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Full Circle
This novel by Bob Jones, fast paced and wickedly funny, follows the life and fortunes of Len Edwards. Raised in London, in his early twenties he arrives in New Zealand to make his millions.
Full Circle is not for the overly sensitive, for Jones leaves no sacred cows unslaughtered in this commentary on contemporary life. Beneath humour however lie serious observations about human relationships and folly.
Full Circle is not for the overly sensitive, for Jones leaves no sacred cows unslaughtered in this commentary on contemporary life. Beneath humour however lie serious observations about human relationships and folly.
294 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Bob Jones
19 books5 followersSir Robert Edward Jones was a property investor, author and politician in New Zealand.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
August 15, 2026
For those unaware, Sir Bob Jones was a prominent New Zealand property investor, author and politician (1939-2015). He was outspoken for sure and was generally well respected but known to be a hard person to deal with, having very fixed ideas. He was a boxing enthusiast, and fisherman, and once famously punched a reporter who interrupted him fishing in a remote valley. On being taken to court and fined $1000 he asked the judge if he could pay $2000 and hit the reporter again.
This book just reeks of his opinions, and for me (and likely those who are familiar with him) you can hear his voice resonate in the writing. For the avoidance of doubt, I find his sense of humour and the absurdity of part of the book hilarious.
It is described in the blurb as follows: Full Circle is not for the overly sensitive, for Jones leaves no sacred cows unslaughtered in this commentary on contemporary life. Beneath humour however lie serious observations about human relationships and folly.
Certainly it lives up to this. It remorselessly takes the mickey out of a vast range of topics - to name a few off the top of my head - the church / organised religion, politics, scientific research and more than anything, human nature.
Jones writes very well, in fact if his other fiction is up to this standard I feel remiss in not having read it earlier - I have previously read some of his non-fiction titles on travel and investment (both excellent) but this is my first foray into his fiction - I own a couple more.
I won't attempt to outline the plot, as it is really just about a small time con-man who makes his fortune but comes up short to buy his dream property and needs to 'return to the well' to make several million pounds. He finds an innovative way to take prostitution to the deprived scientists in Antarctica and makes his fortune. But really the story is much bigger and more complex.
As a taste for the humour, some of the research groups in Antarctica being mocked include the penguin kleptomaniac team, the jellyfish anorexia expert, the penguin waddling speed group, the jellyfish obesity research group, the leopard-seal yawning team, leopard-seal magnetic impulse properties research programme, the jellyfish translucency variation researcher... as well as a load of other more legitimate research topics.
Anyway, enough other than to say I agree with the above statement about serious observations lying below the humour in this book.
Probably not a book to seek out if you are easily offended or upset by writing that looks to undermine established values - especially religious institutions, climate change advocacy, financial and tax systems and relationship values.
5 stars!
This book just reeks of his opinions, and for me (and likely those who are familiar with him) you can hear his voice resonate in the writing. For the avoidance of doubt, I find his sense of humour and the absurdity of part of the book hilarious.
It is described in the blurb as follows: Full Circle is not for the overly sensitive, for Jones leaves no sacred cows unslaughtered in this commentary on contemporary life. Beneath humour however lie serious observations about human relationships and folly.
Certainly it lives up to this. It remorselessly takes the mickey out of a vast range of topics - to name a few off the top of my head - the church / organised religion, politics, scientific research and more than anything, human nature.
Jones writes very well, in fact if his other fiction is up to this standard I feel remiss in not having read it earlier - I have previously read some of his non-fiction titles on travel and investment (both excellent) but this is my first foray into his fiction - I own a couple more.
I won't attempt to outline the plot, as it is really just about a small time con-man who makes his fortune but comes up short to buy his dream property and needs to 'return to the well' to make several million pounds. He finds an innovative way to take prostitution to the deprived scientists in Antarctica and makes his fortune. But really the story is much bigger and more complex.
As a taste for the humour, some of the research groups in Antarctica being mocked include the penguin kleptomaniac team, the jellyfish anorexia expert, the penguin waddling speed group, the jellyfish obesity research group, the leopard-seal yawning team, leopard-seal magnetic impulse properties research programme, the jellyfish translucency variation researcher... as well as a load of other more legitimate research topics.
Anyway, enough other than to say I agree with the above statement about serious observations lying below the humour in this book.
Probably not a book to seek out if you are easily offended or upset by writing that looks to undermine established values - especially religious institutions, climate change advocacy, financial and tax systems and relationship values.
5 stars!
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