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166th out of 212 books
—
48 voters
Fierce People
Dropped into a world more savage than anything in "National Geographic," more cutthroat than anything New York's grimy downtown streets have to offer-the exclusive rural community of Vlyvalle, New Jersey-fifteen-year-old Finn Earl and his recovering mother must fight for survival.
Paperback, 335 pages
Published
July 1st 2003
by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
(first published July 5th 2002)
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Every once in a while I try to pick up something which is different than my normal choice of reading material. This certainly qualifies. Quite a few reviewers have commpared this story to Catcher in the Rye which worried me since I detested the Salinger's classic. Surprisingly, I found myself drawn into Finn's tale. Albeit, Finn is a rebellious teenager, a liar, a bit of an asshole, and likes to use his recreational drugs, you just can't help but root for him. I think the difference between him...more
What a great book. It wasn't what I would have usually picked up for a holiday read, but really enjoyed it nonetheless!
I found myself laughing at the characters in this unusual story... I really give credit to Wittenborn for that!
Wittenborn did a fabulous job in this one- it gave insight (whether accurate or not I would not know) into a world that most would never get to know, and into perspectives and characters that we also would never seem to know.
I really enjoyed Fierce people, and found it...more
I'm gonna be honest. I saw the film before reading the book. The film was marvelous, with Donald Sutherland and Chris Evans being excellent as always. After reading the book, i realised they played the characters so well!
Wittenborns novel was equally brilliant to his screenplay but they're two different beasts and that's how I tend to look at most books and their movie adaptations. Appreciate them by themselves instead of comparing.
The book was definitely more tragic though, I found myself shoc...more
Wittenborns novel was equally brilliant to his screenplay but they're two different beasts and that's how I tend to look at most books and their movie adaptations. Appreciate them by themselves instead of comparing.
The book was definitely more tragic though, I found myself shoc...more
Daily Mirror ”Impresionant…aruncă în aer ipocrizia visului american”
The Tmes ”Modern și feroce …oferă o privire nemiloasă asupra corupției celor foarte bogați”
Sunday Telegraph ”Deopotrivă sălbatică și amuzantă”
Chiar și autorul Dirk Wittenbornne zice despre cartea creată de el ”O carte despre o adolescență într-o Americăa libertăților depline, care aduce în prim plan intimitatea și frumusețeaanilor autodistrugători când sexul era liber, iar cocaina nu dădea dependență”
Cartea lui Dirk Wittenborn ”...more
The Tmes ”Modern și feroce …oferă o privire nemiloasă asupra corupției celor foarte bogați”
Sunday Telegraph ”Deopotrivă sălbatică și amuzantă”
Chiar și autorul Dirk Wittenbornne zice despre cartea creată de el ”O carte despre o adolescență într-o Americăa libertăților depline, care aduce în prim plan intimitatea și frumusețeaanilor autodistrugători când sexul era liber, iar cocaina nu dădea dependență”
Cartea lui Dirk Wittenborn ”...more
An excellent insight into the psyche of a troubled 15/16 year old boy. It has been compared favourably to Cather in the Rye and I would have to agree that this is a far better prtrayal of a troubled teen, and much wittier to boot! It's full of humour, has a bit of a dark side, starts off as a bit of a jaunt, though with a slightly seedy aspect and tumbles into a little bit of whodunnit mystery. An absolutely superb read with intriguing, alive characters and a fast paced story that will keep your...more
I chose to read this book after reading Pharmakon by Wittenborn, a quirky novel I immensely enjoyed. Fierce People was nothing deep- just an enjoyable story with a main theme somewhat similar to Nick Carraway's disenchantment of wealth in Gatsby. It was fun to read how the main character (Finn) navigated the fierce social environment he is brought to. However, towards the end the novel took a turn for the worse and veered off into ridiculousness, or so I thought. Unfortunately the ending was pre...more
I thought the writing in this book was incredible. It was dense, descriptive, witty, and fast paced. Totally, utterly entertaining. I'm not surprised it's being made into movie. My ONLY criticism is this: I thought the writing was at such a higher level than the typical beach read that when I reached the end, which was insanely shocking and packed with surprises, I was almost disapointed because it was almost too "blockbuster." Is it possible to think a book has too entertaining an ending? I thi...more
I saw a preview somewhere of a film made from this book, and it looked intriguing, so when I found the book at a shop in London I figured I'd read it since it would probably be better the movie and who knows when I would see the movie anyway. After reading the book I'm curious to know what the movie version of it would be like. It's about a teenage boy whose mother is a drug addict and takes him to live in a wealthy town where she's working for a millionaire as his masseuse. The boy gets involve...more
Dirk Wittenborn offers up a humorous and witty coming of age story that follows rebellious, curious and relatable teen Finn Earl through his interactions with a wealthy and twisted family. The plot gives readers a peek into the world of the privileged through a cast of eccentric characters, and some of their behavior is downright disturbing. The book started out very strong and I greatly enjoyed the first half, but the action meandered around in the second half to a somewhat unsatisfying, predic...more
Well written, engaging from the first couple of pages, and characters that I will remember. I realized that I saw the movie halfway through reading this book...strange way to read it. For that reason, I enjoyed the first half more than the second.
Loved the book, it got really interesting toward the end, the twist made it a really addictive read but I was actually expecting a double twist or something at the end (even though what you find out is pretty disturbing). Could've ended better but I really enjoyed reading it.
Written from the point of view of a teenaged boy. Reminded me of "Cather in the Rye", but made me laugh instead of cry!
Great beach book. Many rich (pardon the pun) characters and a wonderful tapestry woven together to make a provocative story.
The only fiction book I couldn't put down in the past 10 years (also probably the only fiction book I've read in that time).
Jan 02, 2009
Jama
added it
got this for my birthday one year in Chicago. sort of a Huckleberry Finn meets Igby Goes Down character...
May 20, 2012
Terri
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of The Emporer's Children and The Secret History
I liked this book a lot. I'm very stingy with five-star ratings, but I considered giving it five stars. Consider this a 4.5 star. There are probably enough page-turning, what-happens-next moments here for two or three different books. It strikes a pretty good balance on the predictable/unpredictable scale, the characters are interesting and sad and a little funny, and the narrator is appealing and believable. If each of those elements were kicked up just a notch further, and if the book had a bi...more
Great book, grips you from the very beginning and rooting for Finn all the way through!
Excellent yet disturbing coming-of-age story filled with wit and a well-conceived plot.
I never saw the movie, but the book... Dirk Wittenborn can write.
It really dived into the subtle selfishness of money. It creeps in like you wouldn't suspect, and makes some more evil than you could imagine. It's amazing how a family, filled with all the finest things in life, could be so dissatisfied. This books has it all, family, love, sex, deception, war-tactics... you name it.
Did you know that Dirk's nephew is Jamie Johnson of the J&J Pharma. Johnson's? I think this book might be about...more
It really dived into the subtle selfishness of money. It creeps in like you wouldn't suspect, and makes some more evil than you could imagine. It's amazing how a family, filled with all the finest things in life, could be so dissatisfied. This books has it all, family, love, sex, deception, war-tactics... you name it.
Did you know that Dirk's nephew is Jamie Johnson of the J&J Pharma. Johnson's? I think this book might be about...more
One of the best teen books ever!
J. D. Salinger + Mark Twain = Dirk Wittenborn
J. D. Salinger + Mark Twain = Dirk Wittenborn
I seriously bought this book by accident at a book fair. I picked it up to check it out and in the mad frenzy of looking at more books I never even looked at it before I bought it. Thank God! Cause I know myself well enough to say that if I had read the dusk jacket flap I would have not wanted to proceed with the book. But the book so far is awesome! Very well written. Personal but also distanced from real life. You can sense the bear traps coming (of a sort) but you still want to keep reading e...more
Better than the movie.
Read on study abroad.
I bought this book quite a while ago at a used book store years ago. It was a sale and I just grabbed whatever book I could grab. I'm actually glad I waited those years to read this or I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much. Back then I would have been extremely offended by 99% of the content in the book but life happened and now I'm chuckling at (and wishing for) my innocence. Either way, I enjoyed this book. A bit predictable near the end but a very good read. This is going on my favorites list.
Absolutely loved this book. Loved the complex characters, and the book captured the 70's beautifully. This book reminded me of my all time favorite book, "Music for Torching" by A.M. Homes, another book about dysfunctional families. A great read for those that like quirkiness!! Look forward to reading more by this author.
Apr 14, 2008
Diablo
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes the contemporary-bildungsroman genre
a hilarious & fiercely "classy" bildungsroman / anthropology of American "old money" - manages to stay emotionally real despite increasing outrages of plot as it snarks along.
(note: i'm rating this one without the final chapter, without which ever-after-all tack-on the book is much stronger.)
(note: i'm rating this one without the final chapter, without which ever-after-all tack-on the book is much stronger.)
My nineteen year old nephew shoplifted this book , pretty daring if you consider the shocking pink cover and yellow edged pages. So glad he did ! (I don't actually condone theft , karma will catch up with him )Anyway , excellent summer read fast paced and plot thats twisted to say the least.
A strange, uneven, satirical tale of American class structure placed in late 1970s. This novel started off very strong, but ended in a strained mess of cliches and predictablity.
(If nothing else, it made for an interesting parallel read to Hollinghurst's The Swimming-Pool Library.)
(If nothing else, it made for an interesting parallel read to Hollinghurst's The Swimming-Pool Library.)
This is one of the best books I have ever read. Well written, incredibly told coming of age story. Beautifully developed characters. I was right there, watching it all. A masterpiece. I loved it!
Sparse character development, passable dialogue. Pretty decent story with a predictable ending. Very suited toward film adaptation...and what do you know!http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401420/
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“We are the sum of all people we have ever met; you change the tribe and the tribe changes you.”
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45 people liked it
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Dec 18, 2007 10:54am