Empire State (Paperback)

by Colin Bateman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A darkly funny novel from the author of Divorcing Jack. Northern Irish Nathan Jones thinks his luck is turning when he lands a job as a security guard in New York, despite his lack of a Green Card. He hopes his new job will persuade his girlfriend Lisa to stop working in a strip joint. But things do not go as planned and hapless Nathan is swept along on a tide of bizarre events. His desperate romance and a fascination with Sid Vicous lead to an unwanted S&M experience, which forces him to go on the run. Nathan is, however, not the book's only fugitive. We also follow the trajectory of racist Southerner, George Burley, as he tries to realize his dream of assassinating the most powerful man in America. As the plot races along Nathan's unpredictable temper gets him deeper and deeper into trouble, culminating in a hostage situation with the President of the United States of America on top of the Empire State Building. Romance, murder and mayhem are all rolled together in this entertaining black comedy. On the whole this is a fluffy action adventure but it still manages to be spot on in its observations on racism, violence, and US politics. (Kirkus UK)

Divorcing Jack: 'As sharp as a pint of snake-bite... Richly paranoid and very funny' Sunday Times Cycle of Violence: 'Fast-paced, very black and very funny. Roddy Doyle meets Carl Hiaasen' Independent on Sunday Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men: 'Fast, furious, riotously funny, and at the end, never a dry eye in the house' Mail on Sunday

Product Description
It's bad enough having a name like Nathan Jones - unless you're a Supremes fan, which Nathan isn't - but when his girlfriend leaves him (for a drag artist) and he gets mugged, then handcuffed to a bed and cut up in a misunderstanding with an S&M hooker, can things get any worse?

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Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (January 5, 1998)
• ISBN-10: 0006498027
• ISBN-13: 978-0006498025
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,752,616 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Ever Bateman!, February 22, 2000

By	Shane Morgan (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This is by far Colin Batemans greatest achievement. The epic scale of the Empire State Building is matched word for word by Batemans snappy dialouge, wickedly sharp characters and wonderful twists. It reads like a Hollywood blockbuster in the making. Without taking away the glory of 'Divorcing Jack' or 'Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men' I would say this is the Bateman to recommend to anyone. Without a doubt the book of the 90's.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Colin Bateman 'does' New York, but not very well..., June 2, 2004

By	lazza (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Colin Bateman is one of my favorite authors; I've read nearly all his novels. Its not to say they are uniformly good, but they are all entertaining and sometimes hilarious. He has been described as a Northern Ireland version of Carl Hiaasen, which is actually a compliment.

Unfortunately 'Empire State', like a couple other books of his with a storyline rooted in North America, is not among his better works. It is a rather far-fetched story of a racist, a rejected lover turned reluctant terrorist, a kidnapped American President who seems oddly like Bill Clinton, with the most of the activity situated atop the Empire State building. The action is a bit slapstick in nature, and the characterizations rather ... crude. But it all sticks together, somehow.

Not central to the story, but I cannot help by adding a mini-spoiler here:

//spoiler//
There is a plane crash at the top floors of the Empire State building. Although this book was written a few years before 9/11 I imagine this minor element of this book has not encouraged the publisher to promote it, which is a bit of shame.

//end spoiler//

Bottom line: a curious yet overall very average effort by Colin Bateman. Best left to his loyal fans only.

5.0 out of 5 stars Outrageously funny and witty, October 8, 2003

By	Miguel Gonzalez (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This was my first contact with Colin Bateman whose work, I believe, hasn't been published in the US (making it really hard to get any of his books in either North or South America, even as imports).

When I was reading this novel, I could actually imagine it as a feature film (or better yet, mini-series, since it's quite long). The characters are very much alive, for better or for worse (that George is too much sometimes!), and though the story is quite contrived (especially in the last 150 pages), it flows and works perfectly.

If you like it, try Divorcing Jack as well (but avoid the movie, it's awful).