Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Vintage Digital (2011), 402 pages
Description
A powerful contemporary novel set in London from a master of literary fiction. London, the week before Christmas, 2007. Over seven days we follow the lives of seven major characters: a hedge fund manager trying to bring off the biggest trade of his career; a professional footballer recently arrived from Poland; a young lawyer with little work and too much time to speculate; a student who has been led astray by Islamist theory; a hack book-reviewer; a schoolboy hooked on skunk and reality TV; and a Tube train driver whose Circle Line train joins these and countless other lives together in a daily loop. With daring skill, the novel pieces together the complex patterns and crossings of modern urban life. Greed, the dehumanising effects of the electronic age and the fragmentation of society are some of the themes dealt with in this savagely humorous book. The writing on the wall appears in letters ten feet high, but the characters refuse to see it -- and party on as though tomorrow is a dream. Sebastian Faulks probes not only the self-deceptions of this intensely realised group of people, but their hopes and loves as well. As the novel moves to its gripping climax, they are forced, one by one, to confront the true nature of the world they inhabit.… (more)
Media reviews
...a compelling tale of contemporary London.
User reviews
LibraryThing member TheoClarke
A positively heroic attempt to write a satiric roman a clef that explores contemporary London, thrillers, the radicalism of Islamic youth, the ethics of high finance, modern literarure, psychosis, television, virtual reality, porn, and football. All this and much more is examined within the bounds
Inevitably, some elements of such a complex novel work better than others. The description of the infrastructure of sub-prime lending, hedge funds, and financial speculation is described lucidly and generates an engaging plot but John Veals, the banker who engineers all this is too thinly portrayed to have much reality. Conversely, Hassan al Rashid is drawn sympathetically with depth but the contradictions inherent in Islam are flatly unconvincing. For all its flaws, however, this is a thoroughly enjoyable novel filled with easter eggs. For me the defining moment in my reading was the point when the recurrent motif of the selfish cyclist becomes Chekov's gun. That kind of referential detail tells me enough about Faulks' commitment to this project to know that even if the reader realises only part of the work's richness that reader is enjoying a feast.
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of a single week in December 2007. At first I thought that Faulks was remarkable for creating so many diverse credible characters until I realised that, as a middle-aged middle class white man who had even shared some of his physical landscape, I was likely to share his world view. In this novel, much of what Faulks does buttresses my preconceptions. He describes a milieu that is familar to me in way that is hugely entertaining but hardly provocative. I do not know if Gabriel Northwood, the impoverished young barrister is based on someone that Faulks knows, but he is a convincing recreation of more than one lawyer that I knew when they were that age. Likewise, I know drudges who escape into complex virtual worlds. We can also guess at some of the identies of the more public characters and institutions: DJ Taylor (R Tranter), Private Eye (The Toad), Costa Coffee (Pizza Palace), Charan Gill & Shaheen Unis (combined in Farooq al-Rashid).Inevitably, some elements of such a complex novel work better than others. The description of the infrastructure of sub-prime lending, hedge funds, and financial speculation is described lucidly and generates an engaging plot but John Veals, the banker who engineers all this is too thinly portrayed to have much reality. Conversely, Hassan al Rashid is drawn sympathetically with depth but the contradictions inherent in Islam are flatly unconvincing. For all its flaws, however, this is a thoroughly enjoyable novel filled with easter eggs. For me the defining moment in my reading was the point when the recurrent motif of the selfish cyclist becomes Chekov's gun. That kind of referential detail tells me enough about Faulks' commitment to this project to know that even if the reader realises only part of the work's richness that reader is enjoying a feast.
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LibraryThing member edwinbcn
A week in December is a novel which functions at different levels. Superficially, it describes the daily lives of seven characters in contemporary London in a great amount of detail. The amount of detail is so overwhelming, that it takes all of the reader's attention. At the same time, the reader
At a different level the enormous amount of detail in the novel works like a kind of source code. The seven characters in the novel become like characters in a virtual reality quest, in which the reader becomes an auctor, an actor and author at the same time. In an attempt to make sense of it all, the reader is persuaded to create a plot which brings the seven characters together. The most likely event would be a cataclysmic horror scenario, which might involve the terrorist, the tube train driver, and any combination of the other characters, perhaps even the Queen. Everything seems possible, except when Olya appears "in the flesh," almost at the end of the novel (p. 501). It is a little teaser. All connections are possible.
However, most characters live very disconnected lives. There are some connections, but they are work relations, such as between Jenni and Gabriel (legal), and Tranter and 'Rocker' (consultation). The most meaningful connections, family, friends are hollowed out. Only love can bring redemption, as in the end it does.
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is all too familiar with all these details, as they are the fabric of the everyday media reports we consume. The novel hold up a mirror of our time: high finance, terrorism, pornography, football, drugs, etc.At a different level the enormous amount of detail in the novel works like a kind of source code. The seven characters in the novel become like characters in a virtual reality quest, in which the reader becomes an auctor, an actor and author at the same time. In an attempt to make sense of it all, the reader is persuaded to create a plot which brings the seven characters together. The most likely event would be a cataclysmic horror scenario, which might involve the terrorist, the tube train driver, and any combination of the other characters, perhaps even the Queen. Everything seems possible, except when Olya appears "in the flesh," almost at the end of the novel (p. 501). It is a little teaser. All connections are possible.
However, most characters live very disconnected lives. There are some connections, but they are work relations, such as between Jenni and Gabriel (legal), and Tranter and 'Rocker' (consultation). The most meaningful connections, family, friends are hollowed out. Only love can bring redemption, as in the end it does.
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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
"You like reading, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Why?"
"Dunno. I s'pose it's an escape from the real world."
"But surely it's just the opposite," said Gabriel. "Books explain the real world. They bring you close to it in a way you could never manage in the course of the day."
"How do you mean?"
"People
It took me awhile to get through this book, but I think the fault was mostly my own. I was in the mood for something emotionally resonant, like Birdsong, Charlotte Gray or On Green Dolphin Street, but A Week in December is a much colder book. It's a satire of modern life, well done, but it does carry more than a whiff of old man crankiness. Is it possible to write a social satire with heart? Faulks does give a half-hearted try at the end; he's too good a writer to make every single one of his numerous story-arcs end in despair. And he writes fantastically well, so that his biting jabs at what is presented as the emptiness of modern life all hit their targets with wit and accuracy.
Set in London in 2007, the book follows a large cast of characters through their daily lives. There's a soulless investment banker plotting a big trade and a hopeful Jihadist. Would you like to guess which is the bad guy? There's also a bitter book critic, a disaffected young person, and an up and coming Polish football player, among many others, allowing Faulks to lampoon pretty much every facet of modern British society. The book warms up a bit in the final third, as though Faulks had, in the end, found it impossible to avoid all sympathy for his characters and the plot does heat up, but writing about an entirely irredeemable character in a three dimensional way does ultimately prove beyond even Sebastian Faulks's considerable skills.
"Yeah, I do."
"Why?"
"Dunno. I s'pose it's an escape from the real world."
"But surely it's just the opposite," said Gabriel. "Books explain the real world. They bring you close to it in a way you could never manage in the course of the day."
"How do you mean?"
"People
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never explain to you exactly what they think and feel and how their thoughts and feelings work, do they? They don't have time. Or the right words. But that's what books do. It's as though your daily life is a film in the cinema. It can be fun, looking at those pictures. But if you want to know what lies behind the flat screen you have to read a book. That explains it all."It took me awhile to get through this book, but I think the fault was mostly my own. I was in the mood for something emotionally resonant, like Birdsong, Charlotte Gray or On Green Dolphin Street, but A Week in December is a much colder book. It's a satire of modern life, well done, but it does carry more than a whiff of old man crankiness. Is it possible to write a social satire with heart? Faulks does give a half-hearted try at the end; he's too good a writer to make every single one of his numerous story-arcs end in despair. And he writes fantastically well, so that his biting jabs at what is presented as the emptiness of modern life all hit their targets with wit and accuracy.
Set in London in 2007, the book follows a large cast of characters through their daily lives. There's a soulless investment banker plotting a big trade and a hopeful Jihadist. Would you like to guess which is the bad guy? There's also a bitter book critic, a disaffected young person, and an up and coming Polish football player, among many others, allowing Faulks to lampoon pretty much every facet of modern British society. The book warms up a bit in the final third, as though Faulks had, in the end, found it impossible to avoid all sympathy for his characters and the plot does heat up, but writing about an entirely irredeemable character in a three dimensional way does ultimately prove beyond even Sebastian Faulks's considerable skills.
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LibraryThing member arianr
Sebastian Faulks' novel is about a dinner party. Or, it's about the week leading up to the dinner party and how all the characters are going through their week. The plot moves along the timeline with each chapter being devoted to one day. I found that device useful for keeping the story moving.
There seem to be two main plot lines. The first, which Faulks really seems most interested in, is a financial trade that, if successful, would net billions. Reading the details abut that, I kind of felt that I was reading the script of a Planet Money podcast. Lots about credit default swaps and chaos in the global banking system. It went on a little much. The second plot line is about a group of extremists plotting a terrorist attack. That plot line ends in a more realistic way, at least for me. Though I can see that others might find that ended a little too neatly.
Technically, I found the novel to be well-written. Though, with the multiplicity of characters, it's hard to feel that the story is fully formed and focused. Also, some of the characters are largely interchangeable. But the characters that Faulks tells in some detail - the barrister, the disgruntled literary critic - are memorable ones and ones that I wanted to see what happened too. I think the average rating of 3.5 stars is right on target. The book is better than average, but does have some weaknesses that kept it from getting a top mark in my estimation.
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There seem to be two main plot lines. The first, which Faulks really seems most interested in, is a financial trade that, if successful, would net billions. Reading the details abut that, I kind of felt that I was reading the script of a Planet Money podcast. Lots about credit default swaps and chaos in the global banking system. It went on a little much. The second plot line is about a group of extremists plotting a terrorist attack. That plot line ends in a more realistic way, at least for me. Though I can see that others might find that ended a little too neatly.
Technically, I found the novel to be well-written. Though, with the multiplicity of characters, it's hard to feel that the story is fully formed and focused. Also, some of the characters are largely interchangeable. But the characters that Faulks tells in some detail - the barrister, the disgruntled literary critic - are memorable ones and ones that I wanted to see what happened too. I think the average rating of 3.5 stars is right on target. The book is better than average, but does have some weaknesses that kept it from getting a top mark in my estimation.
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LibraryThing member Cariola
I have a particular fascination with books that move among multiple points of view, interweaving the characters' mini-plots into one well-crafted whole. Overall, Sebastian Faulks's latest novel, A Week in December, successfully does just that. With tongue firmly in cheek, but also with a good
As others have mentioned, two potentially disaster-creating characters--hedge fund owner John Veals and would-be terrorist Hassan al-Rashid--take center stage, and while their stories are indeed fascinating, they push the others' (some of which I found much more interesting) into the background. If the novel has one fault, it may be that there are a few too many threads in the plot, and, as a result, some characters get shorted. I wanted to know more about Jenni Fortune, the book-loving tube conductor who is addicted to an online role-playing game, and her blooming romance with barrister Gabriel Northwood; I wanted to learn more about Gabriel's schizophrenic brother Adam; about the senior al-Rashids; about Spike, the Polish soccer player, and his girlfriend, Olya, who poses for online porn.
The novel also runs the reader through the full emotional gamut. Perhaps the most satisfying moments for me were those that reflect on books, reading, academia, and the world of competitive literary prizes. Faulks is at his satirical best here. As an educator, I was particularly amused by a small incident, the book reviewer R. Tantor being hired (undercover, of course) by a school to write comments on students' papers, a way of appeasing the parents who complained that the teachers themselves couldn't even spell. And I was highly amused by Trantor's observation that technology has managed to make ignorance not only acceptable but an asset. He's a cranky old bird who gets his comeuppance in the end, but his perceptions are often right on target.
A Week in December is sharp, entertaining, and complex. It's one of those rare books that I will likely read again one day because I have the feeling that I might have missed something.
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amount of affection for all of his characters, Faulks gives us a well-rounded but satirical view of contemporary London society: the good, the bad, the ugly, the charming, and the misguided.As others have mentioned, two potentially disaster-creating characters--hedge fund owner John Veals and would-be terrorist Hassan al-Rashid--take center stage, and while their stories are indeed fascinating, they push the others' (some of which I found much more interesting) into the background. If the novel has one fault, it may be that there are a few too many threads in the plot, and, as a result, some characters get shorted. I wanted to know more about Jenni Fortune, the book-loving tube conductor who is addicted to an online role-playing game, and her blooming romance with barrister Gabriel Northwood; I wanted to learn more about Gabriel's schizophrenic brother Adam; about the senior al-Rashids; about Spike, the Polish soccer player, and his girlfriend, Olya, who poses for online porn.
The novel also runs the reader through the full emotional gamut. Perhaps the most satisfying moments for me were those that reflect on books, reading, academia, and the world of competitive literary prizes. Faulks is at his satirical best here. As an educator, I was particularly amused by a small incident, the book reviewer R. Tantor being hired (undercover, of course) by a school to write comments on students' papers, a way of appeasing the parents who complained that the teachers themselves couldn't even spell. And I was highly amused by Trantor's observation that technology has managed to make ignorance not only acceptable but an asset. He's a cranky old bird who gets his comeuppance in the end, but his perceptions are often right on target.
A Week in December is sharp, entertaining, and complex. It's one of those rare books that I will likely read again one day because I have the feeling that I might have missed something.
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LibraryThing member revslick
seven days where seven lives almost intersect with one massive slow motion character train wreck. The story development was like have a tooth extracted in slow motion or like watched a youtube video of a baby drooling - IN SLOW MOTION.
LibraryThing member johnwbeha
One of the seven key characters in this book is a book reviewer who loathes the modern "media darling" authors. Odd, because I would have included Sebastian Faulks in that coterie, until this book. It is beautifully plotted and crafted, with finely drawn characters, some of whom you will love, one
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of whom you will definitely hate (unless you are involved in high finance). But the overwhelming tone of the book is one of anger at what has happened in the UK, and especially London over the last two decades. Another reviewer identified London as the eighth key character, I agree and expect real Londoners, like me, to appreciate this really gripping read. Over the last few years I have quite a few "state of the nation" novels. In my view this is the best of them. Show Less
LibraryThing member SamSattler
John Veals and Hassan al-Rashid, two of the main characters from the new Sebastian Faulks novel, "A Week in December," have more in common than either man would care to admit. Veals is the stereotypical hedge fund manager, one who has already pocketed more money than he could spend in a hundred
Veals has hatched a plan that will make his hedge fun billions of dollars but will, in the process, destroy banks, jobs, the financial security of thousands of pensioners, and a significant portion of Africa’s agricultural production. It would be impossible for him to care less about the people who will lose jobs or starve to death because of his market manipulation. Hassan al-Rashid is a key player in a bomb plot to blow up one of London’s hospitals. He, too, is unconcerned about the innocent people he will destroy in the process of furthering his delusional political goal. " A Week in December" follows the progress of the Veals and al-Rashid plots for the week ending just before Christmas 2007, but these are only two of the book’s main plotlines.
Faulks also offers the improbable romance between Gabriel Northwood, a usually-out-of-work barrister, and Jennie Fortune, a young, mix-raced woman who happens to drive a train on the Circle Line portion of London’s underground. And there is book reviewer R. Tantor, a vicious little man whose main purpose in life seems to be nipping in the bud the potential success of as many debut novelists as possible. Tantor, one learns, cannot stand to see others gain the kind of success and attention his own novel failed to generate.
But these are just a handful of the characters and subplots Faulks uses to describe goings-on in the London of late 2007. There are more than a dozen other support characters, largely, but not limited to, family members and friends of the main characters (including even one Eastern European footballer brought in to play in the English Premier League), that allow Faust to expose the worst aspects of contemporary life in the United Kingdom. Along the way, he gives the reader satirical, but harsh, looks at the out-of-control greed governing the financial industry, the insanity that drives Islamist extremism, the utter stupidity of “reality” T.V., the ruinous effects of internet addiction, the failure of schools to educate, and the overriding pretentiousness of the super-rich. Frankly, there is not much to like about this version of British big city life.
Faulks gradually brings his characters and plots closer and closer together, building the tension as readers begin to wonder how it will all end. That device worked, perhaps too well, on me and I found myself racing through the final chapter (day seven) to learn what happens when the main plotlines finally converge. I say it worked “too well” because I found the book’s ending to be somewhat flat when compared to its buildup. My other quibble with the book concerns the number of pages Faulks used to detail the inner workings of the financial strategy devised by the book’s chief villain, John Veals. Faulks fell victim to the temptation of giving his readers too much information – and, as a result, may have lost some of those readers long before they finished the book.
I do wonder whether "A Week in December" will appeal more to its British readers or to its American Anglophile ones. It is, though, absolutely well worth the attention of both groups.
Rated at: 4.0
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lifetimes; al-Rashid is a young Muslim from Scotland who has been radicalized by one of the crazies who share his mosque. Veals has hatched a plan that will make his hedge fun billions of dollars but will, in the process, destroy banks, jobs, the financial security of thousands of pensioners, and a significant portion of Africa’s agricultural production. It would be impossible for him to care less about the people who will lose jobs or starve to death because of his market manipulation. Hassan al-Rashid is a key player in a bomb plot to blow up one of London’s hospitals. He, too, is unconcerned about the innocent people he will destroy in the process of furthering his delusional political goal. " A Week in December" follows the progress of the Veals and al-Rashid plots for the week ending just before Christmas 2007, but these are only two of the book’s main plotlines.
Faulks also offers the improbable romance between Gabriel Northwood, a usually-out-of-work barrister, and Jennie Fortune, a young, mix-raced woman who happens to drive a train on the Circle Line portion of London’s underground. And there is book reviewer R. Tantor, a vicious little man whose main purpose in life seems to be nipping in the bud the potential success of as many debut novelists as possible. Tantor, one learns, cannot stand to see others gain the kind of success and attention his own novel failed to generate.
But these are just a handful of the characters and subplots Faulks uses to describe goings-on in the London of late 2007. There are more than a dozen other support characters, largely, but not limited to, family members and friends of the main characters (including even one Eastern European footballer brought in to play in the English Premier League), that allow Faust to expose the worst aspects of contemporary life in the United Kingdom. Along the way, he gives the reader satirical, but harsh, looks at the out-of-control greed governing the financial industry, the insanity that drives Islamist extremism, the utter stupidity of “reality” T.V., the ruinous effects of internet addiction, the failure of schools to educate, and the overriding pretentiousness of the super-rich. Frankly, there is not much to like about this version of British big city life.
Faulks gradually brings his characters and plots closer and closer together, building the tension as readers begin to wonder how it will all end. That device worked, perhaps too well, on me and I found myself racing through the final chapter (day seven) to learn what happens when the main plotlines finally converge. I say it worked “too well” because I found the book’s ending to be somewhat flat when compared to its buildup. My other quibble with the book concerns the number of pages Faulks used to detail the inner workings of the financial strategy devised by the book’s chief villain, John Veals. Faulks fell victim to the temptation of giving his readers too much information – and, as a result, may have lost some of those readers long before they finished the book.
I do wonder whether "A Week in December" will appeal more to its British readers or to its American Anglophile ones. It is, though, absolutely well worth the attention of both groups.
Rated at: 4.0
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LibraryThing member readingwithtea
"Gabriel rested his teacup on a ziggurat of his head of chambers' upcoming briefs and looked out of the window, down towards the river. Swollen with December rain, it was gliding on beneath the lights of the Embankment..."
From the blurb: London, the week before Christmas, 2007. Seven wintry days to
The characters in this are a real mix (as I imagine they are supposed to be). The younger characters (Gabriel and Jenny) are the much more sympathetic ones, just getting on with their lives as best they can while still being just generally nice people. John Veals is a piece of work - clever to make someone so inhuman and remorseless. The examination of Hassan's life, obsession with Islamic theory, and conflict between his modern London life and what he has been taught was interesting and sensitive. The other characters I had forgotten until I read the blurb, but I don't remember deliberately skipping through any sections of this book until it hit another character. Faulks does well to keep them all appropriately separated.
So this is the first of Sebastian Faulks' books that I've read - even though I have both Birdsong and Charlotte Grey on the shelves. Sometimes it got a bit fanciful and obtuse, but on the whole, eminently readable while obviously skilful. Plotwise this is so-so; it's really a character study, I think. There is a certain tension added by John and Hassan's deeds, and various glimmers of romance here and there, but it's only really there to give the characters something to do.
And as for the setting: this is so very London. And not just very London, but not tourist London, real, people-who-live-here-and-commute-to-work-here London. The far-flung suburbs with their spectrum of class, the postcode giveaway of household earnings. And it's London December too - no particularly exciting weather, but grey and cold and a bit dreary but nearly Christmas so people are quite cheery and pubs are overflowing.
Good, but I'm not sure I'll re-read it.
From the blurb: London, the week before Christmas, 2007. Seven wintry days to
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track the lives of seven characters: a hedge fund manager trying to bring off the biggest trade of his career; a professional footballer recently arrived from Poland; a young lawyer with little work and too much time to speculate; a student who has been led astry by Islamist theory; a hack book-reviewer; a schoolboy hooked on skunk and reality TV; and a Tube driver whose Circle Line train joins these and countless other lives together in a daily loop. With daring skill, the novel pieces together the complex patterns and crossings of modern urban life, and the group is forced, one by one, to confront the true nature of the world they inhabit.The characters in this are a real mix (as I imagine they are supposed to be). The younger characters (Gabriel and Jenny) are the much more sympathetic ones, just getting on with their lives as best they can while still being just generally nice people. John Veals is a piece of work - clever to make someone so inhuman and remorseless. The examination of Hassan's life, obsession with Islamic theory, and conflict between his modern London life and what he has been taught was interesting and sensitive. The other characters I had forgotten until I read the blurb, but I don't remember deliberately skipping through any sections of this book until it hit another character. Faulks does well to keep them all appropriately separated.
So this is the first of Sebastian Faulks' books that I've read - even though I have both Birdsong and Charlotte Grey on the shelves. Sometimes it got a bit fanciful and obtuse, but on the whole, eminently readable while obviously skilful. Plotwise this is so-so; it's really a character study, I think. There is a certain tension added by John and Hassan's deeds, and various glimmers of romance here and there, but it's only really there to give the characters something to do.
And as for the setting: this is so very London. And not just very London, but not tourist London, real, people-who-live-here-and-commute-to-work-here London. The far-flung suburbs with their spectrum of class, the postcode giveaway of household earnings. And it's London December too - no particularly exciting weather, but grey and cold and a bit dreary but nearly Christmas so people are quite cheery and pubs are overflowing.
Good, but I'm not sure I'll re-read it.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
This is a powerful contemporary novel set in London from a master of literary fiction.
Structured like a thriller, A Week in December takes place over the course of a single week at the end of 2008. Set in London, it brings together an intriguing cast of characters whose lives seem to run on
At times hilarious, yet also strewn with undercurrents of melancholic resignation, this novel also offers some poignant insights. The most striking of these was Gabriel Northwood's passionate lament over the failure of the education system, and the sad descent from a halcyon age when children were taught from a belief that it was simply good to have a wide base of knowledge rather than to equip them to take on jobs that might no longer be there by the time they leave school.
Structured like a thriller, A Week in December takes place over the course of a single week at the end of 2008. Set in London, it brings together an intriguing cast of characters whose lives seem to run on
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parallel lines but, as gradually becomes clear, are intricately related. The central anti-hero, John Veals, is a shadily successful and boundlessly ambitious Dickensian character who is trading billions. The tentacles of Veals’ influence encompass newspaper columnists, MPs, businessmen, footballers, a female tube driver, a Scottish convert to Islam, a disaffected teenager, and a care worker, whose different perspectives build up a tale of love, family and money as the story builds to its powerful climax. All of the characters are utterly believable, and finely drawn, and Faulks displays complete mastery in the manner in which he interleaves their stories. At times hilarious, yet also strewn with undercurrents of melancholic resignation, this novel also offers some poignant insights. The most striking of these was Gabriel Northwood's passionate lament over the failure of the education system, and the sad descent from a halcyon age when children were taught from a belief that it was simply good to have a wide base of knowledge rather than to equip them to take on jobs that might no longer be there by the time they leave school.
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LibraryThing member curlycurrie
A excellent and clever inter-twining of lives. Each character was engaging and believeable, though not always likeable. The suspense towards the end was built and promised an explosive climax. I found myself feeling sorry for the charachters and what would be their tragic fate, but when I got to
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the end I'm quite ashamed to say that I felt disappointed with the way the story fizzled out. Having said that it was a poignant reminder of fragile life is and your life can be influenced by the simple thoughts, beliefs and actions of another human being totally unrelated to you or your life. Show Less
LibraryThing member dsc73277
The actor Timothy West selected this book as his recommendation in a recent edition of the Radio 4 programme, A Good Read. He found it highly entertaining and enjoyed the satire, highlighting a couple of amusing passages about failings in the British education system. His fellow guest, author
I like to judge books based on whether, in my opinion, they succeed in being what they set out to be. I believe that Faulks set out to write an amusing satire about contemporary Britain, and that in doing so he fully intended to create a set of characters who could be regarded as representative of certain types. As such, I believe he has succeeded, in parts with brilliant effect. On the other hand, there were times when I got frustrated with the characters and with the book's lack of gravitas, and at those times I drifted towards the Craig view.
Ultimately, what rescued the book for me, was a dinner party outburst by a relatively minor character about the injustice of those who were largely responsible for our current economic woes escaping relatively unscaved, while the rest of us suffer the consequences of their actions. This ensured that the book ended in a way I found pleasing, although I did wonder why it is only under the influence of excessive alcohol that certain truths are allowed to emerge?
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Amanda Craig, was much less impressed, suggesting that the characters were little more than stereotypes. She also thought that this was more of a series of newspaper opinion columns rather than a fully-fledged novel. I tend to agree with both of them.I like to judge books based on whether, in my opinion, they succeed in being what they set out to be. I believe that Faulks set out to write an amusing satire about contemporary Britain, and that in doing so he fully intended to create a set of characters who could be regarded as representative of certain types. As such, I believe he has succeeded, in parts with brilliant effect. On the other hand, there were times when I got frustrated with the characters and with the book's lack of gravitas, and at those times I drifted towards the Craig view.
Ultimately, what rescued the book for me, was a dinner party outburst by a relatively minor character about the injustice of those who were largely responsible for our current economic woes escaping relatively unscaved, while the rest of us suffer the consequences of their actions. This ensured that the book ended in a way I found pleasing, although I did wonder why it is only under the influence of excessive alcohol that certain truths are allowed to emerge?
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LibraryThing member neddludd
Faulk's has written a minor-league Bonfire of the Vanities, without the verve, narrative force, or character in peril. There are no moral choices here; just characters following orders or their warped sense of injustice. I found myself skipping whole sections. The concluding scene, putatively a
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satire, is, given Faulk's character, just scary and completely lacking in any human emotion. He is a man, his wife says, "who has never laughed." Well, readers won't laugh much either as men manipulate markets and strive to become billionaires, and then trillionaires with no obvious pleasure accruing to them as they screw whomever is unlucky enough to attract their reptillian attention. I would say that this book should be required reading for every M.B.A. candidate, but in the 21st century, where people still come up to Michael Douglas, aka Gordon Gekko, and say to him, "You're the man," students today would probably find these loathsome characters worthy of emulation. Show Less
LibraryThing member cathymoore
This is a character study, set in London. Multiple characters, all very different. The story culminates at a millionaires dinner party. I found this a bit hard going in places but laugh out loud funny in others. My favourite characters were the female tube train driver, the reluctant teenage
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Islamic terrorist and the billionaire hedge fund manager who never laughs. Show Less
LibraryThing member lithicbee
While there are many, many characters in this very timely look at modern London (the modern world in general really, but with London as the example), to me there were only two main tensions in the novel: an imminent terrorist attack and a planned financial maneuver. Both are introduced early on and
The whole book, for me, was about finding meaning in the emptiness of modern life. All the characters are either looking for meaning in a way, reacting to perceived meaninglessness, or reveling in the meaningless of it all. Reality TV, blogging, social networking sites like MySpace and Second Life, the ridiculously rich, and especially financial traders all take a hit in this book, or at least a swipe. The stock market and those who work in and around it come off the worst, and rightly so if there is any accuracy to Faulk's portrayal of hedge fund managers, banks, etc. From listening to NPR and reading Matt Taibbi's articles in Rolling Stone, I fear Faulks is right on about this stuff.
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are not resolved until the last pages of the book. The rest of the book is a glance into the modern lives of sometimes-interesting-and-sometimes-not characters, many empty to some degree or another, but what kept me reading was the twin journeys of the terrorist and financial attackers. The ending itself is the most haunting I have read in a long time, and worth the read to get to it.The whole book, for me, was about finding meaning in the emptiness of modern life. All the characters are either looking for meaning in a way, reacting to perceived meaninglessness, or reveling in the meaningless of it all. Reality TV, blogging, social networking sites like MySpace and Second Life, the ridiculously rich, and especially financial traders all take a hit in this book, or at least a swipe. The stock market and those who work in and around it come off the worst, and rightly so if there is any accuracy to Faulk's portrayal of hedge fund managers, banks, etc. From listening to NPR and reading Matt Taibbi's articles in Rolling Stone, I fear Faulks is right on about this stuff.
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LibraryThing member iaingbrown
Poor after promising beginning.
LibraryThing member wrmjr66
Sebastian Faulks' A Week In December follows an ensemble of characters through a single week. These characters are related most obviously through a dinner party planned for the end of the week. There is also a connection between many of them with a psychiatric hospital in London. The loose
Thematically, Faulks pulls together a number of interesting contemporary ideas: the rise of home-grown terrorism, the pursuit of money as an end in itself, the increasing complication of trading commodities, and the idea of truth and faith in the contemporary world. As such, he has set a bold agenda for himself. While he does a good job in explaining some of the arcana of the financial world, the other areas are less well developed. It is probably for this reason that throughout the book, the character of Veals seems like the (anti-) hero in which Faulks is most interested.
Ultimately, Faulks is unable to pull all the threads together. While a Dickensian conclusion where all the strands are neatly tied together would have seemed forced, the book is left as feeling like it never quite came together. I applaud Faulks for taking on the big subjects, but I wish he had managed it a bit better.
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connections between characters means that the story hops around a bit as we follow each character through each day of the week. The chapters comprising the day of the week roughly follow the chronology of a day, though there are numerous flashbacks to break up the monotony of an adherence to strict temporal order.Thematically, Faulks pulls together a number of interesting contemporary ideas: the rise of home-grown terrorism, the pursuit of money as an end in itself, the increasing complication of trading commodities, and the idea of truth and faith in the contemporary world. As such, he has set a bold agenda for himself. While he does a good job in explaining some of the arcana of the financial world, the other areas are less well developed. It is probably for this reason that throughout the book, the character of Veals seems like the (anti-) hero in which Faulks is most interested.
Ultimately, Faulks is unable to pull all the threads together. While a Dickensian conclusion where all the strands are neatly tied together would have seemed forced, the book is left as feeling like it never quite came together. I applaud Faulks for taking on the big subjects, but I wish he had managed it a bit better.
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LibraryThing member sstaniforth
This is a book about fanaticalism, absolute belief, religion and insanity. A book about realism versus virtual realities. About challenging perceptions: who are the good/bad guys?; what constitutes contentment?; does money equal wealth?
It definately needs a second read to fully understand the true
It definately needs a second read to fully understand the true
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meaning. Show Less
LibraryThing member adelavoe
Sebastian Faulks elegant "A Week in December" is fashioned after George Kaufman-Edna Ferber's brillant play "Dinner at Eight". A formal dinner party is planned for wealthy and privileged coupled and individual guests. Each guest has a detailed back story. The most disturbing of the guests are the
I was impressed by the range of research Mr. Faulks gathered to craft his story. He handled deftly with humor the subjects of Islam, hedge fund management, general finance, terrorism, wealth, greed, and biographical criticism. Good job.
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Veals. One John Veals, the head of a hedge fund company, ruthlessly engineers out of thin air the downfall of a multi-billion dollar bank. The bank has done nothing wrong and thousands of people will be out of work but that is of no concern to Veals. Another toxic guest is a poisonous book critic who sets out to destroy every contemporary writer whose work is unlucky enough to cross his desk. Other guests include an endearing magnate Pakistani couple with a confused son caught up in a terrorist plot. I was impressed by the range of research Mr. Faulks gathered to craft his story. He handled deftly with humor the subjects of Islam, hedge fund management, general finance, terrorism, wealth, greed, and biographical criticism. Good job.
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LibraryThing member ccayne
I didn't finish this one - I wanted to but in the end, it was too much work. Faulks writes well and I was intrigued by some of the characters but not enough to continue on for another 250 pages. I wanted to like this book having heard the author interviewed on NPR. To me there was too much
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extraneous detail which bogged the story down. Show Less
LibraryThing member robertgriffen
Not one of Sebatian Faulks's best novels. Written to give the events of a number of individuals linked together by a very weak plot around a dinner party, the narrative at times is difficult to follow and confusing in the manner in which the various stories are told. The ending is particularly
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weak, in my view. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mumineurope
Complicated and difficult to get into, but clever weaving of lots of characters
LibraryThing member RussBriz
An artificial/elaborate story of coincidences with good insight into (among others) ...financial manipulations, the Underground and pro football. A caustic dig at the book reviewing industry. Surprisingly romantic with a happy ending for most characters. A good read.
LibraryThing member Doondeck
This book has a clever interlacing of characters and events during the course of one week. The ending was redemptive for a number of characters but one remains a villain. Faulks did move the plot along at a good pace.
LibraryThing member randalrh
The premise is a week in the lives of seemingly disparate people whose lives turn out to be interwoven. It didn't quite come together for me, and some parts certainly came together better than others. The novel works best with the characters who are driven by more than a single preoccupation, and
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the whole could have been made tighter by sacrificing some of the breadth of characters for more depth for all. Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2011)
Language
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