A wildly entertaining debut novel, introducing a bold new voice that combines antic humor (think Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut) with a stunning f...
read full description
reviews
Jul 27, 2010
karen
rated it: 
dear jasmine,
you and i are so diametrically opposed in all things literary. i swear i am not rating this on the lower side just to retaliate for your not loving winshaw legacy. if the truth be told, it's higher than a three, but i feel like i give out a lot of fours, and i think i may have failed this book rather than this book failing me. failing like the way i am going to fail this computer class - i.e. - spectacularly. it had a lot of things to make me respond positively - there were s More...
you and i are so diametrically opposed in all things literary. i swear i am not rating this on the lower side just to retaliate for your not loving winshaw legacy. if the truth be told, it's higher than a three, but i feel like i give out a lot of fours, and i think i may have failed this book rather than this book failing me. failing like the way i am going to fail this computer class - i.e. - spectacularly. it had a lot of things to make me respond positively - there were s More...
56 comments
like
(37 people liked it)
Sep 29, 2008
(FOR THE SHORT REVIEW SKIP TO THE BOTTOM)
Not since "Catcher in the Rye" have I felt that a book was written specifically for me. Not that much is really shared between them, except they are those rare books that brim with complete and utter awesomeness. They were also that exact book I needed to read at that exact point in life.
Upon reading the cover flap I thought I was in store for something a bit pulpy and moderately derivative. This is something I usually do More...
Not since "Catcher in the Rye" have I felt that a book was written specifically for me. Not that much is really shared between them, except they are those rare books that brim with complete and utter awesomeness. They were also that exact book I needed to read at that exact point in life.
Upon reading the cover flap I thought I was in store for something a bit pulpy and moderately derivative. This is something I usually do More...
0 comments
like
(16 people liked it)
Sep 30, 2008
your neighborhood librarian
rated it: 
DAG. Nick Harkaway is well into his third pint and his eleventh story when he looks around and realizes he's got half the bar hanging on his every word, and THAT's when he leans back a little, stretches his legs, and gives you a three-page backstory on a minor idiot whose chief role in the book is getting punched in the head. Because, and this is a rule, so pay attention: punching an idiot in the head is funny, not to mention satisfying, but the road that an idiot travels on his way to getting p
More...
0 comments
like
(24 people liked it)
Jan 28, 2009
Amy
rated it:
This is a book I loved so much and is such a big sprawling creation that it's hard to do it justice. Here are the essentials: our unnamed narrator is part of a search and rescue team that's been hired to put out a fire on the one thing saving normal human life around the earth: the Jorgamund Pipe.
Why is the Pipe so essential? Not too long ago in the Gone-Away war, a new weapon was used that has made what we know as straight reality disappear and something called Stuff replace i More...
Why is the Pipe so essential? Not too long ago in the Gone-Away war, a new weapon was used that has made what we know as straight reality disappear and something called Stuff replace i More...
0 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Dec 07, 2008
Amanda
rated it: 
I should have loved this book. It's got all my usual elements: big story, foreign setting, slightly alternate to very alternate reality... but it doesn't click. And when the "plot twist" is finally (technically) revealed, I actually said out loud, "Oh, come on!" It's close to good, which kept me going, but the mark is missed. I would be interested to see what else Harkaway can come up with, but can't really say I'd recommend The Gone-Away World.
3 comments
like
(5 people liked it)
Feb 01, 2009
Tamara
rated it:
I selected this book because it was on offer for $6 if I spent $50 at Angus and Robertson. There were 5 other books to chose from and they all looked equally unpromising. I hated the cover the blurb screamed "long, infantile sci-fi and a waste of time" but I never pass up the opportunity for a cheap book - especially if the sticker price is $38.99. I read it anyway and was completely sucked in! It's a bit of an existential mind-fuck, comparable to the novel "Vurt". Wild, stu
More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Sep 28, 2010
Donna
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 04, 2008
Clay
rated it: 
“The Gone-Away World” (Knopf, $24.95, there no page numbers: too long) has a confusing hero and plenty of wheels within wheels, but Nick Harkaway is simply too in love with his own cleverness in this wordy, overlong work that has mile-wide holes in the plot.
Harkaway is amusing for a while, and his premise that the world has been unalterably changed by a war that has divided the planet into “safe” and “unsafe” is interesting – but his grasp of geography seems no firmer than his grasp More...
Harkaway is amusing for a while, and his premise that the world has been unalterably changed by a war that has divided the planet into “safe” and “unsafe” is interesting – but his grasp of geography seems no firmer than his grasp More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Jan 06, 2009
Kris
rated it:
first of all, the cover is pink. and fuzzy. i'm not sure what this is supposed to signify, but you shouldn't be put off by it.
on the surface, this book is a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic sort of story, but like all really good books, it's much more. the sci-fi is a sort of back drop more than the reason for the story's existence. i will admit that it comes off a bit cheesy at first (read the publisher's review), but after a short while i found the characters interesting, and found mys More...
on the surface, this book is a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic sort of story, but like all really good books, it's much more. the sci-fi is a sort of back drop more than the reason for the story's existence. i will admit that it comes off a bit cheesy at first (read the publisher's review), but after a short while i found the characters interesting, and found mys More...
Nov 27, 2010
Emily
rated it:
If I had asked someone to write a book tailored specifically to my interests, attention patterns, sense of humor, and favorite writing style, while including a unique plot, unpredictable and engaging characters, and a post-apocalyptic setting unlike one I've ever seen before, they might have come up with Nick Harkaway's The Gone-Away World. Certainly, they could do no better. The Gone-Away World falls exactly into a certain category of novels that is impossible to describe. I could try: It's ab
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Sep 07, 2008
Amy
rated it:
I was initially excited to read this book because I love post-apocalyptic fiction and because the first reviewers of the book seemed to think it was a wonderful work of fiction. The publishers gave Harkaway a little over $535,000 to write the book, so I was hoping that there was a reason for it other than that Harkaway is the son of famous author John le Carre.
Unfortunately, I found myself thinking the publishers got a raw deal since the problems I had with the first 2 pages continu More...
Unfortunately, I found myself thinking the publishers got a raw deal since the problems I had with the first 2 pages continu More...
3 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Jul 06, 2010
Lynne
rated it:
Very few wildly plotted, manic, Dickens-meets-Pynchon-the Matrix-Drunken Master, post-apocalyptic, comic ninja novels turn out to be that good or satisfying. Usually they can't hold it together or aren't as funny as they think they are or telegraph all their surprises and plot twists about a hundred pages before it happens. This book avoids all those traps. I'm tempted to say things like "it's the best post-apocalyptic comic novel you'll ever read," or something else along those lines,
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 18, 2008
Kellie
rated it:
Crazy pirate ship of a book. Hilarious descriptions/side stories, this reads like a drunken and possibly ill-advised night at a dive bar with ninjas. Took me forever to get through, though. Not because it was bad, but because it sometimes hurt my head. Update: I made Melissa read this book because she's smarter than me and she explained the whole twist thing. I'm crushed. And more confused. Thanks Mo, (I think).
2 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 16, 2008
Bernard
rated it:
I can't even think of what to say. I love this book, madly. The book is technically science fiction, but in the way that a unicorn is technically a horse.
The writing is brilliant. Scintillatingly infused with joy. It calls to mind Joseph Heller's Catch-22, if Heller had also loved ninja and mimes. Vonnegut, without the detachment. Pratchett without the cloying quality to the whimsy.
Quite simply the best thing I've read in quite some time and easily the most enjoyabl More...
The writing is brilliant. Scintillatingly infused with joy. It calls to mind Joseph Heller's Catch-22, if Heller had also loved ninja and mimes. Vonnegut, without the detachment. Pratchett without the cloying quality to the whimsy.
Quite simply the best thing I've read in quite some time and easily the most enjoyabl More...
0 comments
like
(5 people liked it)
Mar 15, 2009
David
rated it:
The Jorgmund Pipe is on fire. It shouldn’t be, because it was designed to be the most resilient structure ever built by humans; but then again, the very notion of things that should or should not be looks kind of quaint in this future. The Pipe is vital because of what it carries around the world: a substance called FOX that keeps the Unreal at bay. The fire must be put out, and who better to do so than the people who constructed the Pipe in the first place? That small band of people are hired
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Feb 22, 2009
Jordan
rated it:
Harkaway's "The Gone-Away World" is a surprisingly good read. It's the dude's first novel, but you can hardly tell.
Basically, the military invents a new class of WMDs called "Go Away Bombs" -- bombs which destroy the information content of all matter in its blast radius, effectively making the victims "go away". Unfortunately these bombs create an unexpected fallout -- clouds of unreal matter that take the form of the unconscious thoughts of human beings More...
Basically, the military invents a new class of WMDs called "Go Away Bombs" -- bombs which destroy the information content of all matter in its blast radius, effectively making the victims "go away". Unfortunately these bombs create an unexpected fallout -- clouds of unreal matter that take the form of the unconscious thoughts of human beings More...
Nov 01, 2011
Maureen
rated it:
Opening: "Chapter One. Where it all began; pigs and crisis; close encounters with management. The lights went out in the Nameless Bar just after nine."
This is a book which is extremely hard to describe. It is a comedy, except when it's not. It's a treatise on the foolishness of war, except when it's not. It's a serious book, with ninjas and mimes.
It's also extremely hard to put down, as my finishing it at 2 am will attest.
While it has the humor of More...
This is a book which is extremely hard to describe. It is a comedy, except when it's not. It's a treatise on the foolishness of war, except when it's not. It's a serious book, with ninjas and mimes.
It's also extremely hard to put down, as my finishing it at 2 am will attest.
While it has the humor of More...
Sep 21, 2011
Laura
rated it: 
Where do I even start on this mind bending book. At times I wanted to throw it at the wall, at other times I was glued to it. It starts off so slowly and is written in a very complicated style that takes a bit of getting used to.
Even now after finishing it Im still not entirely sure whether I loved it or hated it. The books beginning is the worst it drags at times and you feel that most of the plotlines are unneccessary but as the book continues every tiny sub plot and main plot tie t More...
Even now after finishing it Im still not entirely sure whether I loved it or hated it. The books beginning is the worst it drags at times and you feel that most of the plotlines are unneccessary but as the book continues every tiny sub plot and main plot tie t More...
Aug 07, 2011
Ron
rated it:
While giving the appearance of being a dystopian science-fiction anti-war novel, Harkaway's debut is ostensibly an anti-corporate screed that goes far beyond any narrow sense of genre and incorporates a vast array of themes. The structure, plot and characters owe a great deal to Thomas Pynchon, but the book is a literary page turner the likes of which Pynchon had never produced until Inherent Vice, and the ending is far more satisfying than the bulk of Pynchon's work. Like his father, John Le Ca
More...
Jun 20, 2011
Owen
rated it:
This book presents itself as a rather well written sci-fi novel about the end of the world. After a few dozen pages, I realized the prose was far too good to limit it to just that.
The Gone-Away World begins after "the event", something appropriately world-shattering that the bleakness seeps through after the first 5 pages. It begins as if to detail some grand adventure, then rewinds to the child hood of the narrator and begins from there. Harkaway violates the major rule More...
The Gone-Away World begins after "the event", something appropriately world-shattering that the bleakness seeps through after the first 5 pages. It begins as if to detail some grand adventure, then rewinds to the child hood of the narrator and begins from there. Harkaway violates the major rule More...
Jun 05, 2011
Katy
rated it:
The narrator of "The Gone-Away World" - whose name we are never told - takes us on a wildly entertaining trip through his life and how it intersects with the rest of the world when a new weapon has unspeakable consequences. Often laugh-out-loud hilarious we are taken on a tour of his past until, a bit over half-way through the book, a strange twist takes place and the story becomes a good bit darker. I can't even give a hint about this twist or I'll ruin it for you, so I won't go any
More...
Apr 11, 2011
Kevin
rated it:
This is my first review for GoodReads, and I've made the job harder for myself. Whenever I use review sites for anything, I tend to start out reviewing something that I found simply Staggeringly Good, which tends to create an impression that I'm just easily impressed.
And yet to put it simply, this is the best book I've read in a long time.
The second point of difficulty is that The Gone-Away World is hard to describe in a way which will, a) showcase why you should read it More...
And yet to put it simply, this is the best book I've read in a long time.
The second point of difficulty is that The Gone-Away World is hard to describe in a way which will, a) showcase why you should read it More...
Feb 18, 2011
Shawn
rated it:
So, Scott Mosier recommended this book on Twitter, and he and I have pretty similar taste in books and films, so I put it on my list of stuff I really needed to read. Then I got that familiar bookstore amnesia, where every time I walked into the bookstore, I would forget every entry on that list and end up wandering aimlessly, trying to remember any small bit of the title or the author's name (and failing miserably).
Then I got into ebooks. I was thinking of reading "Gone-Away Wo More...
Then I got into ebooks. I was thinking of reading "Gone-Away Wo More...
Dec 19, 2010
This will be short and sweet. I didn't finish this book - got to page 55 and just gave up. It took me two weeks to make it that far, mostly because I kept falling asleep or got confused enough that I had to go back and reread the previous section (although come to think of it, some of that could be from the falling asleep....) Rather than my own review, let me show you what Publisher's Weekly said, then we'll discuss, OK?
"This unclassifiable debut from the son of legendary thril More...
"This unclassifiable debut from the son of legendary thril More...
Aug 15, 2010
Joe
rated it:
Harkaway's language and style at first seemed to me a bit put on; as if the book sought out to prove immediately to me how lively, inventive, passionate, and crafty with words it was. This perception faded before too very long, however, mainly because the book is incredibly lively, inventive, passionate, and crafty with words. Harkaway's talent and love for writing does at times feel almost unbridled -- unbridlable, even -- during certain descriptions that you almost expect to go on forever (not
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 04, 2010
Michael
rated it:
The Gone Away World is a book full of potential, but short on execution. The main conceit is excellent: a new weapon, the Go-Away Bomb, has been created and, when detonated, it erases everything in it's blast radius by separating information from matter. The protagonist (who goes unnamed throughout the book) and his friend Gonzo, receive word that the Jorgmund Pipeline is on fire. The Jorgmund Pipe releases FOX, which counteracts the "stuff" which is the leftover residue from the deton
More...
Feb 24, 2010
Alan
rated it:
I had my doubts about this one, with its lurid jacket of hot pink and lime green. Good things rarely come in such colors. But early on it became apparent to me that Nick Harkaway knows his stuff. The line that really hooked me comes just a few pages in, when Harkaway's narrator says:
Deft and light, mixing deadly serious events with quick-wit More...
"I thought about my personal version of heaven, which is small and calm and features only one angel, who cannot sing."
—p.11
Deft and light, mixing deadly serious events with quick-wit More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 29, 2010
Debs
rated it:
This is the book tied with Finn for my favorite book of the year. As soon as I read the jacket description of Nick Harkaway's debut novel, I knew I had to get my hands on it:
A wildly entertaining debut novel, introducing a bold new voice that combines antic humor with a stunning futuristic vision to give us an electrifying original tale of love, friendship and the apocalypse.
There couldn’t be a fire along the Jorgmund Pipe. It was the last thing the world needed. But there it w More...
A wildly entertaining debut novel, introducing a bold new voice that combines antic humor with a stunning futuristic vision to give us an electrifying original tale of love, friendship and the apocalypse.
There couldn’t be a fire along the Jorgmund Pipe. It was the last thing the world needed. But there it w More...
Dec 27, 2009
Bruce
rated it:
Wu Shenyang, Master Wu of the Voiceless Dragon School of gong fu is a tall thin man, who “looks like a ladder in a dressing gown.” He has a dry wit. He tells his English students in Cricklewood Cove to study the chi of Ella Fitzgerald and gong fu of Isaac Newton. He has them practice to the music of the Fisk University Jubilee Singers and Mozart. He tells them there are no Secret Teachings, no Iron Skin Meditation to turn aside weapons, no Ghost Palm Strike that cannot be avoided or deflected. “
More...
Sep 02, 2009
Bruce
rated it:
I decided to read this book after hearing Nancy Pearl on NPR give a strong, short tease of a recommendation.
The first chapter is dense and I had a hard time making sense of what was going on. There are hints of a recent war, a gigantic world-spanning pipe, and the corporation that owns it. A nameless narrator introduces a motley crew of contract truckers (mercenaries ?) who all have memorable names. Even though our narrator is an active member of this crew, he goes unnamed for so l More...
The first chapter is dense and I had a hard time making sense of what was going on. There are hints of a recent war, a gigantic world-spanning pipe, and the corporation that owns it. A nameless narrator introduces a motley crew of contract truckers (mercenaries ?) who all have memorable names. Even though our narrator is an active member of this crew, he goes unnamed for so l More...
