One Hand Clapping

by Anthony Burgess

"Sometimes when I'm at work and waiting for customers I think about the two of us living like kings and not bothering about the future. Because there may not be any future to bother about, you know. Not for anybody, one of these days. And it's a wicked world."
Average couple Janet and Howard's lives begin to unravel when Howard's photographic memory helps win him a gameshow fortune. Janet doesn't want their lives to change that much. She's quite happy working at the supermarket, cooking for her husband three times a day and watching quiz shows in the evening.
But once Howard unleashes his photographic brain on the world, the once modest used-car salesman can't seem to stop. And what he sees as the logical conclusion to his success isn't something Janet can agree to.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Novels, British Literature, Literary Fiction, English Literature, Satire

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Seriocomic novels of noted British writer and critic Anthony Burgess, pen name of John Burgess Wilson, include the futuristic classic A Clockwork Orange (1962).

He composed also a librettos, poems, plays, screens, and essays and traveled, broadcast, translated, linguist and educationalist. He lived for long periods in southeastern Asia, the United States of America, and Europe along Mediterranean Sea as well as England. His fiction embraces the Malayan trilogy ( The Long Day Wanes ) on the dying days of empire in the east. The Enderby quartet concerns a poet and his muse. Nothing like the Sun re-creates love life of William Shakespeare. He explores the nature of evil with Earthly Powers , a panoramic saga of the 20th century. He published studies of James Joyce, Ernest Miller Hemingway, Shakespeare, and David Herbert Lawrence. He produced the treatises Language Made Plain and A Mouthful of Air . His journalism proliferated in several languages. He translated and adapted Cyrano de Bergerac , Oedipus the King , and Carmen for the stage. He scripted Jesus of Nazareth and Moses the Lawgiver for the screen. He invented the prehistoric language, spoken in Quest for Fire . He composed the Sinfoni Melayu , the Symphony (No. 3) in C , and the opera Blooms of Dublin .

Reviews

[Özgür · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eğlenceli bir kitap. Bir dil uzmanı olan Burgess sade cümleler ve yalın bir anlatım kullanmış, altını çizeyim dediğim cümle sayısı çok azdı. Aforizmalardansa sıradan cümlelerle hikaye anlatanlardan daha çok keyif alıyorum. Çok kısa sürede okunabilecek bir kitap. Okurken aklıma Orwell'in Boğulmamak İçin isimli kitabı geldi. İki kitapta da taşradaki İngiliz toplumuna ilişkin tasvir ve yorumlar olduğu, toplumsal değişime değindiği için belki. Burgess'in Orwell'a cevaben yazdığı "1985" isimli bir kitabı da var. Belki de bu yüzden.

Biraz arka planda kalan bir kadının ağzından bir bilgi yarışmasında önemli miktarda ikramiye kazanan eşiyle olan hikayesini anlatıyor. Bu kadın (Janet) olabildiğince basmakalıp bir şekilde çizilmiş, güzel, biraz da okuduğu lisedeki anlayış nedeniyle cahil kalmış (Küba'nın Afrika'da olduğunu zannediyor ve Castro'nun Afrika'daki karışıklıktan sorumlu olduğunu düşünüyor mesela), 19 yaşında evlenmiş, markette çalışan, eşi ne diyorsa doğru kabul eden itiraz etmeyen taşralı bir kadın. Eşi (Howard) biraz daha ilginç bir karakter, fotoğrafik hafızaya sahip, dürüstlükten taviz vermeyen bir otomobil satıcısı. Olayların nasıl geliştiğini spoiler vermeden anlatmak benim için çok zor. Ama hem tahmin ettiğim hem de tahmin etmediğim olaylara yer verilmiş hikayede.

Bu arada, kitaba ismini veren Zen deyişine (Birbirine çarpan iki elin sesini biliriz, Ya çarpan tek bir elin sesi nedir?) hikayede değinilmiş. Bu deyiş Salinger'in Dokuz Öykü kitabın başlangıcında da yer alıyor. Kitaptaki karakterlerden birinin soyadı da Glass olunca Burgess Salinger'e bir gönderme mi yapıyor diye düşündüm.

[Kuszma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howard, a csendes, hétköznapi használtautó-kereskedő éli a maga csendes, hétköznapi használtautó-kereskedő életét kis mátkájával, Janettel valahol egy brit kisvárosban. Igaz ugyan, hogy fényképezőgép-agya van, de ezt nemigen használja, egészen addig, amíg egy tévévetélkedőben nem kasszíroz vele 1000 fontot, ami jó nagy pénz, de nem olyan nagy, hogy ne lehessen belőle még többet csinálni. Úgyhogy Howard elindul a milliomos-státusz felé, egyfajta modern Rastignacnak is vélhetnénk tehát. Csakhogy Howard nem egyszerűen ambícióvezérelt törtető, sokkal inkább filozófus, mégpedig a radikálisabb fajtából, akinek komoly baja van a világgal, és a gazdagodás csak eszköz, hogy bebizonyítson valamit. Nem mondom meg, mit.

De igazából nem is ő a főszereplő, hanem a feleség, Janet. Burgess merész húzása, hogy személyében olyan elbeszélőt választ, aki maga a megtestesült köznapi feleség, köznapi vágyakkal és a köznapinál talán még picivel kisebb általános műveltséggel. Következésképpen meglehetősen alkalmatlan személy arra, hogy megértse Howard formálódó életfilozófiáját – nem csak azt, hogy miben áll, hanem azt is, hogy egyáltalán lett neki. A befogadókhoz (ti.: hozzánk) tehát rajta, a tökéletlen szűrőn keresztül jut el, mit is akar voltaképpen férjura, ami nagyon sajátos olvasói élményt jelent.

Tetszett az elbeszélői pozíció, de leginkább az, ahogy Burgess menet közben megváltoztatja bennünk mindazt, amit a szereplőkről gondolunk. Ez, úgy vélem, mesteri játék. Úgy általában véve kiemelkedő iparosmunkának tartom a szöveget: olyasminek, amit egy jó író írt meg egy jó ötletből, mégpedig jól. De azért egy kis mélységet számon kérnék rajta. Mert Burgess végig enyhén felszínes marad: beépít egy kis társadalomkritikát, egy kis mélypszichológiát, de tartózkodik az igazán kemény, karakán véleménynyilvánításoktól. Howard életszemlélete is csak cselekményszínező elem marad, nem nyer körvonalat – persze lehet, ez, mivel Janet tolmácsolásában jut el hozzánk, eleve lehetetlen is volna. Ettől függetlenül az elismerő bólogatás és az elégedetlen fejcsóválás különös (és amúgy látványnak felettébb visszatetsző) gesztusával raktam le a könyvet. Nem kizárt, hogy jövő ilyenkorra nem sok mindenre emlékszem majd belőle.

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is a social satire that warns against the effects of complacency and too much television. Janet and Howard are lower-middle-class residents of Bradcaster who have fallen into a familial marital routine of working, eating, and watching television. Janet is beautiful, but her education leaves a lot to be desired. Howard possesses the uncommon gift of a photographic memory which he uses to win a large sum of cash on a game show. He specialises in books and literature. Howard’s acquisition of wealth serves as a catalyst that allows the couple to enjoy the finer things in life. However, all is not well within Howard’s mind as he proves that money does not change the commonplace ignorance of everyday life.

This book displays Burgess’ opposition against the emphasis placed on wealth instead of knowledge. There is a definite anger directed towards the game-show industry which values money and entertainment over the subject matter that they base their questions on. Howard often feels disappointed that his actions merely provide entertainment instead of enlightenment. Janet, on the other hand, represents the common consumer who is overly influenced by television and swayed by material things. She even views her relationship with Howard as a superficial thing to be compared with couples on television. Janet has experienced more through her television than through the sum of her life experience. As Howard realises the superficial nature of the twentieth century, his mind becomes clouded with a dark endgame that will illuminate the disgust that he feels towards society.

Although this is a short book it is incredibly well-written and embodies the author’s personal disgust at the rise of the commercial age. “One Hand Clapping” is just as dark as Burgess’ later work “A Clockwork Orange” and equally insightful. Fans will not be disappointed.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthony Burgess is a little on the strange side. Most well known for his book A Clockwork Orange Burgess not only creates a unique world for his stories, he creates new rules and an entire new language. When I began this book I had to read and reread the first few pages a couple times to get into my head the cadence and tone of the woman speaking. If you can't find the voice of Janet in your head you won't have nearly as much fun as the totally unexpected events unfold. Burgess lulls you into a false sense of ease as Janet over-explains her mundane life. But as events escalate into the unbelievable and ridiculous, Janet continues to explain as if nothing particularly strange were occuring. The attempted suicide of a family member gets the same amount of attention, or less as the description of the beans on toast she served for dinner. Lovely.

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burgess’s 1961 satirical jeu, “dashed off to make a hundred pounds or so,” concerns that evergreen of topics: “The cheapness and the vulgarity and silliness and brutishness and nastiness of everything and everybody.” Is there any other topic worth writing about? Narrated by typical northern lass Janet Shirley, the novel uses the quiz show as a metaphor for the above commentary—how the Great Poets & Writers remain unread and unappreciated, relegated to trivia questions and fodder for fact-vacuums like hubby Howard. As the novel progresses, a dark tension unravels as Howard experiences the hollowness of a consumerist universe and takes drastic steps to escape the futility of it all. Despite its plainly improvised plot, and occasional slapdash phrasing here and there (tut tut, Anto), for a novel completed in a month for a cynical buck, it is a pleasingly fine product of Burgess the contrarian lunatic mastermind and one-man book-shitting machine. I intend to read this man raw.

[Jörg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The used-car salesman Howard Shirley has a photographic brain and the ability to visualize things in the future. He uses his skills to win a predecessor of Who Wants to be a Millionaire with questions regarding books. With the prize, he bets at horse races multiplying the win to a total of almost 80,000£, the equivalent of about 1.6 million pounds nowadays. These skills are not a function of his intelligence though. He only memorized all the books he needed to know. He didn't really understand their contents and ideas.

But there's more to him. Nowadays, you'd say he is on the spectrum. Once he has a conviction, there's no discussing about it. He loves his wife Janet and wants to spend all his time with her. But in the way he decides. With the money won, he determines to try out everything money could buy. He gives a grant to a hopeless writer who later appears on their doorstep. They embark on a big journey to the US and the West Indies, having the writer guard their home in the meantime. They stay in the most expensive hotels, dine at the best restaurants, order bottles of champagne from the best vintages. Janet gets the most expensive mink fur available. He's obsessed with experiencing anything money could buy.

Both of them cannot really appreciate what money buys them.And there's another thing both of them agree. The world respectively the people in it are a hopeless mess. Toward the end, it is getting obvious that Howard's obsession is so all-encompassing that no experience can satisfy him. Life is to no avail. There's only one logical conclusion for him. Ending his life - and Janet's with him as they promised for their marriage to stay together until life does part them. A nice final plot twist contrasts the opposing reactions to this quandary. Despair of life or despite the odds making the best out of the mess.

Burgess has a distinct language and it's difficult to catch this in translation. The simple German used to let the narrator (Howard's wife Janet) speak hasn't aged well and feels like teenage slang from the early 80's. The idea of showing the protagonists with all their limitations and lack of education comes across nonetheless. Both, Howard and Janet are very limited in their mental capabilities. They have no relevant education and while money can buy them access to venues of social life they hadn't access to before, they never will belong to those parts of society. Neither do they want to.

Burgess draws his characters by language, not by their underlying motivations or reasonings. This is comparable to the other two books of him I've read: A Clockwork Orange and The Wanting Seed. Especially the latter one has the same characteristic of having a central character that never really is explained or comes to a life on his own. His books are about ideas, brimming with wild details and plot twists. One-Hand-Clapping is more limited compared to its peers in scope and wastes some of Burgess' potential by not painting wild authoritarian future societies, confining itself to the factual, the existing world as a mess.

[Carol Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book, like dark chocolate -- so sweet yet bitter at the same time.

Janet Shirley is so much fun as a narrator, she's the perfect foil for Alex in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. At first she seems sweet, fun, down to earth and kind. Only little by little do you notice that she's not much interested in other people, only in her own pleasures. The nature of the pleasures is interesting, too. She's not a sadist like Alex, far from it. If she had her way she'd just be left to enjoy herself innocently in random sex, random spending, and random travel. She's only interested in having all the wonderful things people on TV have, and she doesn't care how she gets them. But violence and murder are only a means to an end, never an end in themselves.

Janet's husband Howard is a much less likable character. It's important to bear in mind that he's not entirely Burgess' stand-in. The cheap shots at modern culture, pop music and television probably reflect Burgess' views. But Burgess understands that Howard is just as dishonest about the past as popular culture is about the present. At one point Janet innocently remarks that Howard "is selling the past just like he sells one of his used cars" and that really sums it up.

But it's really Jan's book, and if you're like me you'll end up cheering for her in spite of yourself.

[Bern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soyadının anlamı "şehirli" olan yazardan taşra geleneklerine, evlilik kurumunun ikiyüzlülüğüne, tüketim toplumuna, kolaycılığa, eğitim sistem(ler)inin eksikliklerine, İngiliz toplumunun şişirilmiş egolarına güzel bir taşlama. Bana daha önce okuduğum ve benzer şekilde emek ya da altyapı olmaksızın ünlü, "önemli" ve hatta zengin olabilmenin eleştirisini yapan Jerzy Kosinsky kitabı "Being There"i (Bir Yerde) hatırlattı. Kitaptaki kadın kahraman bizim coğrafyamızda da var olan ve bizimkilerden en azından farklı şekilde "çok cahildim, ama çekici olduğum için cehalet önemli değilmiş gibi gelirdi hep" diye özeleştiri yapabilen, romanın akıp gitmesine bu bilinçsiz şirinliğiyle katkıda bulunan biri. Tesadüfe bakın ki Janet gibi güzelliğinden artı vasfı olmayan bir kadın da bana aynı soruyu sormuştu: "Küba Afrika'da değil mi?". Keşke kitap başlangıçtaki o akıcı, tutarlı yapısıyla devam etseydi de yüzümdeki o gülümseme daim olsaydı...

[Sevinç · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arkadaş! Bu nasıl bir ifade yeteneğidir? Bu nasıl bir “Aslında edebiyat yapmıyorum, bu alalade bir roman işte” cümleleri ile edebiyatın tavanına ulaşmaktır? Semerkant’ı okurken, Livaneli için “bir erkek, bir kadının ağzından bu kadar mükemmel nasıl yazabilir?” diye düşünmüştüm; hayran kalmıştım. Ama bu kitapta düşüncem bir tık daha üste çıktı. Zira entellektüel bir kadını dile getirmekle cahil ama enteresan bir şekilde yüksek farkındalığı olan bir kadını dile getirmek aynı şeyler değil bana sorarsanız. Burges burada Livaneli’ye fark atıyor üzgünüm. Ama bir de bakmışız ki Livaneli de bırakmış piyasaya oynamayı ve böyle bir kitap yazmış. Neden olmasın di mi? ;)
Kitabını okurken yazarın özgüvenini hissettiğimde o kitaptan aldığım zevk katlanıyor. Bu kitapda Burges özgüvenini iliklerime kadar hissettim. Bu arada, Cesur Yeni Dünya’nın kapağında gördüğüm yorumundan sonra Burges’in egosunun yüksek olduğunu düşünmüştüm. Pardon da! Ben Burges gibi yazsam egom şimdi uzaydaydı. Dün gece elime alıp bugün bitirecek kadar nefisti. Çok keyif verdi çok. Bekle beni Burgess! bütün kitaplarını okuyacağım.

[marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

fajne ale gdyby to byla powiesc amerykanska to byloby jeszcze fajniej👍🏻

[Caterina · Rating 5 out of 5]

ÖNCE ALINTILAR:

*** "Kötü olan dünya degil" dedim. "Dünyadaki insanlar."

*** "Para yaşamak için harcanacak, hiçbir şekilde biriktirilmeyecek, süs eşyasına, mobilyaya, o tür şeylere yatınlmayacak."

*** "Sırf o ülkenin yurttaşı olmak, kendi ülkenizi bir yabancıdan daha iyi tanımanızı gerektirmez."

*** "Çok cahildim, ama çekici oldugum için cehalet önemli degilmiş gibi gelirdi hep."

Ayraçsız kitaplar grubumuzun bayram sebebiyle okuması zorunlu olmayan ayraçlı kitabıydı. Başlayınca bulduğum her fırsatta okuma isteği duydum. Burgess'in kendini okutmayı bilen keyifli ve düşündüren kurgusu...

İngiltere'de geçen öyküde evli bir çiftin hikayesini kadının anlatısıyla okuma imkanınız olacak.

İKİNCİ OKUMA EDİTİ: 2023’te 23 Kitap challangeine girişince İngiliz Edebiyatı okuması planı yaptım. İlk kitap daha önce okuduğum “Bir Elin Sesi Var” oldu. İlk kitapta üzerinde düşünmediğim Howard’ın duygularının empatisini yaptım.

Bazı kitapları bir süre geçince tekrar okuduğumda farkındalığımın arttığını düşünüyorum bu yüzden daha önce 4 yıldız vermiştim. Bu defa 5 yıldız diyorum.

[Alric · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first encounter with the works of Burgess came in the 1970s, starting with A Clockwork Orange, after which I read several of his novels in a frenzy. The others were: A Vision of Battlements; Enderby (it was a single novel, with just that simple title, and not the current omnibus); The Wanting Seed; Napoleon Symphony; and this one, One Hand Clapping. To sum him up in the most general way, Burgess is indeed something else. I found all of his novels at least memorably entertaining, and a couple were absolutely brilliant. And when you consider the range of his novels, and the scope of his subjects, you can't disagree with Gore Vidal's assessment, who believed Burgess was one of the three best novelists from England, "but [Burgess] was unlike the whole lot in the sense that one never knew what he would do next." Vidal added, "He resisted category." Ain't that the truth.

It was when I read this novel that I realized just how gifted a storyteller Burgess was, the way he made it sound so easy. He fully captured the uncomplicated first-person voice of the naive housewife Janet Shirley. Together, she and her husband Howard are a very dull couple in most ways, except that Howard, ordinary man that he is, has an extraordinary photographic memory. He decides to enter a game show with the aim of winning the top prize. Through Mrs. Shirley's eyes, the reader is treated to observations -- humorous for their naivete -- that hint that there is something squirming in Mr. Shirley's gifted brain, while the first observer herself remains completely unaware of the implications of his disturbing behavior. To her, they were quirky; to the reader, they were portentous. Burgess made his narrator so vivid, I easily believed that she could be oblivious to what was so plainly obvious to the reader. I saw the novel as comic brilliance, and I never stopped thinking about it down through the years. Whenever I think of a fine example of a first-person narrative, this is the novel that comes to mind. It was the trick Burgess pulled of sharing information with his reader that provided a long view and a bigger picture, while the simple-minded Janet missed it altogether. I had to read this again, so I bought it recently, one of those nifty trade paperbacks. It turned out to be as good as my not-so-photographic memory told me it was. In fact, I found it a better read the second time, because I knew what I was looking for. The narrative bears the distinct Burgess brand of originality, but in this case is also easily accessible and deceptively simple.

In one scene in the story, the prize money has climbed to the grand sum. During the live broadcast, at this critical juncture, Howard appears to have given an incorrect answer. But Howard, so confident in his abilities, recommends that a bit of research would prove his answer correct. Janet is watching from a seat in the live audience, and tells us, "Then there was a kind of chaos. You got the idea that people were wildly ringing people up on the phone, and that other people were wildly going through big books somewhere at the back of the studio, and meanwhile the organist, who I also met and I thought was not a very nice sort of man, was playing sort of spooky music on his electric organ to fill up the time."

This is a very good book, with a simple tone befitting its understated comic flair. If you're a Burgess fan and you've not read this one, you should treat yourself to this gem of a story. Aside from the darkly comic voice, the plot itself is too original to miss.
_________________________________

[Descending Angel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my first burgess , I dodged A Clockwork Orange because I've seen the film so many times. I like the idea of the book and it stated out well even if I wasn't floored, I was enjoying it, but it took a nose dive into cramming everything in the last bit of the story and it didn't feel earnt or like it fitted.

[Daria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historia wydaje się prosta i na swój sposób jest prosta: Janet żyje spokojnie, chociaż może niezbyt dostatnie, ze swoim mężem Howardem aż do dnia, gdy Howard wygrywa pieniądze. Później ma ich jeszcze więcej. Ten uśmiech losu okazuje się jednak znacząco wpływać na ich życie.

Narracja jest bardzo charakterystyczna dla Burgessa - ma ten swój specyficzny styl pisania, postacie czasem dość nietypowo reagują na pewne sytuacje, jest coś na kształt parodii i gdzieś tam autor, wykorzystując tutaj głównie postać Howarda i dialog między nim a Janet, przekazuje nam swoje przemyślenia. Osobiście to uwielbiam.

Historia nie jest szczególnie długa, nie jest zbyt skomplikowana, a pod koniec wszystko nabiera interesującego obrotu. Postacie są na swój sposób wyraziste, ale mimo wszystko dalej, jak wspominałam, całość jest prosta, może nawet za prosta, a szkoda, bo to przeobrażanie bohaterów naprawdę miało potencjał i myślę, że wiele zadziwiających, zaskakujących scen można było dać w ciągu trwania książki. Polecam siadać do niej, nie mając żadnych konkretnych oczekiwań.

[Anthony · Rating 1 out of 5]

At only 216 pages it still came in as a very long read. A story contrived in order to preach about the fallacies of modern life. As dull as dishwasher water,very boring and predictable.
Extremely disappointed as I do love Burgess. Check out "a clockwork orange" or "the doctor is sick" as better examples of Burgess' undoubted talent.

[Cemre · Rating 1 out of 5]

1961 yılında tüketim toplumuna bir eleştiri olarak addedebilecek bu romanı yazan Burgess, mevcut durumu görse ne yapardı diye düşünmeden edemedim.

Ben romandan keyif almadım ne yazık ki, bu nedenle de fazla bir şey yazmak istemiyorum.

[Timothy Salamon · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Burgess after reading "A Clockwork Orange" in high school. An easy read with an entertaining narrative and interesting story. I'll definitely have to read more of his stuff!

[Davit Oniani · Rating 5 out of 5]

63/200 - "ცალი ხელით ტაშისკვრა"

1961 წელს გამოიცა ფსევდონიმით, ჯოზეფ კელით. ბერჯესის გამორჩეული ნაწარმოებია.

ვიკიპედიის მიხედვით, ბერჯესი გაბრაზებული ყოფილა მისი თანამედროვე დასავლური განათლებისა და კულტურის დეგრადაციით და ამ წიგნით "ამხილა".

უცნაური წიგნია. თავიდან მომწონდა წიგნის კონცეფცია და სიუჟეტური ხაზიც მიზიდავდა, მაგრამ ბოლოში უკვე მთავარი პერსონაჟის, ჰაუარდ შირლის გამანიაკება და გასადისტება ჩემთვის ცოტა უცნაური იყო. გასაგები, მაგრამ უცნაური.

წიგნის ბოლო ოცდაათი გვერდი "კოლექციონერის" ვაიბებს ასხივებდა, უბრალოდ იმ განსხვავებით, რო გამარჯვებული ქალი აღმოჩნდება.

ბერჯესი მრავალმხრივი კაცი ყოფილა და ეს მის შემოქმედებასაც ეტყობა. ამ წიგნში რამდენიმე ჟანრია გაერთიანებული და თან საკმაოდ კარგად. ნაწარმოების არცერთი ნაწილი მოსაბეზრებელი არ არის და ეს, რა თქმა უნდა, ავტორის დამსახურებაა.

"კოლექციონერს" ჰგავს ბოლოში ძაან. თან რაღაც I'll be back დასასრულია. ფაულზთან კლეგი მიგვანიშნებს რო კოლექციას ახალ გოგოს შემატებს და აქ ჯენეტ შირლი მიგვანიშნებს, რო ისი��� მზადაა მისი კოლექცია (დაბრედილი ქმრები) გაამდიდროს, საჭიროების შემთხვევაში.

ძაან ბევრ წიგნს ვუწერ ხუთ ვარსკვლავს, მარა რასაც ვკითხულობ უმეტესობა ცვეტში კარგია. აქ სათქმელიც კარგად მოვიდა ჩემამდე და ამბავიც საინტერესო იყო.

[Sibel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5
Modern klasikler serimi tamamladığımda sıra atlamadan en baştan başladım okumaya. Ara ara çoook sıkıldıklarım da denk geldi böyle yakın zamanda pek okumayacağım kitalarda.
Sıra bu kitaba geldiğinde biraz gerdi beni otomatik portakal’dan dolayı. AMA okumaya bi başladım ve bırakamadım. Bi beklentim olmayan kitaplardan böyle hoşlanınca çok seviniyorum ahjshjekh

Zavallı howard 🥀
Dehşete kapıldım ama sevdim ✋🏻

“... belki de dert edilecek bir gelecek yoktur. Yakın bir zamanda kimse için gelecek kalmayabilir. Dünya kötü.
-kötü olan dünya değil, dünyadaki insanlar.”

[Zencefil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sanki 200 sayfa değil de çok daha uzunmuş gibi geldi. Sade, akıcı bir kitap denilebilir aslında. Ama bilemiyorum sıradan, tahmin edilebilir geldi; merak etmeyerek okudum. 61 yılında yazılmış bir kitaba haksızlık ediyorum belki de. Az da olsa etkilenmiş olsam daha yüksek verebilirdim, bu haliyle ancak ortalama bulabildim. Yine de okunabilir.

[Zoltan Telepoczki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kiváló

[Ioana Lily Balas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does money buy happiness? Among many of life’s big questions, that is one that Anthony Burgess seeks to answer.

Janet and Howard are a regular English couple, doing everyday English things, living in their council house salary by salary. Howard realises that his photographic memory could give them a wealthy lifestyle and he ends up winning a game show based on memorisation only. And with some crafty data gathering on horse races, he manages to multiply the sum 1000x ful, thus securing them the possibility to embark on a journey of treats and carefree expenses.

The plot takes place in the 60s, and definitely addresses things such as the TV culture, where the silver screen becomes the central piece in a household, the focal point around which the family gathers. Consumerism, advertisements, small town gossip all play a part in themes addressed. They are not criticised, rather approached comically and Burgess does an amazing job at keeping the story light hearted and fun, yet challenging the reader on the bigger questions when away from the material.

The story is told by Janet, Howard’s wife, a naive and simple woman without much education, who would be perfectly content with the state of things. I wondered throughout what he role was in Howard’s eyes, she seems more of a companion as a pet rather than a life partner. He lets herself be dragged, directed, pushed, because Howard takes care of her and loves her. He is definitely the one responsible for their future and their stance as a unit.

I have previously only read ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Burgess and loved it, and i didn’t know how I would get on with his comical books which is the main bulk of his work. Terrific, just terrific. There is an exploration of morality, philosophy, every day life, and a really refreshing outlook provided by Janet. Her tone is playful, chilled out, and she just takes you on a whirlwind of adventure that you can’t help but smile with her. Don’t get me wrong, she is a strong woman, and you definitely get that insight into her too, but she isn’t bleak or serious as some people around her but genuinely aims to enjoy life.

Fantastic read, and one that cements Burgess as one of my favourite authors.

[Rüveyda Gürcan · Rating 4 out of 5]

...

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main appeal for most of One Hand Clapping is the interesting narrative. While "slow moving" for 3 quarters of the book, the main character Janet has an interesting voice and is written as though she's talking to you as a friend. She's quite likable and therefore makes the seinfeld-esque story about nothing compelling. It's essentially a story of a man (Janet's husband Howard) who sets out on a mission to figure out whether or not life is worth living in a very Albert Camus sort of fashion. It's a critique of society, pop culture, capitalism and comfortability.

If you have the hardcover 1970's version of this book (with the plain white cover and black lettering) DO NOT READ THE INSIDE FOLD SUMMARY! It gives away part of the ending, and it would have been a much more enthralling read had I not known that was coming.

[Stephen Gallup · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this at some point after finishing school, feeling a continuing admiration for the author of A Clockwork Orange and wondering if his other titles were as good. The basic story of this one has stuck with me over the years, as have a few specific scenes. It deserves more attention than I think it got.

[shanghao]

'It takes two hands to clap' is one of my lil bro's catchphrases, always used in the wrong context but always amusingly funny.

[Timeja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Értékvesztett, kiüresedett, unalmas, semmilyen mind a főszereplő, mind az élet, amit bemutat Burgess. 'Egy hülye pics@ locsogásai' is lehetne a cím, a könyv első fele alapján, ami miatt félbe akartam hagyni az egészet. Viszketett is a tenyerem, szerettem volna, ha az enyém csattan a nő arcán. Túlzottan valóságos volt a nő hangja (ráadásul férfi író szólaltatta meg, ami önmagában is mindig izgalmas). Felbosszantott a tudatlanságával, naivitásával, a házasságtörésével, és a "tipikus újgazdag" hülyeségeivel. Eszembe jutott róla egy ismerősöm, aki úgy ment el (elvileg) Szicíliába, hogy azt sem tudta, hova ment és az hol van, itthon irdatlan baromságokat hordott össze, hogy hol volt, fogggalma nem volt semmiről. (Azóta sem tudjuk, hol járt valójában - de ő sem.)
Ez a nő dettó, nem tudja értékelni, amije van, hülyeségeket csinál, felszínes, tájékozatlan... Elegem lett, és a házfoglalók és egyéb léhűtők végképp kiborítottak, szóval nem lehet mondani, hogy hidegen hagyott a könyv, nagyon is sok érzelmet ébresztett bennem, de ezek sajnos a könyv első felében nem szolgálták a szórakozásomat és kikapcsolódásomat.
A könyv témáját illetően nem volt előzetes információm, de csak kíváncsi lettem a végére, és jól tettem, hogy nem hagytam félbe. Volt egy megérzésem, hogy csak lesz ebben valami családon belüli erőszak a cím miatt...
Sajnos azt kell mondjam, túl érzékletesen és hitelesen írta le Burgess az 'üresfejű liba' szócikkhez tartozó történetet, és engem ez nagyobb részben felbosszantott, és minimális részben szórakoztatott. Önismereti szempontból érdekes volt, mennyire ki tudok akadni a butaságon (tényleg a plafonra másztam!), de az érdektelenségen és sekélyességen még inkább.

[Bria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5. Not unenjoyable to read, but the ending was a bit drawn out after watching it coming for so long.

[Raunit · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not close to A Clockwork Orange of course but still extremely enjoyable. I couldn't put it down once I started reading it and of course Anthony Burgess's narration was so warm!

[Zakky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of his own book, Anthony Burgess said: “The book tries to encapsulate a period and an ethos now dead, and I cannot think of it as much more than a jeu dashed off to make a hundred pounds or so. But in Eastern Europe it had a late success. It was regarded as a condemnation of money-making, a debased culture, the whole capitalist Western way of life, than to endure which it would be better to be dead. It was adapted for television in Warsaw and turned into a stage musical in Budapest. It was one of the two books for which I was known in the old Soviet bloc. Needless to say, what money it has earned there remains sequestered.’”

When reading this book, I didn’t interpret the book as a clear-cut condemnation of consumerism, technology, and America’s influence in Europe (even if that’s what Burgess was intending to portray). I saw Howard’s character, especially in his relationship with Janet, as a criticism of the people who condemn consumerism and use a broad brush to paint the “modern day” as an intellectually dead, soulless, consumerist hellscape. I felt that the juxtaposition of Janet’s character with Howard’s and her inability to understand what he was thinking showed just how illogical and disproportionate his criticisms were: she was able to have the same criticisms of society yet find a middle ground without taking drastic but ultimately meaningless actions — how would putting one “boring” poem in the paper shock the world into understanding?

I felt that the ending, with her fighting back, killing him, and moving on with her life with her next love, demonstrated that his way of becoming a “martyr” for his values was, in effect, absolutely meaningless. Life went on. You can see this as either a continued criticism of modern society (“We’re too far gone, there’s nothing any of us can do”) or as an indication that her philosophy (“It’s not the world that’s bad, but the people”) was right all along. I felt that her embracing of almost a libertine philosophy is portrayed in a neutral-to-positive light — I don’t think her vague hints towards maybe killing Red is any worse (or more negatively portrayed) than Howard’s planned murder-suicide.

I think an interesting topic for discussion would be that he planned to murder her if she didn’t go along with the suicide pact — how does the attempted murder affect his image as an anti-consumerist martyr we’re supposed to embrace? How is that any better than her?

What struck me most about Burgess’ review is not how harsh and dismissive he is about his book — which is a quite compelling read, even if the characters and plot are relatively simple — but that he believes this book is no longer relevant. It seems like you can’t go a day without hearing thinkpieces about millennials or cell phones or how nobody reads books anymore. I think that as long as there’s a society, there will be people criticizing the new generation for being too vapid, too materialistic, too invested in technology, not appreciative of the old authors and the old way of life, etc. In essence, I think there will always be Howards.

Aside from all of that, the plot is not fully unpredictable, but it’s still thrilling building up to the attempted murder-suicide. Even if you aren’t interested in the themes, I think it’s a fun read! I do wish we’d heard more of the poem, but I enjoyed the detail of her falling asleep while her husband reads it — it made a more effective impact that way.