it, and the best parts of the book are a lovesong to London (maybe in the end London is the most likeable character!). I am getting to be a soft grader!!!!
October 22, 2012
This was a real trippy read. I think that as it clipped along, and got way more interesting and insightful, I would have bumped this up to four, but the first half really lagged and the writing - while generally neat and precise - did get on my nerves.
This is a story centering around three people - Ritchie, the classic Hollywood sleaze, a dried up has been rock star who now produces reality teen shows, who cannot stop cheating on his wife but is really regretful when he gets caught, then his sister Bec, a Mother Teresa type who went off to the world of science and infects herself with parasites for the sake of curing malaria while tending to sick people in Africa, and then Alex, another scientist who has trouble conceiving, and because he views children as the key to immortality, refuses to adopt.
The three come together in interesting ways. Ultimately Ritchie is embroiled in a scandal that, were it to get out, would cost him his family and his job. His only way out of this is to rat on his saintly sister, who does have one really dirty secret that might cost her her marriage.
So the thing is, once all that gets going it's a really good read - prior to that there is a lot of 'why is this here' and 'who cares,' not to mention this kind of annoying writing style wherein people just don't say things that make sense. Maybe this is the new realistic dialogue but it was just frustrating to read.
Still. I must give credit for having some itneresting twists, some nice turns of phrase, and some really complex insights into betrayal, survival, and rationalizations for behavior, among other things. A quality read, ultimately.
This is a story centering around three people - Ritchie, the classic Hollywood sleaze, a dried up has been rock star who now produces reality teen shows, who cannot stop cheating on his wife but is really regretful when he gets caught, then his sister Bec, a Mother Teresa type who went off to the world of science and infects herself with parasites for the sake of curing malaria while tending to sick people in Africa, and then Alex, another scientist who has trouble conceiving, and because he views children as the key to immortality, refuses to adopt.
The three come together in interesting ways. Ultimately Ritchie is embroiled in a scandal that, were it to get out, would cost him his family and his job. His only way out of this is to rat on his saintly sister, who does have one really dirty secret that might cost her her marriage.
So the thing is, once all that gets going it's a really good read - prior to that there is a lot of 'why is this here' and 'who cares,' not to mention this kind of annoying writing style wherein people just don't say things that make sense. Maybe this is the new realistic dialogue but it was just frustrating to read.
Still. I must give credit for having some itneresting twists, some nice turns of phrase, and some really complex insights into betrayal, survival, and rationalizations for behavior, among other things. A quality read, ultimately.
October 5, 2012
The Heart Broke In: A Novel is a saga in the good old-fashioned sense of the word. It examines a family, its history, its morality, its amorality, its ambitions, achievements and failures.
Ritchie Shepherd is an aging rock star, once a drummer in a record that was in the top ten. He now is producing teen reality shows but is thinking seriously of doing a documentary about his father who was murdered by Northern Irish Guerrillas. Will this redeem him or will he find a way to mess this up, too.
He has a sister named Bec who is as good and moral as Ritchie is amoral. She is a leading researcher on curing malaria and has gone so far as to inject herself with the untested virus. She spends a lot of time in Tanzania working in her laboratory. She is honest and direct. She is also beautiful but at about 30 years old is still single.
Val is the editor of a sleazy tabloid newspaper and wants to marry Bec. It's not going to happen. Alex Comrie also wants to marry Bec. He is a prestigious scientist who thinks he may have found a cure for aging but it's still in the working stages.
The murderer of Ritchie and Bec's father has recently been released from prison and has begun to write poetry. Will Ritchie try and take revenge?
All of these things come togther in this epic of a novel. It is sad, poignant, funny and current. I had a good time reading it and enjoyed the contents thoroughly. The only thing that I didn't like was the style. It was somewhat minimalist in concept and minimalism is not a style I like. Other that that, this is an excellent novel.
Comment
Ritchie Shepherd is an aging rock star, once a drummer in a record that was in the top ten. He now is producing teen reality shows but is thinking seriously of doing a documentary about his father who was murdered by Northern Irish Guerrillas. Will this redeem him or will he find a way to mess this up, too.
He has a sister named Bec who is as good and moral as Ritchie is amoral. She is a leading researcher on curing malaria and has gone so far as to inject herself with the untested virus. She spends a lot of time in Tanzania working in her laboratory. She is honest and direct. She is also beautiful but at about 30 years old is still single.
Val is the editor of a sleazy tabloid newspaper and wants to marry Bec. It's not going to happen. Alex Comrie also wants to marry Bec. He is a prestigious scientist who thinks he may have found a cure for aging but it's still in the working stages.
The murderer of Ritchie and Bec's father has recently been released from prison and has begun to write poetry. Will Ritchie try and take revenge?
All of these things come togther in this epic of a novel. It is sad, poignant, funny and current. I had a good time reading it and enjoyed the contents thoroughly. The only thing that I didn't like was the style. It was somewhat minimalist in concept and minimalism is not a style I like. Other that that, this is an excellent novel.
Comment
February 9, 2013
Ricky Shepherd is a former rock star with a gauche TV show and a taste for teenyboppers--as well as a wife and children. His sister, Rebecca, is a world famous malaria researcher who develops a relationship with another world famous scientist. And one of Rebecca's admirers--whom she refused to marry--is an egotistical publisher who has started a morality website: the business model is getting famous figures to reveal secrets about others--or have their own secrets revealed. The website then investigates and put all the "bad people" out on the internet.
You can see the recipe for betrayal and pain. This is an interesting but not compelling book about sickies doing their thing. It can be passed by with no loss.
You can see the recipe for betrayal and pain. This is an interesting but not compelling book about sickies doing their thing. It can be passed by with no loss.
October 16, 2020
loved it. Great character builds. Recommended read
July 5, 2022
I wanted to get into this book ….. but I couldn’t. It was painful to finish. Don’t bother reading it- there are much better stores to read!
October 26, 2013
There was a lot going on in this book, a lot of good ideas, but it was like reading 5 overlapping short stories at once - exhausting and confusing and not satisfying. I felt like the author kept saying, "Ritchie wants above all else to give the impression that he is generous", without letting me the reader know why that was, or providing much illustration of Ritchie actually doing that. It was like reading a Blockbuster Summer Action Film. For some reason the author really liked using instances where a character's eyes widened, and after reading it like 5 times that got annoying to me. James Meek the author is witty, a lot of the characters had good dialog, and I liked the premises, but there were just too many to keep track of. Also, I wanted to know why the title is what it is, and when it got explained it was actually a punchline, but not a funny one so that was a let down.
After reading I was left with so many questions about why characters acted certain ways, ways normal people wouldn't act: why would this Media Titan Val guy go to such lengths to get revenge on Bec the Scientist who jilted him? Why did nobody shut down the Moral Foundation that was ruining lives and how does a persecuted, medicated patient have the wherewithal to orchestrate such a thing? Why did the Scientist Couple Bec and Alex never think to invite the Religious Cousin Family over to the contentious mansion they inherited from the Rich Dead Uncle? How did the patriarch of the Religious Cousin Family get involved with the Moral Foundation, why was that not explained? How do scientists obsessed with getting pregnant simply not go to medical professionals to figure out what is keeping them from getting pregnant? It was a bridge too far to accept that Ritchie would be jealous of the Scientist Couple creating a salon society the same way that the Rich Dead Uncle had a generation ago, that came across as a scene being recycled rather than a motif or artistic irony or foreshadowing.
After reading I was left with so many questions about why characters acted certain ways, ways normal people wouldn't act: why would this Media Titan Val guy go to such lengths to get revenge on Bec the Scientist who jilted him? Why did nobody shut down the Moral Foundation that was ruining lives and how does a persecuted, medicated patient have the wherewithal to orchestrate such a thing? Why did the Scientist Couple Bec and Alex never think to invite the Religious Cousin Family over to the contentious mansion they inherited from the Rich Dead Uncle? How did the patriarch of the Religious Cousin Family get involved with the Moral Foundation, why was that not explained? How do scientists obsessed with getting pregnant simply not go to medical professionals to figure out what is keeping them from getting pregnant? It was a bridge too far to accept that Ritchie would be jealous of the Scientist Couple creating a salon society the same way that the Rich Dead Uncle had a generation ago, that came across as a scene being recycled rather than a motif or artistic irony or foreshadowing.
November 4, 2012
A big family saga with a number of difficult themes, mostly revolving around love, family bonds and, above all, betrayal. Set in 2012 London (with a few excursions to Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Hampshire, Dorset, etc), this is a great Modern British Novel if such a "genre" exists. Complex and interestingly flawed characters who often make terrible decisions and act out of selfishness disguised as goodness of their hearts in combination with a decent plot made this a truly enjoyable novel for me.
John Lee, who narrates the audio book, is absolutely outstanding. This was the first book read by him that I've listened to, and I can now appreciate why he is so acclaimed. His vast array of authentic sounding accents is impressive, my only complaint is that he often changes his voice when he reads women and sounds a bit like a demented transvestite, but that is a personal observation, I am sure others don't perceive it that way.
I'm definitely keen to read something else by James Meek - he ticks many boxes for me in terms of his writing.
John Lee, who narrates the audio book, is absolutely outstanding. This was the first book read by him that I've listened to, and I can now appreciate why he is so acclaimed. His vast array of authentic sounding accents is impressive, my only complaint is that he often changes his voice when he reads women and sounds a bit like a demented transvestite, but that is a personal observation, I am sure others don't perceive it that way.
I'm definitely keen to read something else by James Meek - he ticks many boxes for me in terms of his writing.
February 3, 2013
An entertaining, pacey and thoroughly 'present day' British power-family yarn, built upon an interesting (if at times a little laboured) medical metaphor and posing some chunky moral questions about love, loyalty and sacrifice.
I don't often read the kind of stuff that references Reality TV or pop science (the very things that by reading novels many are trying to escape), but this didn't feel caricatured in the way one might expect (bar the Moral Foundation, which is Dacre meets the Screws, surely). It holds together. Characters are credible. It's not Tony Parsons.
There are some very enjoyable observations in there too. I loved his description of retired men in fleeces performing 'ancient rites', posting letters and buying newspapers. It's smart on parenting ('suddenly there's this person who doesn't know much about you and it's all your fault'). And I'll never forget the idea of there being a membrane between London and West London in the underpass at Warren Street / Euston Road. He's so right. There is.
I don't often read the kind of stuff that references Reality TV or pop science (the very things that by reading novels many are trying to escape), but this didn't feel caricatured in the way one might expect (bar the Moral Foundation, which is Dacre meets the Screws, surely). It holds together. Characters are credible. It's not Tony Parsons.
There are some very enjoyable observations in there too. I loved his description of retired men in fleeces performing 'ancient rites', posting letters and buying newspapers. It's smart on parenting ('suddenly there's this person who doesn't know much about you and it's all your fault'). And I'll never forget the idea of there being a membrane between London and West London in the underpass at Warren Street / Euston Road. He's so right. There is.
October 29, 2012
One reviewer on Goodreads says that she wished the book was longer. Actually I do get that because there are a lot of people in this book and some of the minor ones really don’t get the time on the page they probably deserve and will end up on the cutting room floor if they even manage to squeeze themselves into the script. Matthew’s daughter Rose who leaves home to become a Muslim is one. As far as I'm concerned there are two books fighting against each other here, a thriller and a morality tale. Once Bec answers her question it felt as if Meek had suddenly floored it. Up until that point it seemed like we’d been running on fumes. Too long for me but anything over 250 pages is too long for me. Meek has good points to make—and he makes them well—but he didn't need to spend 550 pages making them.
You can read my full review here.
You can read my full review here.
November 25, 2012
I heard rave reviews about this book. At first I thought there must be something wrong with ME, because it was tedious reading for me to get through. I did not like the characters and had trouble keeping them straight as to who was doing what to whom. Could be because I do not like cheating characters...just a flaw in my make-up, I guess. I found the structure of the book fragmented. The way the plot was woven together was why I call it fragmented, at least to my brain. I find it hard to be negative to anyone willing to put the effort into writing a novel, but as I had a problem everytime I picked this book up, getting back into it, I will have to be negative. This said, don't be put off by my comments please. If nothing else, read the other reviews as they seem to be much more enthralled with this novel. It just didn't work for ME.
June 27, 2016
Im Klappentext ist nur eines von mehreren äußerst spannenden Handlungssträngen erwähnt. Hier handelt es sich um einen großen Roman über zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen aller Art. Vater und Sohn, Onkel und Neffe, Mann und Frau, Bruder und Schwester, Bruder und Bruder - Liebe, Eifersucht, Geheimnisse, Verrat und Ehre... James Meek schafft Situationen und Konstellationen, wie sie das Leben schreibt. Manchmal traurig, manchmal schwer - aber immer real und nie langweilig. Ein Buch, das mich positiv überrascht hat. Solche Bücher mag ich.
August 20, 2023
Ne, hat mich nicht gecatcht.
January 29, 2016
Too many clichés about men who cheat on women and about women who cheat on men and feel guilty about it, or who are completely depressed/crazy.
Made me think of The Slap by Tsolkias. I realise that this kind of books is definitely not my favourite one. People are always the same : Flaws and weaknesses. They don't find the strength and they don't meet the boredom that real people have to deal with.
Made me think of The Slap by Tsolkias. I realise that this kind of books is definitely not my favourite one. People are always the same : Flaws and weaknesses. They don't find the strength and they don't meet the boredom that real people have to deal with.
February 15, 2013
I like James Meek's writing style very much- he is very tongue-in-cheek and not afraid to have a laugh at the expense of the characters he has created. I liked Ritchie a lot but did get a bit bored with the detailed descriptions of Bec's research.
May 26, 2014
some parts were a little uncomfortable reading. How ever i give full praise taking on diffcult scenes to write about. What strikes me is how James as thought about each of characters what will they do.This book was short listed for the 2012 costa year award. you can buy this book from canongate.
July 19, 2013
Oh the tangled webs we weave.
Enjoyed this British tale of family, love, betrayal. More betrayal. Wouldn't want to be any of these troubled people, but I was very intrigued in peering into their lives.
Recommend the audible!
Enjoyed this British tale of family, love, betrayal. More betrayal. Wouldn't want to be any of these troubled people, but I was very intrigued in peering into their lives.
Recommend the audible!
December 13, 2013
I liked this book well enough. If I could, I'd rate it three and a half stars. It reminded me a lot of Jonathan Franzen's, The Corrections with all the dysfunctional family members. I also give it props for the clever title.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews