Customer Reviews

253: A Novel

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Geoff Ryman is one of the best writers out there (WAS was a tour de force) and 253 is unquestionably my favourite novel of the last year. Its effect is cumulative. One by one we meet all of the 253 people on a London tube train, all of them -- or some of them -- heading towards their destiny (it's not exactly a surprise -- person # 1, the driver -- falls asleep with his jacket on the dead man's handle on the first page).

The way that stories intertwine and reveal and expose is astonishing. It's like reading a short story collection which slowly unfolds itself into a novel about all of us: funny sometimes, tragic sometimes, human always.

(I'm not convinced that the self-referential joky material between chapters do the book any favours, mind you. But if Geoff finds someone willing to pay him hundreds of thousands to support his writing habit through the final questionnaire, then I, for one, am not going to grumble.)

When I first heard about the premise of this book, I was already pretty intrigued. 253 stories about 253 characters, each containing exactly 253 words. I love stuff like that, just simply because of the ingenuity it forces a writer to utilize.

However, this book is a lot more than a clever premise. Each person's tale was a remarkable study. Some of them were so simple and poignant to the point of profundity. Some of them made me laugh outloud. Some of them (the way they interacted) was filled with such clever irony (like the woman whose histrionic pretence that she's being hunted by the IRA actually causes her to be tracked down by a spy). I could pick it up, put it down. Flip through the pages and go "aha!". This book is everything. It's a mystery. It's a novel. It's a poem. It's just just great.

Really. I loved reading this book. Buy it, and I hope you love it too.

In this innovative story originally written for the internet (http://www.ryman-novel.com), we follow the lives of the 253 passengers on a London tube train on January 11, 1995. Each passenger has one page of story told in 253 words, informing about secrets, loves, interests, and whatever else makes the passenger unique and ordinary. In this print version of the internet story, readers not only have the many cross-references, but also some extra information not on the internet where the author reworks to make things more clear, due to the different media of printed text. With marvelous wit and insight, Geoff Ryman creates a surprising portrait of humanity in all its intricacies and commonalities that feeds the voyeur in each reader and leaves us with a distinct vision of what it means to be really living.

"253" is an intriguing book: 253 characters are described, each in 253 words. Mr Ryman succeeds in crafting 253 short but complete stories: every character is believable (sort of). Some of the stories are wonderfully intertwined - we are witness to crimes being plotted and thwarted, dramatic decisions being made which affects one (or more) of the other passengers, etcetera. It stays interesting all the way through the book, just because of this intertwining of the character's fates - culminating in the apocalyptic end of the line.

There are 253 passengers on a seven car Tube train that is about to crash. Every person, along with their thoughts and actions on their brief train ride (and including footnotes explaining their direct and/or indirect relationships with other people on the train), is described in exactly 253 words each.

While on the surface this may sound like nothing more than a mildly interesting experiment in constrained writing, the book manages to reach a deeper meaning than you would expect. Whether you read the book from beginning to or flip around to random parts at your leisure, the overall effect is the same; allowing you to freeze a moment in time and examine the lives and deaths of 253 people with more in common than they will ever truly realize. Contrasting and comparing their personalities and motivations affords the reader an almost God-like chance to examine the fantastic and mundane worlds of a train full of strangers as an intrinsic whole.

But don't let that scare you away. If you rather enjoy as a distraction rather than a perceptions-enhancing experience, it easily works on that level as well. No matter how you attack 253, it remains a truly unique book in both structure and subject matter, and equally enjoyable whether read in short bursts or cover to cover.

This book is so unique in its structure and history ! It is something you have never seen or read before! I had so much fun reading it! It motivated me to write 254 entry about myself. It will completely change the way you look on the people with whom you commute in the public transportation system. Very inventive and extremely funny, with many hidden jokes and human fates. Minimalistic in the expression measures and the time lapse, however still great description of the present. Millennium saga written in Basic programming language, the simpliest tool availble to all the loosers catching the bus! Long Live Fatima Mansions!

'253' is a fascinating,original and wonderful book. Have you ever found yourself on the bus or train, letting your mind wander and wonder about all the people sitting around you? Well here, Geoff Ryman expertly offers you a glimpse into their lives through exploring 253 people with 253 words. Some people are dull, some strange, but some you'd like to read 253 pages on. The links between all the people gradually enmesh a web leading you to the 'End of the line!', about the only structure that this book has . But the lack of structure is a good thing. I guarantee ' 253 ' will be like anything you have read before, sparkling in its newness.

The internet version is also recommended as a compliment to the book.

253 is an incredible book. It's that simple. It might not be the sort of reading material one is necessarily used to and the setting would be largely unfamiliar to most Americans. Neither of these reasons, however, justifies not reading this book. If nothing else, it is a brave literary experiment. Somehow, Ryman is able to take the quickly delivered details of the lives of 253 people (and a bird) and create an overriding powerful story. Read it!

Very clever, universal familiarity to the millions who use the tube. Some are dull, some OK, lots fascinating - just like real life!

If for nothing else than an amazing concept, this book should be highly lauded. 253 people on a subway, each with a story of 253 words on a single page. The fact that Ryman was able to complete this and have it make sense is quite impressive. It's a great book for people with a short attention span, as you don't have to pay attention to anything for more that 253 words if you don't really want to. What I found to be the best part, however, was the interactions between the passengers and the ways that they showed up in each other's stories. Some of the characters are likeable, some not, but they're all fun to read about in any order.