Behindlings [Hardcover]

Nicola Barker (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Ecco (2001)
• ASIN: B001AO98IK
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Many characters, one voice, May 24, 2005

By 

D. Marshall (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Behindlings: A Novel (Hardcover)

I can't agree with the other reviewers, except to say that yes, I kept reading -- in the hope the story would go somewhere intriguing, or the characters would be properly developed. Many chapters start with an internal monologue, and it's impossible to differentiate the style, wording, or even the intent of the monologue so that you grasp which character is speaking. There are some amusing anecdotes, some interesting imagery, some action passages which hold interest, but on the whole I feel this is an overlong book with a very slim and not particularly interesting story to tell.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't follow me, I'm lost!, April 28, 2009

By 

Dick Johnson (Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Behindlings: A Novel (Paperback)

This book is, well ..., different. It is also strange, long, confusing, exasperating and just plain funny. I was reminded of the movie "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World". The characters are "characters". You might need your tool box because they all have at least one screw loose.

You never seem to know what anyone's motivation is. There's a treasure hunt, but it is more smoke screen than actual plot driver. The "Behindlings" want to decipher the clues, but they also want to preserve the thrill of the chase. Their mixed hero-worship and hatred of Wesley, the key figure behind the quest, and their interactions with one another butt against the other part of the story - past events in Canvey that were hyped in a book by Wesley.

If you like books that fall between the cracks of easily definable genres, then this will appeal to you. If, however, you like books that start at "A" and end neatly at "Z", then you might give this one a pass. I like off kilter books and had fun reading this one. Barker is inventive and if you relax and go with the flow this is worthwhile.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars behindlings, February 12, 2004

By 

"candystripper61" (CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Behindlings: A Novel (Paperback)

This book is strangely inventive and imaginative, ironic in some ways, and impossible to leave it untouched for even a day. Not the ordinary hee-haa comedy sort of book, Behindlings leaves you wanting for more after reading every chapter. Barker's style of writing is fantastic, undoubtedly, and the book is, perhaps, colorful. No matter a bookaholic or not, Behindlings is a book worth your time, money, and focus.