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Show of Hands: A Novel
by
Anthony McCarten (Goodreads Author)
When a desperate car dealer advertises a competition with a simple premise -- that each contestant must keep one hand on a car at all times, and the last one standing will drive away the owner of a new Land Rover -- he sets in motion a chain of events that brings together an oddball group of individuals, each with a desperate need to win.
For the contestants, this publicity...more
For the contestants, this publicity...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
February 17th 2009
by Washington Square Press
(first published 2009)
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Jul 25, 2011
Larry Hoffer
added it
Have you ever seen or read about one of those competitions where people have to keep one hand on a car as long as possible in order to win it? This book tells the story of a group of English folks participating in such a contest, dreamed up by a car dealer struggling to make ends meet (and dealing with challenges of his own). It focuses on a few characters in particular--Jess, a meter maid and single mother of a quadriplegic daughter, and Nick, a full-of-himself blowhard whose self-confidence is...more
I would actually give this a 3.5 stars. I liked the story; it was unusual even if a little predictable. The characters were interesting. The story is centered around a contest to win a new car, where the winner is the person that has kept their hand on the car the longest. Naturally all the contestants have their different reasons for wanting to win a car. There is a little language, but it didn't seem too over the top for me. It was interesting to see the characters get to know each other throu...more
Feb 15, 2012
July
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Leute, die Psychologie mögen
Recommended to July by:
Tante
Als erstes - warum ich dem Buch nur 3 und nicht 4 Sterne gegeben habe: weil ich mich nicht entscheiden konnte :) Und ich fand 4 Sterne für das Buch zu gut, denn so gut war es nicht.
Die Geschichte ist seeeeeeeeeeeeeehr psychologisch.
Es geht im Grunde genommen darum, dass sich 2 Hauptpersonen (Jess und Tom), die beide ein völlig unterschiedliches Leben führen, zufällig bei einem Wettbewerb eines Autohändlers kennenlernen, bei dem noch viele andere Tausend Leute aus London mitmachen. 40 werden au...more
Die Geschichte ist seeeeeeeeeeeeeehr psychologisch.
Es geht im Grunde genommen darum, dass sich 2 Hauptpersonen (Jess und Tom), die beide ein völlig unterschiedliches Leben führen, zufällig bei einem Wettbewerb eines Autohändlers kennenlernen, bei dem noch viele andere Tausend Leute aus London mitmachen. 40 werden au...more
This is a fun novel about some London citizens who enter a competition to win a car by seeing who can keep one hand on a car the longest (with a break every hour). This is a character-driven story, and McCarten has a great sense for the range of human emotion and brings it forward with humor and a sense of understanding and even compassion. I read this book on our vacation in Europe and couldn't put it down at the end of long days, even though I was exhausted.
Jan 15, 2012
Liz
added it
A very interesting book about an unlikely topic; a contest to win a car by holding on to it for as long as one can hold out without sleep. A group of disadvantaged people with different reasons for needing to win a car, and an unscrupulous used car dealer whose business will go under without a new publicity gimmick. A really suspenseful psychological story about what can happen when altruism and self-interest conflict.
An enjoyable book that is quite different from most others I have read. This one takes place at an auto dealers in England where several people are all vieing for winning a free car. The trick - they have to keep their hand on it the longest. You get to meet some of the people and find out their stories and also see how they change as they go 5 days without sleep. A good little story.
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This book is similar in premise to the contest portrayed in the documentary "Hands on a Hard Body" (people compete to win a car by seeing who can stand with one hand on it the longest, without sleeping). It was a little hard to get into (largely because the first character encountered is so unpleasant) but then I stayed up way later than I should have last night to finish because I had to see who won. That's gotta count for something.
For a dollar-store find, this book was a pleasant surprise. I breezed through it in 2 days, enjoying getting to know the varied characters and the author's insight into their motivations for enduring a grueling Guiness World Record attempt. There were fun moments scattered throughout to make this book a fun, fast read.
I truly loved this book. It's about a competition to win a new car but really it was about so much more. You get to know these contestants, learn their stories, and as the book progresses you see their personalities challenged, questioned & eventually evolve. I read this in 2 days or so because I just couldn't put it down. Good times. :)
Die Moral von der Geschicht',
die fand ich nicht.
Obwohl vom Schreiben her schön,
konnt ich mich nicht dran gewöhn'.
Warum ich gerade reime,
man fragt es sich.
Drum antworte ich,
ich weiß es nicht.
Anthonys andere Werke,
die hatten alle viel mehr Stärke.
Also alles in allem
hat es mir leider nicht sehr gefallen.
die fand ich nicht.
Obwohl vom Schreiben her schön,
konnt ich mich nicht dran gewöhn'.
Warum ich gerade reime,
man fragt es sich.
Drum antworte ich,
ich weiß es nicht.
Anthonys andere Werke,
die hatten alle viel mehr Stärke.
Also alles in allem
hat es mir leider nicht sehr gefallen.
Some of the writing was overblown, but all in all it was an interesting book. It's told from multiple perspectives--this was particularly interesting because several of the characters were rather unlikeable, yet you cared about what happened.
Sadly realistic story of the grueling process of trying to win a car by keeping your hand on it. People are stretched to their limits and discover things about themselves they never would have predicted. It's fascinating.
I really liked it, the story flows along. The characters were interesting and all had different reasons for signing up for this contest. I think that the could easily turn this book into a romantic-comedy movie.
Weird little book. I thought the concept and the beginning were great, but I didn't think the second half of the book lived up to the potential of the first half.
I'm glad I own this book, because I'll read it again. Author has good insight into human behavior and motivation. Some great paragraphs explaining such.
Although the premise is interesting, it was too much of a drag. The author should have not wasted the idea by the slow progress of the story.
Good solid novel. This was a nice distraction from all the memoirs I've been reading.
I definitely want to find more of McCarten's stuff.
I definitely want to find more of McCarten's stuff.
Really liked this book. I read the whole thing in one night. Quick read, the characters are very well developed and very compelling.
Fun read. This is one of those books that isn't too self-consciously quirky. It's highly believable, with a dash of quirk for flavor.
Well, maybe a 2.5. Or a 2. I'm feeling generous. It was entertaining, I'm just stingy.
my summer escape book! just enough twists to keep it engaging.
Pretty average. But harmless. For the airplane only.
light and humorous, a sunny afternoon book
Great book!
**YA Staff Review / Tina
**YA Staff Review / Tina
Mildly entertaining.
Unexpectedly captivating
don't bother
Jun 22, 2009
Ande
added it
This book was ok - I got to the end, but I wouldn't recommend it. You can find a better story to spend some time with.
Enjoyable, quick read. Interesting concept for a story.
Really a 3.5. A creative idea and very well-developed character study, but probably not for everyone. I enjoyed it.
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Anthony McCarten’s debut novel, Spinners, won international acclaim, and was followed by The English Harem and the award winning Death of a Superhero, and Show of Hands, all four books being translated into fourteen languages. McCarten has also written twelve stage plays, including the worldwide success Ladies’ Night, which won France’s Molière Prize, the Meilleure Pièce Comique, in 2001, and Via...more
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“And that's when he saw, at last, why it was so sweet to be infinitesimal: because as we become nothing, beneath the stars, so too do our troubles.”
—
1 person liked it
“Life, especially in relation to other women, would always be a competition, one she would rarely win.”
—
1 person liked it
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