Status
Available
Collection
Genres
Publication
Riverhead Books (2005), 288 pages
Description
The national bestseller -- a shocking psychological thriller -- by the award-winning author of The Beach.
User reviews
LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
This book/puzzle comes together into a fascinating story with genius writing. If you appreciate an intricate story or memorable writing, this is a good choice. You're just as well off, also, going in without any knowledge of what you're getting yourself into. If you can manage this, the story will
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strike you as you read as if the characters are in front of you, telling them their actions and feelings in person. The book comes across as frighteningly real, and is unforgettable as a result. Show Less
LibraryThing member acheekymonkey
The structure of four storylines that intersect isn't as strong as it needs to be for this story to work. Garland is a talented writer, but this isn't his best.
LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
Spare and spartan, and very clever. It begins in a hotel room, as a man waits for a mob boss and his henchmen to arrive. A deal's about to be done, but it goes wrong. Lives are taken.
And from there, an explosion - not real, but metaphysical. Everyone's life is examined, their reasons for being who
A Tesseract is the three dimensional representation of a four dimensional object, like a net diagram of a cube folded out suggests the presence of three dimensions, not two. The book is exactly like that, and after the success of "The Beach," this is just brilliant.
And from there, an explosion - not real, but metaphysical. Everyone's life is examined, their reasons for being who
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they are and what they are, and why they are, all being contested.A Tesseract is the three dimensional representation of a four dimensional object, like a net diagram of a cube folded out suggests the presence of three dimensions, not two. The book is exactly like that, and after the success of "The Beach," this is just brilliant.
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LibraryThing member LadyBlossom
This book got me going right from the first chapter, it kept me engrossed right up until the end.
LibraryThing member fingerpost
A quite forgettable book about people being drawn into crime.
LibraryThing member lenoreva
An interweaving of 3 stories, of which only the 2nd really interested me (Rosa and her family) - fortunatly, that made up the bulk of the book.
LibraryThing member Mouseklix
Intriguing non-linear plot line that gradually leads you in. Good character development.
LibraryThing member verenka
I read this book on the weekend and although I quite liked it, it didn't live up to the Beach. It reads like those "episodenfilme" (i've checked, there's no english word for them) in which you have several main characters. their stories are told independently of one another until at some point all
reading about the characters i felt i hear just enough about them to want to know more about their background and want an end to their respective stories. The ending is unsatisfying in that way.
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their stories meet and intertwine.reading about the characters i felt i hear just enough about them to want to know more about their background and want an end to their respective stories. The ending is unsatisfying in that way.
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LibraryThing member jayne_charles
It must have been really hard to follow 'The Beach' - one of my favourite novels of all time. This one is also set in Asia, but has a very different feel; darker and more cryptic.
There was an incident quite early on in the book, illustrative of a tyrannical landowner, so harrowing that it imprinted
There was an incident quite early on in the book, illustrative of a tyrannical landowner, so harrowing that it imprinted
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itself on my memory. It remains there, quite vivid, despite the books I have read in the meantime. Beyond this point I found the plot diffuse to the point of incoherence, and whilst I could sense a lot of profound points being made, I wasn't able to get at them. That single scene early on is the abiding memory I have of this book and accounts for all the stars I have given it in the rating. Show Less
LibraryThing member PilgrimJess
How do you follow up on a hugely successful first novel?
This is the question that must of faced Alex Garland after the success of his book The Beach and on the whole I feel that this book is a fairly successful attempt and in large parts that's down to the differences rather than the
This book revolves around three people whom on the face of it have nothing in common but whose paths cross on one eventful night. We have a British sailor waiting to meet a vicious gangster, a middle-class doctor at home putting her children to bed whilst awaiting her husband's return from work and a homeless street urchin.
The story is told in three separate vignettes as each main character are fleshed out and in many ways it is a sort of horror story where the monsters are real people,Don Pepe the ruthless gangster and estate owner, the ex-lover who scolds a child with acid out of jealousy and a father/society who has abandoned a child to fend for himself in the middle of a sprawling city.
At first the divergent strands of the book are a little confusing but the author paints such a vivid picture that you feel impelled to carry on reading until the brutal climax. The whole tale takes place over on night in Manila and in many respects this is where the book falls down IMHO. The climax when it comes feels rushed and overly contrived but on the whole it is a very good attempt at a second novel but does suffer in comparison with the first.
This is the question that must of faced Alex Garland after the success of his book The Beach and on the whole I feel that this book is a fairly successful attempt and in large parts that's down to the differences rather than the
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similarities.It would have been so easy for Garland to just write another travelogue book based on young backpackers but this is very different in feel despite starting in a run down hotel room as did The Beach.This book revolves around three people whom on the face of it have nothing in common but whose paths cross on one eventful night. We have a British sailor waiting to meet a vicious gangster, a middle-class doctor at home putting her children to bed whilst awaiting her husband's return from work and a homeless street urchin.
The story is told in three separate vignettes as each main character are fleshed out and in many ways it is a sort of horror story where the monsters are real people,Don Pepe the ruthless gangster and estate owner, the ex-lover who scolds a child with acid out of jealousy and a father/society who has abandoned a child to fend for himself in the middle of a sprawling city.
At first the divergent strands of the book are a little confusing but the author paints such a vivid picture that you feel impelled to carry on reading until the brutal climax. The whole tale takes place over on night in Manila and in many respects this is where the book falls down IMHO. The climax when it comes feels rushed and overly contrived but on the whole it is a very good attempt at a second novel but does suffer in comparison with the first.
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LibraryThing member Daftboy1
I had high hopes for this book but was disappointed.
It kept jumping, I really wanted to enjoy this story set in Manila but just finished it confused and let down.
It kept jumping, I really wanted to enjoy this story set in Manila but just finished it confused and let down.
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
The setup of this novel seems a bit of a stretch – wavering over onto the side of the improbable. However, the actual rendering takes us on a journey filled with very believable characters caught up in a gritty tale set in the Philippines. Not exactly sure what Garland is trying to say with this
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one, but it is an exciting thrill ride structured a bit like _Run Lola Run_. Show Less
LibraryThing member LindaLiu
It was alright. Atmospheric and lots of different lives crashing together at the end - the tesseract of the title. Wow, took me exactly a year to read this, not because it was hard to read or unintersting - just not my cup of tea.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1998
Other editions
The Tesseract by Alex Garland (Paperback)
The Tesseract by Alex Garland (Ebook)