Startlingly good
|
|
The first big surprise is the quality of Newman's stiletto-sharp prose. Then there's the dazzling range of settings and issues woven into the narrative, bespeaking an immense amount of diligent research. It's terrific, timely and very smart. More people should read it!
|
|
|
Yes! More like this, please.
|
|
A novel that feels like it's set in the world we actually inhabit. Full of the shifty dislocations and distortions of a world in which capital can cross all borders but people can't. There are a few complaints, mostly stylistic: dizzying switches of tense and time, and what the hell is wrong with speech marks, man? Granted, the plot is gripping enough for these to become minor quibbles, and the stylistic idiosyncrasies are actually pulled off well enough that I stopped noticing after a while, but still - it's not easy on the eye. And there are moments when political points are made too laboriously at the expense of flow, but this is more than forgivable considering Newman's not-insignificant feat of narrative engineering that weaves together the lives of characters dispersed around the globe with the powerful motif of the human consequences of corporate globalisation, yet remains intimate and sensitive. Is the plot contrived? Sure, very, but not so far as to be impossible. Think 'Babel' - an appropriate analogy since the short cut-scene nature of the writing felt closer to watching a film than any novel I can call to mind. Heartily recommended.
|
|
Marvellous and thought provoking
|
I first looked at this with trepidation thinking that it was probably a bit too high brow for my liking. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the readability, it has a good timbre and flows really melodiously (the beautiful bit of pathos about the marmoset comes across as pure Newman)
very enjoyable and highly thought provoking, yes it probably is a bit far fetched in places, but this just adds to the book, and makes it more accessible to rookie anti-capitalist environmentalists like myself. I would lend my copy to everyone I know, but alas it's been signed by the author so is a bit too precious to let it out of my hands. Beg, borrow or steal a copy!
|
|
|
Unmissable
|
Excellent book! Newman has written an engrossing and intelligent novel following Chano Salgado, his son Daniel and his brother Evan Hatch, as they meet each other after years apart. Chano has spent his life in Mexico at the sharp end (the painfully exploited end) of global capitalism, while Evan, adopted from Mexico by an English couple as a baby, has forged a career in PR at the other end of the scale, working for multi-nationals, helping them to bulldoze their way through countries and governments. Newman eloquently describes the way that the corporate bourgeoisie dominate and manipulate anybody & anything that they can potentially squeeze a profit from.
Chano's teenage son Daniel, fostered in Costa Rica, sets out to find his family roots and his journey takes him halfway round the world, wherein Newman is able to examine the plight of immigrants to the UK, and then onwards to Seattle to the 1999 protests against the WTO.
The scope of this novel is huge, but Newman carries it off admirably. I was already aware of many of the issues he highlights here, but his writing brings the human element to life
|
|
|
fantastic anti-globalisation novel
|
|
This is a fantastic novel from the comedian Rob Newman, it is much more mature than his previous books, with much more depth to it. Try it if you liked No Logo or anything of that genre, or if you have any interest in Mexico or world politics. Try it also if you just enjoy quality fiction with well written characters and a great plot. David Baddiel could never write like this!
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada