Customer Reviews

A White Merc with Fins

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an amazing book that hits its pace immediately and never lets up. It's a tremendous take on contemporary British society delivered in a similar fashion as the mid-'90's films of John Hodge, Andrew MacDonald and Danny Boyle, as well as the novels of fellow Britwits and pop culture addicts Irvine Welsh and Nick Hornby.

However, as good a writer of personalities as Hornby doubtless is, there is NO WAY he could have written this book. "A White Merc With Fins" has a very developed and intricate plotline that moves despite sufficient character development that never actually becomes the story itself.

The story itself deals with a stew of complexities involving some of the issues evident within mid-'90's London; drug use, sexual identity, racism, politcal activism, and beneath it all the unspoken hang-ups of class identity within a modern society that strives to distance itself from a history of strict classism...but can't quite seem to find the plot in doing so.

Any number of these traits would make an interesting enough story on their own...but in this book they serve as mere sandwich spreads over the meat of Hawes' actual story. The novel takes place within a matter of days leading up to a bank heist planned by a man (the book's narrator) who, approaching the sell-by age of thirty, has accomplished absolutely nothing during his adult life. He has no proper home of his own, no career, no plan for his life...and he sees, in the glances afforded into the window of a walk-up across the way from his own quarters, the life that awaits him lest he do something drastic to change his fortunes.

He has no plan for his life...so he develops "the Plan" to rob a bank.

Naturally.

Why didn't I think of that?

"The Plan" involves the narrator, a small circle of close friends including his new girlfriend with a fondness for 501 jeans that accentuate her perfectly flat stomach and, uh, questionable bodily grooming habits, a Quentin Tarantino fetishist, the brother of an ex-girlfriend who dreams of opening a bake shop in his hometown of Zaragosa, a local gangstar, a fat Welshman from the coalmines who is delightfully gay, a terminal AIDS patient otherwise thriving as a money launderer, a half-Jewish skinhead, and the Irish Republican Army.

If all that isn't sufficient to stoke your curiosity to the point of giving this book a read, I simply don't know what could possibly be wrong with you...pick it up AT ONCE and have at it; you will not regret it.

I read this book in one sitting, drinking coffee and chuckling the entire time. The book isn't really deep, i.e. I know no more about big metaphysical things like "the nature of the mind" or "the human condition is pseudopoverty" for having read this book. But it was a fun little book with several real-close-to-brilliant moments, e.g. one female character's flat stomach fetish, the Tarantino impersonators, and the whole bit about transmission types being masculine and feminine. Also, the "fat Welsh tart" is funny without being a parody, something that is all too rare in literature these days. I think the best way to put it is that it is too good to read on an airplane, but not a classic.

I often don't find typical "humorous" books at all funny. Personally I need to find something with wit, intelligence and a good dose of irony. Written in 1st person, the protagonist is allowed to ruminate, often with self deprecating humor and some surprising insight. Insights about his past, present, and very uncertain future, combine with a zany plot slowly revealed to make this a "page turner". Highly entertaining. Read it !

A truly cool novel, "A White Merc With Fins" spits along at a pleasing clip, with a plotline that completely defies easy description. James Hawes has debuted with a wonderful book -- tremendously readable and engaging, it seemed like Quentin Tarantino in type.

This is not about the criminal mind. The bank and robbery is just an excuse to write a good novel about the despair of being on your way to 30 (I've been there, done that). This is the first novel to make me feel good about it, and the first one to inspire me to do something about it. A very good written story that makes you think about things, people and connection of your own rather than the story of the book. Excellent characters, good dialogue, this book is up in the skys next to Ellis and Coupland.

I loved this book- very 90's and very British. An unusual writing style that might not appeal to everyone but the authors perceptive insights into twenty-something lifestyles were ones I could easily identify with. In short, this unusual book is highly recommended especially for those in their late twenties who are a little off-beat and possess a sense of humour!

"A White Merc with Fins" touched a chord in my soul. I'm 24, LMC, educated, shiftless, lost in a dreadful demanding world that expects those without a trust fund to work like stink for the basic pleasures of life while those 'with' can "look up a friend in publishing" when uni finishes. This book isn't about 'haves and have nots' though, its the story of a man who wishes simply to save his own life. The underlying theme is a critique of western society and our crazy mixed up priorites. What 'normal' society sees as deviance, ie drugs and sex, are simply Hawes' way of expressing what I felt to be his contempt for the basic fabric of our society; money. By having a positive, active and supremely human character acting in a 'deviant'manner, and (by the way) succeeding Hawes introduces the idea that society's idea of deviance is simply the grossest type of narrow-minded hypocrisy. I mean really, isn't it ever so slightly strange that money and mummy are very very similar? To be purely hedonistic, to thumb our noses at the establishment (to borrow from eighties punk), to escape and save our own lives. Thats the best idea I've heard in ages. 'A White Merc with Fins' is simply brilliant. An intelligent, thoughtful, enjoyable and exciting first novel. Go James Hawes, we need more of you. Check out 'Rancid Aluminium' too. Very different, so don't go in expecting the same thing. Definatly check them both out, this educated hedonist absolutly recommends.

This is a good first novel that kept me reading all night long. A good story with intersting characters and a unique twist -- slackers as bankrobbers. Hawes hits the London scene for twenty-somethings right on the head: work all day at a job you hate to have enough money to buy some pints to make you forget about that job you hate. Repeat this the next day. I'm looking forward to his next novel.

"A White Merc With Fins" was a very amusing portrait of slacker Euro-trash. Similar in theme and narration to "Trainspotting."Recommended for those who wish to have a laugh and take a break from the real world.

I'm 29, losing my hair, living in shared accomodation in South London, and in my first permanent job since graduating from College. This book is about me - it could have been me. It catches in the guts, and makes me realise the lucky escape I had, only a few months ago.