January (2023 Discussion) – Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes

[Karen]

Discussion is open!

[Jennifer]

I am loving the reads to create global perspective concerning race. Furthermore, it totally “sends me” that the slang from that era is prevalent again in 2023! I’ve taken to calling my own teenagers ‘absolute beginners’ in a British accent!

[Carol]

I'm about 1/2 through and I am LOVING this book! The slang and accents are dead on. The attitudes are perfect. I can just hear and see the people and places.

Has anyone else noticed the connection between the word "mug" (meaning square, not hip) and Rowling's word "muggle" (meaning square, not hip non-magician)? I had no idea that muggle was a real word -- I thought it was invented for the Harry Potter books.

I almost don't want to finish this one ... I'm just having too much fun reading it.

[Karen]

Carol wrote: "I'm about 1/2 through and I am LOVING this book! The slang and accents are dead on. The attitudes are perfect. I can just hear and see the people and places.

Has anyone else noticed the connectio..."

Yes - I had that same thought about Muggles. Am also enjoying it. And had to listen to Quadrophenia by the Who for the first time in forty-five years.

[Karen]

Fascinating book about events I knew nothing about. We were so consumed by the riots and student unrest in the US that little time was spent on world events. With only the Nightly News (30 minutes), it was difficult for the networks to report everything happening in the world.

[George P.]

I read this novel four years ago. It's a lively unusual story and thought-provoking at times. The copious slang reminded me of A Clockwork Orange. I rated it a four-minus. I've put another MacInnes novel, Three Years to Play, in my to-read list but it's pretty far down the list. Has anyone here read that? The university library here has a bunch of his books for some reason.
There was a movie based on the novel in 1986, called a romance-musical, with David Bowie in the cast. The reviews were okay but not outstanding. Emanuel Levy said about it: "Though the film is flawed, it's still underrated as an exploration of a crucial era of London's pop culture, and the eccentric cast (including David Bowie) adds a lot of color."

[Michelle]

Finished this one - I enjoyed it but found it hard to care about at first, then it seemed to hook in okay and I ended up liking it well enough. Not an all time favourite read but not terrible either. For me, 3.5 stars.

[Carol]

I did finish the book and it was one of my favorite 1001 list reads.

[Kai]

Finished this one a bit late. I really enjoyed it - lots of energy and clever wordplay. I think MacInnes did a wonderful job of capturing London and its bourgeoning counterculture movement. George P. - It reminded me of A Clockwork Orange as well.

My main complaints are how undeveloped all of the characters are and that the book felt uneven, so I gave it 4 stars. I don't know if I will read anything else by MacInnes, but it sounds like he lived a very interesting life.