The Making of Henry [Paperback]

Howard Jacobson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2004

Man Booker Prize–Winning Author of THE FINKLER QUESTION

Swathed in his kimono, drinking tea from his samovar, Henry Nagle is temperamentally opposed to life in the 21st century. Preferring not to contemplate the great intellectual and worldly success of his best boyhood friend, he argues constantly with his father, an upholsterer turned fire-eater–and now dead for many years. When he goes out at all, Henry goes after other men’s wives.

But when he mysteriously inherits a sumptuous apartment, Henry’s life changes, bringing on a slick descendant of Robert Louis Stevenson, an excitable red setter, and a wise-cracking waitress with a taste for danger. All of them demand his attention, even his love, a word which barely exists in Henry’s magisterial vocabulary, never mind his heart.

From one of England’s most highly regarded writers, The Making of Henry is a ravishing novel, at once wise, tender and mordantly funny.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

There are certain literary types that we think of as uniquely American. So, it is a surprise to find a Philip Roth protagonist living in England. Henry Nagle is a disgraced, middle-aged college lecturer. A pointless old feud has caused him to willfully destroy what was already a mediocre career. His Oedipal complex causes him to continue to argue with his dead father. It also causes him to date only married women. When Henry mysteriously inherits a luxury apartment, his whole life is called into question. Henry's new apartment comes with responsibilities to a quirky neighbor and a beautiful, divorced waitress. Henry's attempt to make peace with his parents and his life's failings is engaging, but less interesting are the late-in-the-book mysteries and revelations about his mother and aunt. Henry is not the most likable protagonist; however, his honesty and foibles make for a meaningful read. Marta Segal
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"He is our funniest living writer. . . . No writer cherishes the language more, flirts with it as furiously or leads it in directions that might incline sedate readers to dial [911] " Allison Pearson

“Jacobson is one of Britain’s best postwar writers. . . . There’s a dark side to his comedy, so dark that only comedy can deal with it.” — The Independent (London)

“The comic intelligence of David Lodge or Martin Amis. . . the expansiveness of John Updike and Philip Roth. . . . Exhilaratingly intelligent.” — The Guardian (London)

“A writer who can make you laugh out loud on the bus . . . Jacobson conjures up a tale that combines sexual comedy with the kind of expansive intelligence prized by the Booker judges. . . . Jacobson is due some recognition for his prodigious output.” –The Observer

“Jacobson is one of Britain’s best postwar writers. He’s well known as a funny writer, but that undersells him. There’s a dark side to his comedy, so dark that only comedy can deal with it.” –The Independent

“Jacobson’s . . . exuberant prose and Swiftian rage cause considerable collateral damage along the way.” –The Sunday Times

“[Jacobson is] by some distance, the cleverest, funniest, sharpest writer we have.” –The Sunday Telegraph

“Yes, it’s true what they say about the Jacobson sense of humor. After the first couple of pages . . . you become certain that he can hone any sentence for maximum drollery, and that he’ll find exactly the right word on every occasion.” –The Daily Express

“Jacobson breathes vivid life into his characters, capturing their speech patterns exactly while describing their clothes, habitats, children, friends, food, and drink. All this is brought into sharp relief by his sardonic gift for creating the very believable and very funny situations in which his characters find themselves trapped.” –The Daily Mail

“This is masterly writing; the language under tight control. . . .monstrously funny.” –The Independent
 
“Jacobson's writing is as luscious and funny as ever. . .You're never far from comic brilliance.” –The Telegraph
 
“This is a terrific novel, full of pert observations and salty insights into the ageing process–not just Henry’s but the world’s . . . . Jacobson is at the top of this form.” —The Evening Standard
 
“A beautifully rounded portrait of a man gazing into the prism of the past in order to see the future. . . . A touching, picturesque tale . . . seriously funny.” –The Sunday Telegraph
  
“Painfully funny.” –The Sunday Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; First Printing edition (September 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140007861X
• ISBN-13: 978-1400078615
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,131,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

An award-winning writer and broadcaster, Howard Jacobson was born in Manchester, brought up in Prestwich and was educated at Stand Grammar School in Whitefield, and Downing College, Cambridge, where he studied under F. R. Leavis. He lectured for three years at the University of Sydney before returning to teach at Selwyn College, Cambridge. His novels include The Mighty Walzer (winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize), Kalooki Nights (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize) and, most recently, the highly acclaimed The Act of Love. Howard Jacobson lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never too late, March 14, 2011

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igoforth - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Making of Henry (Paperback)

Howard Jacobson gives us another hilarious portrait of a difficult man, this one sixty-year-old Henry, neurotic, Jewish, alone, and waiting to die. (Are you laughing yet?) Jacobson is a genius, an irresistible story-teller whose sentences cry out to be shared, savored, cherished. The Making of Henry is, of all things, a romantic comedy, though its hero is about as unlikely a candidate for love and marriage as has ever been imagined for the genre. Jacobson always makes me glad to be in his company; in this book, for a change of pace, he also offers a happy ending.