Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
49th out of 86 books
—
144 voters
Lights Out in Wonderland
Gabriel Brockwell, aesthete, poet, philosopher, disaffected twenty-something decadent, is thinking terminal. His philosophical enquiries, the abstractions he indulges, and how these relate to a life lived, all point in the same direction. His destination is Wonderland. The nature and style of the journey is all that's to be decided. Taking in London, Tokyo, Berlin and the...more
Hardcover, 314 pages
Published
by Faber & Faber
(first published January 1st 2010)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,451)
This was BRILLIANT. I'd be happy to be proved wrong, but I am prepared to say now that it's my book of 2010 - I can't imagine that I'm going to come across anything as unique, inspiring and downright excellent in the next few months.
The story begins with Gabriel Brockwell - dreamer, quasi-misanthrope, unfulfilled artist, paradoxically both a pursuer of ultimate decadence and an anti-capitalist - deciding to kill himself... but not quite immediately. The next 300 pages tell the fantastical tale o...more
The story begins with Gabriel Brockwell - dreamer, quasi-misanthrope, unfulfilled artist, paradoxically both a pursuer of ultimate decadence and an anti-capitalist - deciding to kill himself... but not quite immediately. The next 300 pages tell the fantastical tale o...more
Reading this book was an ordeal, and I’m glad it’s over, but I think it was worth it to undertake. DBC Pierre’s first book, Vernon God Little, was a masterpiece. I loved it, and I still do. It was a tiny bit slow to start, and it was a bit of an ordeal too, but the plot was captivating, it had a variety of intriguing characters and some little side plots to keep you interested. I also loved and heavily identifies with the main character.
In LOW… I didn’t. I legitimately hated…I can’t even remembe...more
In LOW… I didn’t. I legitimately hated…I can’t even remembe...more
It was hard rating this book, I pondered between 3-5, before settling on 3. I loved the story line, the debauchery in it, and how the book looks at different characters of nature/ nationality, but there were several factors that made me score it lower.
I both liked and disliked the style of writing. Mostly, I loved it. It was descriptive like a poet, but methodical too. But I didn't need the need to use so many asterix*. The odd one or two where information is needed, sure. But I found so many, p...more
I both liked and disliked the style of writing. Mostly, I loved it. It was descriptive like a poet, but methodical too. But I didn't need the need to use so many asterix*. The odd one or two where information is needed, sure. But I found so many, p...more
Before I read this book I read some reviews and with the negativity poured on this book it's a little pleasant miracle that I went ahead and read it. Perhaps it is not as good as his first two books, I would not know I have not read them. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It IS one of my favourites, and it is a little bit possible that again I may go against my life's motto of never reading a book twice and yes, read it again. Yes, the footnotes can be a little bit irrelevant/longwinded even annoying, and after...more
1 like · like · see review
I read "Vernon God Little" a couple of years ago and didn't really like it, but this stuck out to me in the library (why I love libraries: you never know what will catch your eye) so I thought I'd give it a go. i was pleased to find that I enjoyed this book a lot, with a couple of caveats.
The main thing I liked was Gabriel's absurd situation, it ends up dragging you in and I found I wanted to keep reading to see what the twists of fate would have him doing next. The suicidal aspect gave it a nic...more
The main thing I liked was Gabriel's absurd situation, it ends up dragging you in and I found I wanted to keep reading to see what the twists of fate would have him doing next. The suicidal aspect gave it a nic...more
I don't think my lack of enjoyment of this book was due to the quality of the writing, so please don't let my opinion put you off reading for yourself!
However, I think the book is a bit marmite-y and it just wasn't for me and my poor tired brain this week! The writing is incredible. It's addictive and evocative and as you follow Gabriel Brockwell through his self enforced final days on earth you travel at break neck speed through loathing him and loving him and certainly feel like you've travell...more
However, I think the book is a bit marmite-y and it just wasn't for me and my poor tired brain this week! The writing is incredible. It's addictive and evocative and as you follow Gabriel Brockwell through his self enforced final days on earth you travel at break neck speed through loathing him and loving him and certainly feel like you've travell...more
1 like · like · see review
A 'Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas' for the age of the World Financial Crisis. This book is slowly restoring my faith in DBC Pierre. I was wary, having been burnt by his second book after loving his first, and reading a bad review of this latest. Yet when Lisa said "I hated this book but I think you'll like it," I read the first sentence, and then the second and third, and saw immediately in the narrator a like mind. As a self-confessed black sheep of society, as well as of my family, like-mind...more
LIGHTS OUT IN WONDERLAND is the tale of Gabriel Brockwell, a man who has decided to end it all. He has made up his mind to take his life, but not right away. He wants to spend a little time between Life and Death, or exist in a drug and alcohol fueled Limbo. And during this time of waiting, he wants to promote and indulge in the biggest and wildest party of his life-"Wonderland".
The book is all about excess, how to get it, and how to keep it going. On this level, it's a kind of meditation on th...more
The book is all about excess, how to get it, and how to keep it going. On this level, it's a kind of meditation on th...more
I liked 'Lights Out....', and it's pretty obvious that DBC Pierre can write. The same dry, acerbic tone that was used to critique US culture in 'Vernon God Little' is here turned toward the more general nature of Capitalism, and Consumerism, and their creeping impact upon that which we call "the human condition".
Pierre's observations are sharp, scathing, and (depending on your point of view) pretty close to the mark. (This, I think, is most obvious in the footnote thingies, so I'd urge everyone...more
Pierre's observations are sharp, scathing, and (depending on your point of view) pretty close to the mark. (This, I think, is most obvious in the footnote thingies, so I'd urge everyone...more
I fell in love with this book.
I bought it a year ago, at the Parisian Shakespeare & Company bookstore and I have no idea why it took me so long to get it started.
Never in my life have I come across such a relatable character and so many plot twists. I'm sitting here all stunned, in all honesty: I don't know what to say. I'll just leave you with a few quotes:
"There isn't a name for my situation. Firstly because I decided to kill myself. And then because of this idea: I don't have to do it im...more
I bought it a year ago, at the Parisian Shakespeare & Company bookstore and I have no idea why it took me so long to get it started.
Never in my life have I come across such a relatable character and so many plot twists. I'm sitting here all stunned, in all honesty: I don't know what to say. I'll just leave you with a few quotes:
"There isn't a name for my situation. Firstly because I decided to kill myself. And then because of this idea: I don't have to do it im...more
Boy, was this book an adventure. I really felt like I was right there with Gabriel on his whole journey from London, to Tokyo, to Berlin. The author made me feel like only I was "in-the-know" and privy to all the psychotic ramblings he had to share. The fact that this book starts off in a mental institution pretty much sets the tone for the whole book. Yeah, Gabriel's effed up, but he doesn't care. He's going to kill him self, ha ha. No worries.
Gabriel isn't really a likable guy though. He's mo...more
Gabriel isn't really a likable guy though. He's mo...more
If you were to mix a cocktail of Brett Easton Ellis, J.D. Salinger, and a dash of various decadent writers of the late nineteenth century, you might come up with a concoction that resembles DBC Pierre’s Lights Out in Wonderland. At one point, the narrator directly alludes to many of these fin de siècle celebs as he awaits “the greatest bacchanal since the fall of Rome.” That party, which provides the climax to the novel, is compared to “Des Esseintes’ last stand, Dorian Gray’s big night out, wai...more
Whoosh.
There's a lot going on here. DBC Pierre really goes beyond what he did well in Vernon God Little and takes it to the next level: The little footnotes, the recipes, the little system of neologisms he's created, they all add up to make for a notetaking-worthy read.
Sure, there are some parts where it starts to slow down (the entirety of Tokyo; the beginning of Berlin), but it quickly picks up speed and heads to a completely ludicrous, yet satisfying wrap-up.
And yes, there are some heavy-hand...more
There's a lot going on here. DBC Pierre really goes beyond what he did well in Vernon God Little and takes it to the next level: The little footnotes, the recipes, the little system of neologisms he's created, they all add up to make for a notetaking-worthy read.
Sure, there are some parts where it starts to slow down (the entirety of Tokyo; the beginning of Berlin), but it quickly picks up speed and heads to a completely ludicrous, yet satisfying wrap-up.
And yes, there are some heavy-hand...more
4 likes · like · see review
Sep 06, 2011
CJ
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
cannonball-read,
contemporaryfiction
(This book was graciously sent to me for free by W.W. Norton & Co. via Goodreads.com. I think they're going to wish they'd sent it to someone else.)
I hated Catcher in the Rye. I know it's supposed to be some kind of iconic book about about teenage angst or something, but to me Holden Caulfield was just sort of a whiny twit who created most of his problems himself. Boohooo! My parents don't understand me and my lack of effort is resulting in poor school performance and OMG SOMETIMES ADULTS LI...more
I hated Catcher in the Rye. I know it's supposed to be some kind of iconic book about about teenage angst or something, but to me Holden Caulfield was just sort of a whiny twit who created most of his problems himself. Boohooo! My parents don't understand me and my lack of effort is resulting in poor school performance and OMG SOMETIMES ADULTS LI...more
Vernon God Little is one of my favourite books so I was pretty excited to get hold of this, and the first line really got me hooked. But a few days ago, and about 60 pages in, I found myself telling one of my students that I was reading a book that I really didn't like and was considering putting it down for good before investing too much time. But then something amazing happened a few pages later- Tokyo, a wild ride truely begins here. Gabriel stops ranting as much and the desire for a final ni...more
Drug-fueled coming of age story. As much as I did not like Vernon God Little, I loved this book. Right up till the last two or so chapters I was planning on giving this book 5 stars, but the end was not as great as I'd hoped. The best thing about this book are the incredibly vivid scenes of (general) debauchery, and especially those involving drugs very persuasively inspire some very bad life choices. All the faux-lisophical musings that typically accompany adolescence are included in this book,...more
I was unbearably excited to find that DBC Pierre had written another book, but I was a little scared to read it because nothing could ever quite live up to Vernon God Little in my mind. But oh, it did. DBC Pierre is about the most talented writer imaginable. This book is a sensory mindfuck, bodyfuck, soulfuck. I was dubious, at first, about the inclusion of footnotes, as that seems more than a bit pretentious, but I found fairly early on that the footnotes contain some of the most brilliant insi...more
Pierre is slightly outside of my reading comfort zone, due to his apparent obsession with bodily functions, which make his books very difficult to read during meals. That said, his writing is vivid and his characters are marvelous. I did not care for Gabriel when I first met him, but his adventures were quite absorbing. He eventually meets a couple of people who put him in his place, putting their finger exactly on the problems I had with him throughout the book. Some cogent refelctions on our 2...more
Really, I had a love/hate relationship with this book; and finished it merely to prove it would not win. Surely most of us have fought that battle with a book or two; sometimes to give up and other times to carry on.
There were moments that I thought a paragraph, or 2-3 pages flowed nicely.
Sometimes the writing felt so disjointed I had to put the book down and come back for it to make sense. Though I actually rather liked the style of using foot notes for separate rants - and that was an aspect o...more
There were moments that I thought a paragraph, or 2-3 pages flowed nicely.
Sometimes the writing felt so disjointed I had to put the book down and come back for it to make sense. Though I actually rather liked the style of using foot notes for separate rants - and that was an aspect o...more
This book is so fucking good. I love how completely it captivated me from the moment I read the first sentence and kept me captivated. It starts with Gabriel deciding to kill himself. Then he decides that he doesn’t have to do it right away. Whoosh! DBC Pierre writes so well, and works in some wonderful motifs that grow and develop throughout the book. From the point of this realisation, Gabriel goes on a journey to find out what exactly he wants to do with his life before he ends it. The existe...more
Lights Out in Wonderland begins with these lines:
There isn’t a name for my situation. Firstly because I decided to kill myself. And then because of this idea:
I don’t have to do it immediately.
Whoosh, through a little door. It’s a limbo.
I need never answer the phone again or pay a bill. My credit score no longer matters. Fears and compulsions don’t matter. Socks don’t matter. Because I’ll be dead. And who am I to die? A microwave chef. A writer of pamphlets. A product of our time. A failed studen...more
There isn’t a name for my situation. Firstly because I decided to kill myself. And then because of this idea:
I don’t have to do it immediately.
Whoosh, through a little door. It’s a limbo.
I need never answer the phone again or pay a bill. My credit score no longer matters. Fears and compulsions don’t matter. Socks don’t matter. Because I’ll be dead. And who am I to die? A microwave chef. A writer of pamphlets. A product of our time. A failed studen...more
I was expecting this to be exactly my type of book, but it didn't quite hit the buttons!
It is fun and interesting and well written. The story is good and there are a few bits in there to make you think. Pierre clearly knows how to write! My gripe, albeit small, is that it doesn't quite hit the heights it aspires to.
I dunno, perhaps it's a bit too clever for me.
Right, next book; Vernon God Little.
It is fun and interesting and well written. The story is good and there are a few bits in there to make you think. Pierre clearly knows how to write! My gripe, albeit small, is that it doesn't quite hit the heights it aspires to.
I dunno, perhaps it's a bit too clever for me.
Right, next book; Vernon God Little.
If you plotted a graph you would find Lights Out in wonderland midway between Dr. Hunter S. Thompson and the Frankfurt School, midway between Petronius' Satyricon and William Gibson's Pattern Recognition. Pierre is great at getting to the voice of characters, sometimes at the expense of giving them anything to talk about. Points for audacity and ambition, penalties for plotting and pacing and resolution.
Blackly humorous travelogue in which a 25-year-old waster (who seems to work as an event manager when he can't avoid it) gains Stature and decides to go on living. Contains: rants against consumerism, a portrait of modern Berlin, a fugu cook-off that ends nastily, and a lot of drugs and rock n roll (though surprisingly little sex, maybe I shouldn't have said that, but read it anyway).
More people need to read books like this. There are relative, time sensitive topics in here, namely the relative atrocities of a capitalistic world and the helplessness of the young individual. Its a bildungsroman wrapped in a gonzo burrito. I like travel tales, and I like tales with drinking and other psychadelic indulgences... and so I find a lot to like about Lights Out.
I think this book ranks along with Martin Amis' Money as a compulsory read for students. The writing is fierce and profound and as anarchic as the central character who goes on a bender via Tokyo and Berlin with the assistance of intoxicants, the Enthusiasms and some Nimbus. I find DC Pierre a powerful writer and his award winning V.G.Little sits proudly on my shelf.
DBC Pierre is very clever. And tells a fine tale.
This little beauty is a sharp 21st century rites of passage novel. It's funny, fast moving, full of perceptive sideways analyses of the state of the world - the capitalist limbo. Gabriel Brockwell pings from rock to hard place and back,from rehab to Tokyo to Berlin, and I kept turning the pages.
Great stuff.
This little beauty is a sharp 21st century rites of passage novel. It's funny, fast moving, full of perceptive sideways analyses of the state of the world - the capitalist limbo. Gabriel Brockwell pings from rock to hard place and back,from rehab to Tokyo to Berlin, and I kept turning the pages.
Great stuff.
"I've decided I'm going to kill myself."...one of the most fucked up first lines I've ever read.
Dbc Pierre is my kind of writer. This book, while inherently dark and dreary, will also lift your spirits and alter many a man's view on the banalities of life. This book should be an essential piece to any philospoher's bookshelf.
Dbc Pierre is my kind of writer. This book, while inherently dark and dreary, will also lift your spirits and alter many a man's view on the banalities of life. This book should be an essential piece to any philospoher's bookshelf.
I don't really know what to say about this book. There were parts that I enjoyed and parts that I didn't. This book follows Gabriel Brockwell on his final days on the planet at breakneck speed. It is quite humorous at times and is written beautifully. The language used is lyrical and at the same time grating and rough at the edges. I wanted to love this book, but I couldn't really get into it. It might have been that I didn't really like Gabriel and his tirades made me equally amused yet tired....more
This took what felt like forever for me to get into, but was SO worth it!! Gabriel's unique perception on the events of his self-inflicted last days are disarming, funny, and sharp. It really felt like I'd been to London, Tokyo, and Berlin with him, and lived in his crazy and dangerous world. Definitely worth a read!
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
DBC Pierre is an Australian-born writer currently residing in Ireland. Born Peter Warren Finlay, the "DBC" stands for "Dirty But Clean". "Pierre" was a nickname bestowed on him by childhood friends after a cartoon character of that name.
Pierre was awarded the Booker Prize for fiction on 14 October 2003 for his novel Vernon God Little.
He is the third Australian to be so honoured, although he has...more
More about D.B.C. Pierre...
Pierre was awarded the Booker Prize for fiction on 14 October 2003 for his novel Vernon God Little.
He is the third Australian to be so honoured, although he has...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
May 12, 2013 07:11pm