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Nicola Barker

Darkmans Paperback – 27 November 2007

by Nicola Barker (Author)

43 ratings

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Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Darkmans is an exhilarating, extraordinary examination of the ways in which history can play jokes on us all... If History is just a sick joke which keeps on repeating itself, then who exactly might be telling it, and why? Could it be John Scogin, Edward IV's infamous court jester, whose favorite pastime was to burn people alive - for a laugh? Or could it be Andrew Boarde, Henry VIII's physician, who kindly wrote John Scogin's biography? Or could it be a tiny Kurd called Gaffar whose days are blighted by an unspeakable terror of - uh - salad? Or a beautiful, bulimic harpy with ridiculously weak bones? Or a man who guards Beckley Woods with a Samurai sword and a pregnant terrier?

Darkmans is a very modern book, set in Ashford [a ridiculously modern town], about two very old-fashioned subjects: love and jealousy. It's also a book about invasion, obsession, displacement and possession, about comedy, art, prescription drugs and chiropody. And the main character? The past, which creeps up on the present and whispers something quite dark - quite unspeakable - into its ear.

The third of Nicola Barker's narratives of the Thames Gateway, Darkmans is an epic novel of startling originality.

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Product details

ASIN : 0061575216
Publisher : Ecco Press (27 November 2007)
Language : English
Paperback : 848 pages
ISBN-10 : 9780061575211
ISBN-13 : 978-0061575211
Dimensions : 13.49 x 3.45 x 20.32 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 226,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 16,113 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- 97,304 in Religion & Spirituality (Books)

Customer Reviews:
43 ratings

Product description

About the Author

Nicola Barker is one of Britain's most original and exciting literary talents. She is the author of two short-story collections: Love Your Enemies [winner of the David Higham Prize and the Macmillan Silver Pen Award] and Heading Inland [winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize]. Her previous novels are Reversed Forecast, Small Holdings, Wide Open Behindlings and Clear, the last of which was long-listed for the 2005 Booker Prize. Her work is translated into twenty languages, and in 2000, she won the IMPAC Award for Wide Open. In 2003, Nicola Barker was named a Granta Best of British Novelist. She lives in London.

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5 star		49%
4 star		21%
3 star		12%
2 star		8%
1 star		10%

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Emma

Magnificent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2008

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I'm not going to go into long plot explanations - others have done it already far better than I could. I just want to say that this is a magnificent novel. I've not read any Nicola Barker before, and I was just blown away by the sheer audacity and exuberance of her prose. Yes, this book is long, but within a few pages I was completely gripped, barely able to put it down as it built up an exquisite dramatic tension. Barker develops, layer by layer, scene by scene, an almost anarchic assortment of characters, throws them together and shows us the unpredictable results. It's an almost cinematic approach to novel-writing, and makes for a demanding read - you work hard to piece together the clues scattered in her narrative - but it's totally engaging and thoroughly rewarding.

Not for a long time have I come across a writer with such a playful feel for language. Her observations, too, are startlingly fresh and apt. Yes, the novel does rely heavily on coincidence, but then so did Thomas Hardy. I don't think her aim is to be 'realistic'. We're drawn into a more magical and mysterious version of the 'real' world, and leave the novel both entranced and enriched by the experience.

14 people found this helpful

MR A D JOHNSON

Brilliant and bonkers

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 December 2019

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Not entirely sure how to review this. I absolutely bloody loved it but wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. It’s profound and disturbing, pioneering and funny, poignant and hallucinogenic, it f***s about with format relentlessly, has little resolution or redemption and is 800 pages long. And yet I remained mildly addicted throughout and now I already miss it, I already miss *them*.

One person found this helpful

J. Crombie

Ripped

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 February 2020

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Cover is ripped

A. Herlick

Brilliant story and the typesetting and layout are just about ...

Reviewed in Canada on 26 December 2014

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Brilliant story and the typesetting and layout are just about the most pleasing I've ever read. I had the ebook from England but had to buy the hardcover as well just for the beautiful pages - the spacing and layout and font as most definitely part of Barker's craft. The softcover from the local library had the same look and pagination so I hope that's true for every edition.

sord of troof

The space between A and B

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 May 2015

Verified Purchase

The first time I read this, having not read any of Nicola Barker's books before, I was baffled and bewildered. "What was the point of that?" I asked myself. The second time I read it (I'm afraid I have no explanation of why I re-read an 800+ page book that I hadn't especially enjoyed) I was blown away. I love the inconsequentialness of the whole thing. The enjoyment is in the journey.

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Darkmans Paperback – 27 November 2007

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