Living a solitary life and scarred by a childhood trauma, Gregory Lynn discovers a box of his grade school reports and relives several painful experiences from his youth. 30,000 first printing. $30,000 ad/promo. Tour.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Gregory Lynn must have had a very bad childhood because, when he uncovers his old school papers from his mother's attic after her death, he sets about to commit some "acts of revision" on his former teachers. Yet there is more to this novel than a story of revenge. It is a beguiling tale told through a series of interviews with Gregory, who mixes fact with fiction and whose reality is often more distorted than his fantasy. In this regard, the book becomes both a chilling thriller and a twisted look at the nature of recorded narrative, a unique combination that results in an intriguing adventure.
From Publishers Weekly
After success, nothing succeeds like a riveting psychopathic narrator. England's Gregory Lynn, the voice of this distinguished and disturbing debut, is, as he enjoys putting it, a 35-year-old "orphan, a bachelor, an only child from the age of four and a half." He's 6'2" and 263 pounds, has one green eye and one brown one. The novel opens elliptically, with Gregory incarcerated for one or more "incidents," the nature of which becomes clearer as he discusses his defense with his lawyers. The story he tells is harrowing: upon the suicide of his mother, the last remaining member of his nuclear family, Gregory finds a box of evaluations from his school days. On the whole, the teachers were severe, and Gregory feels their harsh judgments doomed him to failure at the outset of his life. He tracks each of them down in the hope of performing what he calls "acts of revision" on or with them. Each chapter focuses on one teacher and the subject he or she taught, interweaving elements of Gregory's past with the course of his current vengeance. Some teachers, such as the kindly art instructor, Mr. Andrews, escape with minor samples of Gregory's wrath, but not all are so lucky. Bedford tries to do too much with Gergory: he is a visual character, an aesthete who expresses himself most freely through cartoons, and yet Bedford gives him a sharply verbal mind. Still, the novel is remarkable for a malice that is at once banal and terrifying (and often quite funny). It all adds up to what the punning Gregory would call a s(l)ick little thriller. 30,000 first printing; BOMC selection; German, Italian, French, Dutch and Swedish rights sold; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant,
By A Customer
This review is from: Acts of Revision (Hardcover)
Why hasn't this book found its audience in the US? It was much lauded and very successful in the UK, but did not attain the success it should have here. It was my favorite book of 1996, a chilling, funny, devilishly clever, suspenseful revenge fantasy. Filled with terrific wordplay with a leading character who is repulsively lovable and horrifying at the same time. A one-sitting read, couldn't put it down, couldn't stop, had to finish it. Masterful, unique and top notch. Find a copy, you'll be happy you did. Bravo, Mr. Bedford
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most amazing revenge novel you will ever read.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Acts of Revision (Hardcover)
We've all fantasized about it. Sure, we might not admit it, but the thought has definitely crossed our mind. We remember that history teacher who scolded us when we couldn't remember the capital of Uruguay. We remember the English teacher who insisted we'd never learn to punctuate properly;. The list goes on. Martyn Bedford, in his brilliant first novel, allows us to realize our hidden fantasies. In what ultimately becomes one very very dark comic novel, Bedford sends his main character back to school - but this time HE is the teacher. His life has amounted to nothing and who else is there to blame but those who were supposed to prepare him for it? _Acts of Revision_ is the ultimate revenge novel. So put your homework aside, stash those flashcards, and zip up that knapsack; tonight Martyn Bedford is taking you back to school for a reunion you'll never forget
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Modern Masterpiece!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Acts of Revision (Hardcover)
Easily one of the best books I have read in the last few years. I am still amazed that so few have heard of this beautifully written novel. So much so that I have forced it upon those you would not beleive its genius. I understood after reading the first 20 pages that this would be a book to pass along
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
