Customer Reviews

Cycle of Violence

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This brings back the nightmare of ordinary life in those dark areas of Northern Ireland that I knew so well before I left, and reminds me of the wonderful magical humor of people in dire straits.

I had thoroughly enjoyed Divorcing Jack, and moved onto Cycle of Violence! What a great job! I was sitting there wondering whether I should be laughing, shouting, or crying and ended up doing them all simultaneously! Read Divorcing Jack and then Cycle of Violence and you will learn more about the troubles in Ireland than you could by reading 100 news reports ever could!

Odd that some single out this one as weak link.
To my mind and having read everything up to his 2009 efforts it still remains the best work. Dark, witty, well-paced, tragic and a trace of lingering optimism. The ludicrous nature of the ending actually made me cry - as did the cracking one-liner delivered by Miller's dad. And by cry I think they were actually genuine tears as much as tears of laughter. 13 years after reading it still stays with me. If you like sarcastic wit and the driest of humours then Colin's your man and this is the book.

One literary critic describes Colin Bateman as Ulster's (Northern Island's) equivalent of Carl Hiaasen. Being a fan of Hiaasen I can see his point. Bateman has a way of delivering great satiric humour is his (relatively) light mystery novels. But unlike Hiaasen, he doesn't seem to be overly negative and bitter (..sometimes Hiaasen seems to hate most everything).

In Cycle of Violence we have the story of newspaperman being exiled to a rather nasty outpost (a town called Crossmaheart) to cover the usual reports of rape, murder and gang warfare. He is actually filling a post left vacant when some ambitious journalist disappears and is presumed dead. Things get interesting when he by chance develops a relationship with the missing journalist's girlfriend, and he discovers this woman has a rather bizarre past (, present ... and the future seems dubious too).

Bottom line: a funny, breezy read. I hope its USA publishers decide to issue it in paperback. It's every bit as good as Bateman's earlier (and more famous) Divorcing Jack.

Colin Bateman is a splendid writer. Here he juggles several well-fleshed out characters to extreme comic effect while an underlying mood of violence gives the book its dark edge. In common with his other two books - Divorcing Jack and Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men - his characters are all fast-talking, wisecracking larger-than-life figures that get caught up in the most absurd, and often tragic situations. If you like your comedy on the dark side but still want to sit rocking with laughter as you read it, I can give my whole-hearted recommendation for Cycle of Violence.

Read it, it's really good

Colin Bateman has a simple way of thinking: He can take you wherever he wants if you want to go along. Death or "The Angel of Death" is a central character in this novel. It keeps you waiting, it keeps you feeling, but above all, it keeps you thinking. It's hard to say weather we are capable of having a political view.In this book, what matters is What is personal? and What is social? This division makes the whole story worthwhile.

I read this book having very much enjoyed "Empire State" by the same author. To be honest - I was disappointed. Bateman is interesting in that he is one of a very rare breed - A Northern Prod with a sense of humour. But the main characters are very one-dimensional, and the supporting cast are practically caricatures. Every character in the book seems to speak with the same hip one-liner dialogue. Surely they don't all talk like that in Northern Ireland ? (They don't. I've been there many times). The book is readable and sometimes funny, but it's hugely out of context with the reality of life in Northern Ireland. END

I've read all of Bateman's work, and this is the palest of the pale. Takes much longer to get into, and you're left with a disappointing taste in your mouth after the investment put into getting through it. I'm always entertained by the randomness inherent in Bateman's work, but in this one, much more so than the others, the randomness is used to cover bad plot holes and lacklustre characters. If you're reading chronoligically, skip over this one and come back to it when you wistfully realize there's nothing more available (yet!). If you're looking for "good" bateman, look for Divorcing Jack or Empire State, give this one a miss.