The Salesman [Import] [Paperback]

Joseph O'Connor (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Secker & Warburg; 2nd Printing edition (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0436202654
• ISBN-13: 978-0436202650
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,491,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding., September 3, 1999

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Salesman (Hardcover)

Written as a diary, this is a brilliant novel of suspense, love, loneliness, alcoholism, fatherhood, redemption and of course, tragedy. The salesman of the title is a dumpy middle-aged satellite dish salesman who pissed away his family and life as an alcoholic. He's been sober for years, trying to raise his daughter by himself when she is attacked and put into a coma. One of the defendants escapes, and the salesman is left frustrated and angry.When he happens to see the escapee on the street one day he daydreams of revenge. The suspense builds and builds as he follows the criminal and plots his revenge. Interspersed with this is his recounting of meeting his wife and their life together, which he tries to explain to his daughter. Outstanding.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant look at loneliness, May 18, 2004

By 

RichieM (Brooklyn, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Salesman (Paperback)

There's a fine line between love and hate. There's also a fine line between friend and enemy in this book.
The author does a great job of conveying the emotions of his characters, from the anguish of a middle aged man who finds himself without his family to the rage of a young man who never really had a family at all.The evolving relationship between the two men forms the heart of the story but it is not like any relationship you've ever experienced before.The book explores the loneliness of all the characters but mainly the 2 men. The irony of these people befriending each other shows how deep the need for companionship can be.
Even so. I doubt I would have the change of heart that comes over Sweeney given his situation. Then again sometimes we find friendship and redemption where we least expect to. That's what maks this such a moving book

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quick read which leaves more questions than answers., May 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Salesman (Hardcover)

BRILLIANT! I was transported into the psyche of Liam. O'Connor is brilliant in explaining the tormented thoughts of the characters in rich detail. He allows us to enter their minds, yet while telling the story from the character's point of view, they leave out details they know to be true, but don't necessarily pertain to the story at hand. I know I'll read it again.