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10th out of 13 books
—
2 voters
Not Untrue And Not Unkind
A riveting novel of friendship, rivalry, and betrayal, set against the lush but tumultuous backdrop of war-torn Africa.
In Dublin, a newspaper editor called Cartwright is found dead. One of his colleagues, Owen Simmons, discovers a dossier on Cartwright's desk containing a photograph that brings him back to a dusty road in Africa and to a woman he once loved. "Not Untrue &...more
In Dublin, a newspaper editor called Cartwright is found dead. One of his colleagues, Owen Simmons, discovers a dossier on Cartwright's desk containing a photograph that brings him back to a dusty road in Africa and to a woman he once loved. "Not Untrue &...more
Paperback, 276 pages
Published
April 2nd 2009
by Penguin Ireland
(first published 2009)
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Every image and every emotion in this book is a cliche -- a cliche about Africa, a cliche about expats in Africa, a cliche about men and women...
The framing device set in Ireland never gets off the ground, and is frankly overly melodramatic for what turns out to be very little payoff (if Cartwright could blackmail the narrator, he never did). The Africa sections -- with their scenes of bloody anguish and teeming refugees in (check the boxes) Rwanda, Congo and Sierra Leone (as we move through the...more
The framing device set in Ireland never gets off the ground, and is frankly overly melodramatic for what turns out to be very little payoff (if Cartwright could blackmail the narrator, he never did). The Africa sections -- with their scenes of bloody anguish and teeming refugees in (check the boxes) Rwanda, Congo and Sierra Leone (as we move through the...more
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I won another title but received this book instead...
The author tells the story of Owen, a writer for a newspaper who is stationed in Africa. If you've ever wondered what it might be like to 'be at the front', this narrative tells you the good and the bad (of Owen's life).
I loved Mr. O'Loughlin descriptions 'the days and nights mill around like mismatched fighters', 'the parliament building was a large box of rusty concrete'....I could so easily visualise and those descriptions throughout the s...more
The author tells the story of Owen, a writer for a newspaper who is stationed in Africa. If you've ever wondered what it might be like to 'be at the front', this narrative tells you the good and the bad (of Owen's life).
I loved Mr. O'Loughlin descriptions 'the days and nights mill around like mismatched fighters', 'the parliament building was a large box of rusty concrete'....I could so easily visualise and those descriptions throughout the s...more
I have very mixed feelings about this book, but on the whole I thought it was a well written and ultimately honest attempt to address the unreal situation of some believable (if unlikable and in a couple of cases clichéd) Westerners trying to deal with several realities of late C20th Africa - described more vividly than is comfortable for armchair travellers or current affairs analysts. The Dublin sections add little to the tale. The novel is clearly pretty autobiographical, and I think the auth...more
This book was just - it was awful.
The first 200 pages was full unremitting boredom, bland stories about very uninteresting and unappealing and one-dimensional characters and with no drive at all. The last 70 pages had brief splashes of interest - I liked the sections about Cartwright - but ultimately it felt like a dreary waste of time. I had to force myself to pick up the book every time.
I have disliked books because they were dull, because I hated the characters, because there was no beauty...more
The first 200 pages was full unremitting boredom, bland stories about very uninteresting and unappealing and one-dimensional characters and with no drive at all. The last 70 pages had brief splashes of interest - I liked the sections about Cartwright - but ultimately it felt like a dreary waste of time. I had to force myself to pick up the book every time.
I have disliked books because they were dull, because I hated the characters, because there was no beauty...more
Owen Simmons has a comfortable life these days. His work as a foreign correspondent over, he potters around in the newspaper's home office, doing little real work but a fixture nonetheless. The death of an office mate and the discovery of an old file of Simmons' stories from his time in Africa leads him to wonder why his colleague was interested in his time there and forces him back in his mind to relive those days.
Owen went to Africa as a stringer, a journalist who wrote articles hoping to sell...more
Owen went to Africa as a stringer, a journalist who wrote articles hoping to sell...more
Owen Simmons is the main character in this book about foreign correspondents and photographers. He is a newpaper man from Ireland who travels to Africa to report in the Congo. He meets journalists and photographers from all over the world. They become family during the trials they encounter.
The reason I did not give it a higher mark is because it left me with so many unanswered questions. His love interest Beatrice and his boss at the paper, Cartwright left me wondering about their parts in the...more
The reason I did not give it a higher mark is because it left me with so many unanswered questions. His love interest Beatrice and his boss at the paper, Cartwright left me wondering about their parts in the...more
Ed O'Loughlin's Not Untrue and Not Unkind was long-listed for the 2009 Booker Prize, and having finished it, I can only wonder what they were thinking.
It's fairly well-written, but it's one of the most boring and uninvolving novels I've read in a while. The exploits of a group of ex-pat journalists in the middle of various African wars of the late 20th century combined with a love-story (or a story of obsession) between the narrator, an Irish journalist named Owen, and the mysterious Beatrice, o...more
It's fairly well-written, but it's one of the most boring and uninvolving novels I've read in a while. The exploits of a group of ex-pat journalists in the middle of various African wars of the late 20th century combined with a love-story (or a story of obsession) between the narrator, an Irish journalist named Owen, and the mysterious Beatrice, o...more
This is a difficult book to rate, so I'm not giving it a number. I just can't bring myself to do it this time.
Owen Simmons is selected to take over after the death of his editor, Cartwright. As he begins to go through Cartwright's folders, he discovers a photo of Owen's friends and colleagues taken during his time in Africa as a correspondent during the 1990s. As he studies the photo, it takes him back to those days, reopening wounds that he'd rather not remember, some of which, in fact, he's m...more
Owen Simmons is selected to take over after the death of his editor, Cartwright. As he begins to go through Cartwright's folders, he discovers a photo of Owen's friends and colleagues taken during his time in Africa as a correspondent during the 1990s. As he studies the photo, it takes him back to those days, reopening wounds that he'd rather not remember, some of which, in fact, he's m...more
"I feel slightly guilty about giving it two stars as it wasn't a bad book it just had few redeeming features. It was quite frankly a bit dull - with no characters to sympathise with as they were all a bit irritating. The back drop of Africa has been done so many times before there wasn't really much here that was originial.
At times it felt more like the authors memoirs than a fiction book which makes me wonder how appropriate the Booker nomination is - I don't think it is likely to be shortlist...more
At times it felt more like the authors memoirs than a fiction book which makes me wonder how appropriate the Booker nomination is - I don't think it is likely to be shortlist...more
This is O'Loughlin's first novel. Somewhat Heminwayesque in that it takes place in Africa during there seemingly endless civil wars. There is a cast of jounalists and photographers from various countries going from one war zone to the next getting their stories. The main character, Owen, has a short affair with a female journalist from the U.S. and France. It's kind of "what's it all about, Alfie" in message.
Technically well written, with some sensitive and lyrical writing, and some interesting insights into life as a war-zone reporter. However ultimately this is a rather cynical, sad and depressed novel, and did not engage me as a reader. If the point of view had been from Beatrice rather than Owen it might have been more interesting and vital.
eh.
Long (and great) on detail, but short on everything else. There just wasn't enough character or clear narrative to really improve my opinion of the book. Perhaps that was a deliberate style choice, but it seemed a major omission to me. I'm rather surprised it made the list for the Booker last year (although this was not my least favourite of last year's list).
Long (and great) on detail, but short on everything else. There just wasn't enough character or clear narrative to really improve my opinion of the book. Perhaps that was a deliberate style choice, but it seemed a major omission to me. I'm rather surprised it made the list for the Booker last year (although this was not my least favourite of last year's list).
Longlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize, very strange story about journalists and photographers in Africa and India during coups and uprisings. Dark writing, very descriptive and felt pretty real.
Liked the descriptive words. Would have liked to have the story filled out with more detail of the people. The book seems more like an outlineof ideas than a complete story.
Made it half way. Too many characters, too confusing. Did not live up to its reviews.
"Darkly authoritative" depiction of the world of journalism and correspondents.
A well written interesting tale about the almost bygone days of journalism and what it means to be a free lancer in Africa.
Not great and not awful.
Pretty banal, didn't like a single character, didn't care whether they died or not, big whatever.
Pretty banal, didn't like a single character, didn't care whether they died or not, big whatever.
Oct 12, 2009
Jen
marked it as to-read
Booker Shortlist
An interesting read, especially as it's told from a journalist's perspective of the African wars, but the narrative wanders and the framing device ends up being a crutch instead of an easel.
First one I abandoned on the Booker list.
Good read, brilliant plot twist. A great insight into '90s Africa violence and atrocities.
"One of the most powerful debut Irish novels of the last decade." � Sunday Business Post
Listen to Not Untrue & Not Unkind on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
Listen to Not Untrue & Not Unkind on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
I really enjoyed this book. It was gritty and exciting and I think it might be a L-B1 but I couldn't be sure so please don't take my word for it.
Irish reporter in Africa, could have been written better, it read more like a tv show.
[...:]
It becomes still more difficult to find
Words at once true and kind,
Or not untrue and not unkind.
- Philip Larkin
It becomes still more difficult to find
Words at once true and kind,
Or not untrue and not unkind.
- Philip Larkin
So bad, that despite persevering to almost halfway through, I had to pack it in. I really tried.
This was okay, but seemed to be missing something. More later.
Great story, and great insight into Africa and the world of war correspondents.
So far I am not enjoying this reporters-in-Africa tale.
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