Bright Young Things
Length Of Time in Possession : 3 weeks
Ah, Bright Young Things, I don't know what I make of you. You are no "The End Of Mr Y" and you don't match up to "PopCo" (both by the same author) despite its flaws either; but yet there is something to say for you.
At the beginning of the novel we are introduced to the eponymous Bright Young Things : Anne, Thea, Emily, Jamie, Paul and Bryn all of whom have their own back story - most of whom are recent graduates, and what leads them all to apply for a small job advertisement in The Guardian about which little details are given. Just that it's an "exciting project" for "Bright Young Things"
After arriving to their interview, they all suddenly wake up on a remote island with no idea how they got there and no way off, and no clue as to the 'project' they are supposed to be involved in.
So they end up living a Big Brother/Castaway type hybrid in which they must entertain themselves and to read it is almost like reading a novelisation of one of those reality shows, like a Geordie Marcus voice over set to the page.
In some ways this proves quite dull, as it basically consists of popular culture discussions revolving around the late Eighties into the 90s, basically what people my age (31) were into as teens. I found myself thinking "Wow, had I read this at 42, it would have been an amazing nostalgia trip, but right now it just feels dated"
Certain parts did make me smile, the ZX Spectrum gets referenced and my family had one, on top of this Anne goes on a pretty lengthy diatribe about early Home And Away, something my sisters and I watched religiously, discussing at length a storyline about Bobby and her half brother Alan Fisher with whom she almost entered a relationship both entirely unaware they had the same father, Alan's death and the subsequent publication of his novel On The Crest Of A Wave, that, I did wax nostalgic about, one of my favourite all time storylines. My Home And Away/Neighbours days are long over and I'm now more of a Breaking Bad girl but I do find it sweet and amusing that Alf Stewart of the catchphrase "flaming gallah" is still in it more than twenty years later.
There is a decent if rather preposterous twist at the midway point, yet the ending is a bit empty and feels unfinished. The ending of PopCo is similarly rushed and disappointing and though personally I loved the ending of "Mr Y", other readers have made the same complaint of it, giving rise to the accusation that Thomas gets off to good starts and has difficulty carrying them through to the novels conclusion.
I gave Mr Y a 10/10 and I believe I gave PopCo a 7, Bright Young Things for me is a 6/10 which means somewhat disappointingly Thomas's other novels have failed to live up to what I felt was utter genius in Mr Y, I still have two of her other novels : Our Tragic Universe and Going Out unread but from her output thus far, it is clear to me that there is genuine, if slightly flawed, talent at work and I will continue to keep her on my watchlist.
Destination : Charity Shop
Showing posts with label Nineties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nineties. Show all posts
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Book #4 Coconut Unlimited by Nikesh Shukla
Coconut Unlimited
Coconut Unlimited by Nikesh Shukla was nominated for the 2010 Costa First Novel Award. It tells the story of Amit, preparing for his wedding to Alice, Amit is visited by childhood friends Anand and Nishant and reminisces about their youth.
The novel reminded me a lot of Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English, like said novel, Coconut Unlimited is set within an immigrant community, Amit is first generation British and is of Gujarati heritage. Like Pigeon English the focus is on adolescence and the trials and tribulations of growing up. I failed to identify with Harrison Opoku and his friends in Pigeon English, their concerns and interests being somewhat post my era. With Coconut Unlimited however our protagonists are around age 15 in 1994, when I would have been 13, so there were aspects of their experience I could relate to.
On the one hand though Coconut Unlimited like Pigeon English offers a rare literary glimpse into a growing part of Britain's immigrant community, some stereotypes were in action. Amit and Anand for example are under intense pressure from their Indian parents to perform highly academically, a well known cliche. But, with this stereotype particularly it wouldn't have become such a cliche, if there wasn't some truth behind it. The school racism from both pupils and staff would still have been realistic around this time also, but Amit and his friends face the most ridicule for attempting to pretend they are of a different culture by getting into the rap and hip/hop scene and starting a hip/hop band. Amit's sister calls him a coconut "brown on the outside, white on the inside" and so the band Coconut Unlimited is born.
This concept of trying to find a subculture to be part of as a teen is very true to the teenage experience. I myself was into "indie" music and had a friend who was into the subculture which sprang up around Nirvana. Everytime you went into the city on Saturdays there were gangs of "goth" kids with skateboards being "alternative" outside Quiggins but also conforming to rules of their new tribe. So, whilst I wasn't into Nas, or Public Enemy or Tupac, I understood the nature and authenticity of the experience Shukla conveys. Though I am white I was also part of a minority and so I felt the realism of the outsider experience also.
Despite being a very identifiable piece about adolescent angst, Coconut Unlimited is frustrating as a novel because ultimately the plot goes nowhere and terminates abruptly, although many teenage bands and friendships do ebb away by nature I felt that neither the main book or the epilogue had a particularly erudite conclusion and it was somewhat disappointing, as were character outcomes.
It is a book I think many men of my age would enjoy reflecting as it does elements of the 90's teen experience but it isn't knock your socks off special and I wouldn't be in a huge rush to obtain it. It is fun and humourous but having made comparison to Pigeon English I would say the latter is the better written and more endearing work 6.5/10
Coconut Unlimited by Nikesh Shukla was nominated for the 2010 Costa First Novel Award. It tells the story of Amit, preparing for his wedding to Alice, Amit is visited by childhood friends Anand and Nishant and reminisces about their youth.
The novel reminded me a lot of Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English, like said novel, Coconut Unlimited is set within an immigrant community, Amit is first generation British and is of Gujarati heritage. Like Pigeon English the focus is on adolescence and the trials and tribulations of growing up. I failed to identify with Harrison Opoku and his friends in Pigeon English, their concerns and interests being somewhat post my era. With Coconut Unlimited however our protagonists are around age 15 in 1994, when I would have been 13, so there were aspects of their experience I could relate to.
On the one hand though Coconut Unlimited like Pigeon English offers a rare literary glimpse into a growing part of Britain's immigrant community, some stereotypes were in action. Amit and Anand for example are under intense pressure from their Indian parents to perform highly academically, a well known cliche. But, with this stereotype particularly it wouldn't have become such a cliche, if there wasn't some truth behind it. The school racism from both pupils and staff would still have been realistic around this time also, but Amit and his friends face the most ridicule for attempting to pretend they are of a different culture by getting into the rap and hip/hop scene and starting a hip/hop band. Amit's sister calls him a coconut "brown on the outside, white on the inside" and so the band Coconut Unlimited is born.
This concept of trying to find a subculture to be part of as a teen is very true to the teenage experience. I myself was into "indie" music and had a friend who was into the subculture which sprang up around Nirvana. Everytime you went into the city on Saturdays there were gangs of "goth" kids with skateboards being "alternative" outside Quiggins but also conforming to rules of their new tribe. So, whilst I wasn't into Nas, or Public Enemy or Tupac, I understood the nature and authenticity of the experience Shukla conveys. Though I am white I was also part of a minority and so I felt the realism of the outsider experience also.
Despite being a very identifiable piece about adolescent angst, Coconut Unlimited is frustrating as a novel because ultimately the plot goes nowhere and terminates abruptly, although many teenage bands and friendships do ebb away by nature I felt that neither the main book or the epilogue had a particularly erudite conclusion and it was somewhat disappointing, as were character outcomes.
It is a book I think many men of my age would enjoy reflecting as it does elements of the 90's teen experience but it isn't knock your socks off special and I wouldn't be in a huge rush to obtain it. It is fun and humourous but having made comparison to Pigeon English I would say the latter is the better written and more endearing work 6.5/10
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