If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things

Rating:
Summary: habit-forming prose poetry
Review: a remarkable book written in remarkably beautiful vignettes that are so potent alone that they become as addictive as black tar heroine by page three; one isn't unhappy to be hooked.

Rating:
Summary: Superb, excellent, brilliant
Review: Geez, when was the last time I sat up and read a book in one night? This book truly held me in its grasp from the very first sentence. McGregor's writing is so poetic and beautifully composed that I have to deem this one a classic for many years to come.

Rating:
Summary: hated it
Review: I did not like this book and didn't get very far before I quit. Just not my kind of book stylistically and I can't even describe why. It didn't feel solid enough, if that makes any sense. Too much like poetry, and bad poetry at that. Too much diddling around, and no plot. Too strained. Too pretentious.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Book
Review: I don't even know where to begin with this story. Normally a book that goes into great detail about minute things drives me crazy, but this book had me from the beginning. The author's view of even the smallest things makes you look at the world in a whole different light. Have a box of tissues handy for the end of this one, you will be crying long after the final page!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting story
Review: I enjoyed this, but then it's "my kind of book"...the characters are all given a life, and reality...solid story, solid characters...not too much else...happy as a clam!

Rating:
Summary: Original Bliss
Review: McGregor's debut is quite astoundingly good. There's been a few naff reviews chucked its way recently, pointing up how winning the odd literary award taints future judgement of a book. If Nobody...'s quite the modernist novel - outwardly 'plotless', inwardly rich. Nothing happens, while everything happens. The writing is quite crisp and exact - I gather McGregor has a liking for Raymond Carver and John McGahern, but maybe also A.L. Kennedy (the early work) and Tobias Wolff.

If Nobody Speaks...is a top book. Considering the ammount of flack that it likely took at the hands of prospective agents/publishers (alas, it's not genre-fiction or plot-driven and there are no car crashes or rogue nuclear weapons) his sucess must be all the sweeter. I wonder what they're thinking now? Hope the next goes as well, Jon. If you liked this novel in an unnamed Midlands city (Nottingham) try an earlier example of a modernist tale set in the same location - B.S. Johnson's The Unfortunates.

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it!
Review: Not at all what I expected, this interesting book is a lot of things, but the word "different" comes to mind first. Highly original in its conception, and a risky move if you ask me for the author, he somehow brings it off. Would also recommend two other books I've recently read which are totally unique: BIRTH OF VENUS and Jackson McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD.

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it!
Review: Not at all what I expected, this interesting book is a lot of things, but the word "different" comes to mind first. Highly original in its conception, and a risky move if you ask me for the author, he somehow brings it off. Would also recommend two other books I've recently read which are totally unique: BIRTH OF VENUS and Jackson McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD.

Rating:
Summary: Ethereal
Review: The strength of this book lies in its profound attention to detail. The reader is able to place him/herself directly in the story due to the author's subtle choice of which details to include and which to leave out. The writing is nothing short of masterful; it's simple, but by no stretch of the imagination is it simplistic, as another reviewer would have us believe. I picked up a copy in an English bookstore in Prague because the title caught my eye, and I was instantly hooked. I feel sorry for the reviewers who have given this a low rating due to being bored while reading. I suppose those readers should remain in their fast-paced MTV-music-video lifestyle, but life's little details will pass them by.

This book is definitely worth taking a look at. Don't miss the connection between the title and the plot. The whole point is that nobody spoke of the things that happened so nobody understands the remarkability of these events except the reader. Truly profound.

Rating:
Summary: Ethereal
Review: The strength of this book lies in its profound attention to detail. The reader is able to place him/herself directly in the story due to the author's subtle choice of which details to include and which to leave out. The writing is nothing short of masterful; it's simple, but by no stretch of the imagination is it simplistic, as another reviewer would have us believe. I picked up a copy in an English bookstore in Prague because the title caught my eye, and I was instantly hooked. I feel sorry for the reviewers who have given this a low rating due to being bored while reading. I suppose those readers should remain in their fast-paced MTV-music-video lifestyle, but life's little details will pass them by.

This book is definitely worth taking a look at.