No killer punch
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You don't need to read the bio to realise that Horowitz is trying his hand at a new genre. In fact, I'm pretty sure that The Killing Joke was originally pitched as one of those two-part, Sunday night comic dramas that amuse without taxing the imagination.
As a novel requiring you to invest more than two hours of your life, it doesn't cut it. Horowitz can write moderately well, but the characters are all predictable stereotypes. The neurotic actor, the brutish builders, the exasperated ex-girlfriend and her shallow-but-successful new boyfriend, etc. It's ironic that the hero finds himself pursued by stereotypes, but if the writer saw the irony then he failed to make anything of it.
The plot lurches awkwardly from event to event, and eventually from realism to surrealism, with very little rationale or cohesion. The surreal element is unexplained, but not really developed. Horowitz wants a surreal novel, but doesn't have the discipline to go beyond the unreal, which isn't the same thing.
It's hard to imagine that Horowitz wrote more than one draft, and the ending proves that he eventually got bored with the book. An unpublished author would have had the manuscript thrown back at him. It's amusing enough in places - hence the 3-star rating - but overall it's half-baked.
There are too many loose ends, despite the fact that Horowitz tries to tie a lot of them up on a rushed last page - one that reads like he scribbled it on the back of an envelope while the courier was standing in his doorway waiting to take the manuscript to a publisher who had run out of patience.
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More than a joke
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I've always associated Anthony Horowitz with rather serious subjects such as Foyles War on TV. However, this book breaks into completely new ground. It's stimulating, imaginative, exciting and funny all at the same time. Your view of the world is constantly challenged and it helps open your mind to a host of possibilities in normal day life. This is helped through setting the rather surreal events in the very normal setting of north London and East Anglia.
Absolutley brilliant!
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Original and entertaining... but slightly disappointing!
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I got this book for Christmas and had specifically asked for it as I've love Horowitz's previous books. However, I'm feeling mild disappointment. It starts off well, and ends well however I do feel its slightly long winded in between. There are some hilarious moments, especially with the nuns in the subway and the rabbis chasing the hero and heroine through the streets of Oxford. I also loved the Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman - very clever! However, by about 3/4 I was experiencing disappointment. I was expecting it to be a hilarious story full of laugh out loud jokes, thats what seemed to be promised by the reviews, but I didnt find myself in that situation at all! A couple of times I smiled wryly but apart from that nothing much else. (I was also slightly disturbed by the scene set in the fun house) However I do think the ending was quite ingenious and certainly had a little chuckle to myself. The Killing Joke is certainly not without humour but I think perhaps it was just too long winded, and at times I felt it lagging. Overall I give this book 4/5 as it is an enjoyable read, due to it being such an original and clever book.
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A great read!
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The Killing Joke is the first book I've read by Anthony Horowitz but it will undoubtedly not be the last.
My first impression was that it would be a comical read. It turned out to be much more. There were many parts which made me chuckle but within it lied something much more sinister. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and literally could not put it down. It is well plotted and unpredictable. I recommend it to anyone and it is already being passed around my friends.
Courtney, 14
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A thoroughly enjoyable and imaginative read!
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Well written and a real page turner. I bought this book on impulse as I liked the unique concept behind the story, about following a joke back to it's source. This is a comical detective story, with a slightly sinister undertone. Guy Fletcher hears a joke in a pub and decides to hunt it down to its source, in order to pass the time whilst in-between jobs. His journey takes him across the country, and he meets a wide variety of people and his perfect soul mate. However things start going wrong when a 'secret organisation' stumbles upon his enquiries and puts a plan into action to stop him. Things start off pretty harmless, but then things get worse... explosions, deaths, murder, and various attempts on Guy's on life all add to this action packed adventure story. All stops are pulled out to prevent Guy reaching the answer to his question. What is this big secret that they do not want discovered? It's big enough to turn Guy's life into turmoil that's for sure, as he's wanted by the police, is on the run, and everything seems to be laughing at him on the way. With an Englishman and Irishman and a Scotsman following him around and watching his every move, the book keep me guessing all the way through. Filled with a few classics that everyone will have had a laugh at before - Guy really does find a fly in his soup! You keep imagining which way things are going to turn, and are constantly surprised until the very end.
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