Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Review: The Gone-Away World

Gonzo Lubitsch and his makeshift family of colleagues are there to save the world when things go wrong. When the world needed a pipe to keep the Livable Zone safe from the monsters who wander their post-apocalyptic world, The Haulage and Hazmat Emergency Civil Freebooting Company built just such a pipe. But now that pipe is on fire, and Gonzo and company must put out the fire. But this will be their most difficult job yet and everything they thought they knew about themselves and the people they know and love the best will be tested. 

It's hard to write a synopsis for this book. It's the kind of story that is best experienced with very little knowledge of what is going to happen. Suffice it to say that it's funny, often in a laugh out loud way. But two lines later, you might find yourself thinking about identity and morality. It's an adventure story or a story about the cost of war. It's a romance or a tale of friendship. You will be caught totally by surprise at least once. You will meet monsters. And ninjas. And mimes. If that hasn't caught your interest, I'm not sure what will.

Nick Harkaway is one of my favorite authors because he always throws something new at you and it always appears that he is having the time of his life doing it. This is a book you have to commit to - it clocks in at almost 600 pages and you have to be ready to buckle up and get thrown for curve after curve. But it's the kind of ride you don't want to miss.


The Gone-Away World
By Nick Harkaway
Vintage August 2009
576 pages
From my shelves

3 comments:

  1. I can see where you would have to commit to this book (and not have ten other books waiting for you in your library bag). Not sure I'm ready to tackle this right now. But maybe in the summer.

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  2. I've had a copy of this book on my shelf for like three years; you might have convinced me to read it next!

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  3. I'm going to have to read more about this one. It sounds very quirky!

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