Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, "Darkmans" is an exhilarating, extraordinary examination of the ways in which history can play jokes on u... read full description
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Jan 10, 2012
Chris
rated it: 
I was stunned. I was bored. I laughed. I sighed. I was disturbed. I was elated. I couldn't put it down. I dreaded having to pick it up. I chortled. I grunted. I embraced this tome's rogue's gallery. I was exasperated by them. I was moved. I was impatient. I was apprehensive. I was excited. I felt stirrings. I lengthened and shortened. I smiled. I frowned. I snorted. I rolled my eyes. I dug for nuggets. I backslid. I was propelled by its ebullience. I held my breath. I farted. I zoned right in. I
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(16 people liked it)
Jan 10, 2012
Kinga
rated it:
Anytime I see a book this size I think: "What was that you had to say that you needed more than 800 pages to do it?". And I am intrigued, because, surely, it must be something magnificent to justify the magnificent size. On the other hand I know that I suffer from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and if I started this book I would just have to finish it no matter what. There is a possibility it could be 800 pages of blabbering, or worse yet, 800 pages of impenetrable ontological de
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17 comments
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(14 people liked it)
Aug 18, 2010
Paul
rated it: 
Such a great cover, too.
This is what Nicola Barker does. Here she's talking about what her character Elen does. She's a chiropodist.:
On a good day she was a Superman or a Wonderwoman,
doggedly fighting foot-crime and the causes of foot-crime (usually - when all was finally said and done - the ill-fitting shoe . . . Okay, so it was hardly The Riddler, or The Penguin, but in a serious head-to-head between a violent encounter with either one of these two comic-book bad More...
This is what Nicola Barker does. Here she's talking about what her character Elen does. She's a chiropodist.:
On a good day she was a Superman or a Wonderwoman,
doggedly fighting foot-crime and the causes of foot-crime (usually - when all was finally said and done - the ill-fitting shoe . . . Okay, so it was hardly The Riddler, or The Penguin, but in a serious head-to-head between a violent encounter with either one of these two comic-book bad More...
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(8 people liked it)
Jan 27, 2012
Darkmans is a bit of a stumper, no question about it. Eight hundred and thirty-eight entertaining and mostly brilliant pages under the belt and several days to chew the whole shebang over, and I still cannot ascertain, with any degree of certainty, what exactly transpired to a select crew of the denizens of Ashford, a coastal town in Kent that is linked to, and given new life by, the Channel Tunnel. Ashford is a curious and, at times, alienating mix of the thoroughly modern surrounding a medieva
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(3 people liked it)
Mar 04, 2008
Molly
rated it: 
Darkmans is funny and interesting, though it doesn't become either until almost 300 pages into the 800+ page story. Barker's style of writing (which gives the grammar lover in me nightmares), is tough to follow until she tones it down a little and really lets the narrative take over. At that point, I was able to stop lamenting all the commas that could have been and start really paying attention to the story.
When I finished the book, though, I sat back and thought, "Hmm. Didn't More...
When I finished the book, though, I sat back and thought, "Hmm. Didn't More...
Feb 10, 2009
Eva
rated it:
This was an intriguing but ultimately baffling book. A small group of disparate but interconnected people in a small town in England all seem, to varying degrees, to be obsessed or even possessed by the medieval past, and in particular a jester named John Scogin (presumably the "Darkmans" of the title). This part of the book is puzzling and spooky/weird and even unnecessary, as these folks are interesting enough without the supernatural/psychological weirdness. It took a while to ge
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(2 people liked it)
Dec 20, 2011
Kirstie
rated it: 
It's about as challenging to describe Nicola Barker's writing style as it is to read it but picture Thomas Pynchon's twisty and chaotic words with an unreliable narrator in terms of depicting the true reality of every moment crossed with a bit of Flannery O'Connor and you'll have something close. Her vocabulary in and of itself is like a dense road to travel on but it's filled with some glorious wit and cultural references too, for those of us who enjoy sightseeing.
I don't use this More...
I don't use this More...
4 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Jul 11, 2008
Joan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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(3 people liked it)
Jun 14, 2008
Nick
rated it:
This was a really entertaining read. Despite the length (over 800 pgs) I cruised through it in about a week. Darkmans is written in a unique style that uses mostly dialog and inner narrative to move everything forward. The result is a fast pace that keeps the reader purposely on edge, slightly confused and constantly guessing. This pace really fits the plot well, which focuses on an ensemble cast of characters in a small English town who are all experiencing something strange, mystical More...
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(1 person liked it)
Mar 11, 2010
Mary-anne
rated it:
I'm 100 pages in and struggling. Nothing's coming together for me yet. Hopefully it won't ramble for the remaining 738 pages.
350 pages in and enjoying MUCH more. Very funny book.
Whew!! What a ride. This book reminded me very much of a Tarantino movie in that some of the situations are absolutely off the wall (the pillory scene, for example), it's fast-paced and you just have to go with it. I'm sure there are many levels on which you could take this book and it More...
350 pages in and enjoying MUCH more. Very funny book.
Whew!! What a ride. This book reminded me very much of a Tarantino movie in that some of the situations are absolutely off the wall (the pillory scene, for example), it's fast-paced and you just have to go with it. I'm sure there are many levels on which you could take this book and it More...
Feb 03, 2012
Ian
rated it: 
Oh dear. This is the worst kind of book - long (838 pages), doesnt go anywhere and leaves you wondering what the hell it was all about. And to top it all off, it doesnt even match the blurb on the back that says its to do with 20th century getting possessed by a medieveal spirit. I dont think that happens - but then again, I was so bored, it could have.
So why put up with it.... I dont really know. They was enough humour in the first 300 pages (that admitedly, due to the gaps, were More...
So why put up with it.... I dont really know. They was enough humour in the first 300 pages (that admitedly, due to the gaps, were More...
Dec 01, 2011
Kate
rated it:
I think it's damn clever, and I personally highly enjoyed the font-play and use of the space on the page to add another layer of experience in reading the book. But I felt it dabbled, danced around, lacked depth (and alliteration)...seriously, there was glorious darkness here, as anyone who has Google Book searched for "John Scogin" and found the original compendium of his "pranks" and "teases" can attest. There was also pathos aplenty---the Kurdish mobster, with hi
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Aug 10, 2011
I am still reeling from Nicola's incredibly unique writing style. Her characters are so authentic & vivacious that after almost 900 pages Kelly & Gaffar now feel a part of my history!
I literally damaged my wrist holding this book in bed as I read it & was awakened on several occasions by it falling from my sleepy hands but you just cannot give-up on this crazy & hysterically funny (& tragic) adventure that Nicola takes you on - her writing is ALIVE in a way few authors can hope to achieve. What More...
I literally damaged my wrist holding this book in bed as I read it & was awakened on several occasions by it falling from my sleepy hands but you just cannot give-up on this crazy & hysterically funny (& tragic) adventure that Nicola takes you on - her writing is ALIVE in a way few authors can hope to achieve. What More...
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Jul 30, 2011
Josh
rated it:
Primarily about the estranged relationship between Beede and his drug-pusher layabout son, the layers of their relationship and back history are peeled away amidst the olde English spirit possession of Beede's Germanic friend Isidore.
And that's where the story spirals out of control as Barker tries to add too many ingredients into her mix. The supernatural elements didn't quite gel... After a while I got really irritated with the constant intrusion of the characters' thoughts even as they conver More...
And that's where the story spirals out of control as Barker tries to add too many ingredients into her mix. The supernatural elements didn't quite gel... After a while I got really irritated with the constant intrusion of the characters' thoughts even as they conver More...
Dec 10, 2010
Kirsty
rated it:
When the Booker Prize longlist came out I ordered a couple of the 13 books from the library. I didn't really look very deeply into the details of the books, in fact I pretty much ordered them blind hoping that being on the longlist would be enough to give me something interesting to read.
I didn't bargain on the first book that turned up being an over 800 page doorstep. (No, not a doorstop, I do think you could use this as a doorstep!)
My first impressions weren't great and I s More...
I didn't bargain on the first book that turned up being an over 800 page doorstep. (No, not a doorstop, I do think you could use this as a doorstep!)
My first impressions weren't great and I s More...
Dec 09, 2007
Nigel
rated it:
A sweeping sprawling doorstopper of a novel that irrites at first but soon propels you along with its restless energy, intelligence and intricacy. Even after 838 pages it still leaves feeling bereft and wanting more. The brash characters and naff setting in Ashford don't immediately appeal and the breathless writing style takes a bit of getting used, but the unravelling of the convoluted story with overtones of mysterious forces at work cleverly draws you in and never lets go.
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Jul 27, 2010
Clint
rated it:
This was a shot in the dark I took, never having heard of the book or the author, and I scored. The writing of this book isn't the kind of thing I usually go for, stream of consciousness, sound effects, etc., and there were way more pop culture references than I normally tolerate, but in the end, this book reminds me of a really simplified Thomas Pynchon, meant as a compliment. I knew by about page 5 or 6 hundred that when the book ended at page 838 I wasn't going to understand everything that
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(2 people liked it)
Jan 25, 2011
Josh
rated it:
Primarily about the estranged relationship between Beede and his drug-pusher layabout son, the layers of their relationship and back history are peeled away amidst the olde English spirit possession of Beede's Germanic friend Isidore.
And that's where the story spirals out of control as Barker tries to add too many ingredients into her mix. The supernatural elements didn't quite gel... After a while I got really irritated with the constant intrusion of the characters' thoughts even a More...
And that's where the story spirals out of control as Barker tries to add too many ingredients into her mix. The supernatural elements didn't quite gel... After a while I got really irritated with the constant intrusion of the characters' thoughts even a More...
Jul 29, 2011
I have a an undeniable affinity for the Man Booker Prize winners, and recently started to look a little deeper at the long list that is generated every year--the prize recently started a very well done web site that makes it easy to see what was long and then short listed every year, and since I loved THe White Tiger so much, I have been working my way through some of the long list over the last two years and this is one of them. I must say, this does have some of the characteristics that make
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Jul 23, 2011
Billy
rated it:
Ms. Barker seems to be a good writer, but this isn’t a great book. I liked the characters, and much of her writing style, a lot, but there are so many problems.
Very mild spoilers may follow, not really giving away the plot though;
I was actually enjoying the book quite a bit in spite of the problems, but when I got to the end of the 800+ pages I realized I didn’t know any more about the story than I did when I read the blurb on the back. There is no story. She set More...
Very mild spoilers may follow, not really giving away the plot though;
I was actually enjoying the book quite a bit in spite of the problems, but when I got to the end of the 800+ pages I realized I didn’t know any more about the story than I did when I read the blurb on the back. There is no story. She set More...
Jan 24, 2008
Ben
rated it:
I read this through once, then immediately started over. It's the sort of book that takes a couple of readings to see its shape--like that low-budget sci-fi film Primer. I think Nicola Barker is one of the best contemporary writers--not least because she challenges herself with each book. This is nothing like her previous novels, but it is equally brilliant.
Feb 12, 2012
Drew
rated it:
This is going to sound strange, because I imagine most people would think the opposite, but I think if Darkmans were 500 pages shorter (aka the length of a normal book), I would very likely have hated it. The style is maddening in several ways:
1) Barker has a tendency to over-italicize. I know this because I worry that I italicize too much, and if someone else's italics are bothering me, it must be a serious problem. I'm not kidding; Darkmans is like that old newspaper comic Brend More...
1) Barker has a tendency to over-italicize. I know this because I worry that I italicize too much, and if someone else's italics are bothering me, it must be a serious problem. I'm not kidding; Darkmans is like that old newspaper comic Brend More...
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(4 people liked it)
Oct 22, 2008
Malini
rated it:
I think that every book that both Josie and I both give five stars to should go in a special list of guaranteed crowd pleasers.
The juxtaposition of this thoroughly modern setting and the force of history bubbling underneath it was fantastic.
The juxtaposition of this thoroughly modern setting and the force of history bubbling underneath it was fantastic.
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(1 person liked it)
Aug 25, 2011
Derek
rated it:
The inhabiting spirit of a long-dead court jester causes unrest (but also reconciliation) among citizens of Ashford... I think. Not much of a synopsis considering it took me several weeks to plow through 800+ pages!
I really like how Nicola Barker carefully introduces each of the characters and that they are fully-fleshed creations even if she does push them around like pawns some of the time. It's very skilful, sometimes very funny, and because the setting is a part of the world I kno More...
I really like how Nicola Barker carefully introduces each of the characters and that they are fully-fleshed creations even if she does push them around like pawns some of the time. It's very skilful, sometimes very funny, and because the setting is a part of the world I kno More...
Aug 01, 2011
Karen
rated it:
After reading too many disposable novels I was desperate for something to sink my teeth into. Well, for a week, I neglected my children, ignored my e-mails, forgot my husband and literally curled up with this. Even on the rare occasions I wasn't reading it (one must periodically eat, sleep and wash) I was thinking about it. In fact, it felt like it was alive in my head, which wasn't altogether a pleasant sensation - found myself doubting my sanity sometimes. It was a rare beast: bizarre but
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Mar 14, 2009
Iz
rated it:
Is there a first time for everything? This is the first time I've ever given up on a book halfway through. At first I thought she was being quirky and setting the scene, but I read up to page 405 and nothing had happened yet, the characters were neither interesting nor likeable, and her style of writing is unbelievably irritating - with sentences half-written, full of utterly meaningless interjections like "huh?", "eh?" "what?", "what?", "but..."
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 30, 2012
Stan
rated it:
This isn't the easiest book to decipher, but it was very easy for me to read. The length is the first thing to contend with, followed closely by the unconventional style. Length doesn't matter to me so much if I'm into the story, and I was into this one from the start.
The book reads like nothing I've read before, and I ate that up. The mid-sentence, italicized thoughts
huh?
and portraying different languages all in English by using a different font style were things More...
The book reads like nothing I've read before, and I ate that up. The mid-sentence, italicized thoughts
huh?
and portraying different languages all in English by using a different font style were things More...
Jan 04, 2009
Trak
rated it:
This book was a challenge in some ways to read. I enjoyed the language, the characters with all their flaws but the density of what was occurring made it at times difficult to appreciate all that was happening.
I was initially disappointed with the ending but allowing time to brood over the book, that reaction faded. Life is never really tidied up into nice bits of endings and the fact that each of the characters has a direction to go which is not explored makes you wanting more of t More...
I was initially disappointed with the ending but allowing time to brood over the book, that reaction faded. Life is never really tidied up into nice bits of endings and the fact that each of the characters has a direction to go which is not explored makes you wanting more of t More...
May 05, 2011
Linda
rated it:
I had no idea what I was getting into with this book and didn't even know it was part of a series until right now. As a stand alone book, it's terrible. The cover suggests it's funny but I got up to page 430 without a chuckle. I finally just stopped reading it - there's another 400 pages to go.
I'm not sure what genre the author is shooting for with this, whether it's drama, horror, mystery, I have no clue. What I do know is this book is boring. It drags on and on and completely More...
I'm not sure what genre the author is shooting for with this, whether it's drama, horror, mystery, I have no clue. What I do know is this book is boring. It drags on and on and completely More...
Aug 06, 2011
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. I really liked the book, but I'm not real sure what it was about. It was the style of writing and the characters that made the book so interesting. Kane, introduced on the first page, is a drug dealer, but it seems more likely that he is giving his clients care and love rather than drugs. Beede, who initially looks like a perfect saint, has his own agenda including revenge and adultery. Dory may be possessed by the spirit of a malevolent court jester.
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