Fantastic
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It took me 6 months to read this book, I started the first and second chapter and put it down 5 and a half months later I picked it back up and didn't put it back down untill I had finished.
It was very hard to get into but once in, it was factual, very discriptive ,gruesome and disturbing at times, this is not my favourite book and its not the most talked about book but it is deffinatley the best piece of literature I have ever read. A facinating and somewhat eye opening read.
Utterly brilliant!
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a little truth a lot of fiction
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Having known baldy paul{blackledge}and most of the other Blackburn characters,i can say that this book has more than its fair share of outright lies.No coincidence that all the main players in the book are dead and unable to respond.For anybody looking for a great fictional story to read however,Fiennes weaves a very good tale and if you take it as fiction it is a rivetting story.
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Huge plot. Loads of characters. But is it true?
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The negatives:
As stated by most others: there are lots of characters in the story. I personally read quite fast so tend to skim names of characters. Not a good idea with this book!
It was hard to keep track of who was who, what they were doing, who they worked for.
The Positives:
As a story it is simply outstanding.
I remember the things that happened in the past and are woven into the plot. It gives a strange sense of being "behind the scenes" which can be uncomfortable with respect to the riots, drug dealing and "the underworld"
If you are reading this because you are considering buying the book, buy it. I know it is one of those books I will read again in a few years.
Bottom line:
I've avoided explaining the plot because it's huge. Suffice to say Hollywood would give it the tag line:
"You think you've lost everything but you're not sure. Can it get any worse?"
It does and it's hard reading at times.
If it's authenticity could be confirmed beyond all doubt, you will read the true story of a remarkable man.
Even with "embelishements", it's riveting.
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Looking into the lion's mouth
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Whilst reading this book, I was reminded of the (inanely stupid or ridiculously brave) man whose job at the circus is to put his head squarely in the mouth of a (presumably well-fed) lion. Why? Well the book itself is nothing short of magnificent. What at first feels like a sequence of unrelated vignettes suddenly knits together to form an impossibly linked insight into a tortured man's life. I chose to say impossibly as opposed to improbably here as throughout there are smatterings of true life events that only serve to reinforce this meld. And this is where I feel my head has (carefully) been placed within the book's own lion's mouth; for many, this fine line between the improbable and impossible will be hard to persevere with. Do you trust what is in front of you enough to suspend the belief that the claimed true life element of the book is nothing short of cynical ploy - after all, how can all these seemingly unconnected happenings coincide to shape the life of a poor, down and out man dying of cancer who has only 1 remaining photograph to prove his existence? Or, do you embrace the book and marvel at the bravery of a man who chose to confront, expose and even come to understand many of the dark, hidden evils that are prevalent upon our own doorsteps only to lose everything dear to him? There is no grey area with this book and this is borne out by the reviews on this page. You either believe it or you don't; after all the lion man doesn't take a bow for simply walking into the cage with the lion - he either gets booed for not going in at all or he gets plaudits for clearing the lion's saliva from his brow. I for one chose to keep my head firmly in the lion's mouth right until the very end and found it was one hell of a rewarding read.
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Memories
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Flicking through the site I came across this book. It's one that I read many years ago now, but the plot was that impressive, I can still remember it all - love the way Fiennes weaves in fact with the fiction eg, the Broadwater Farm estate riots - a masterful thriller.
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