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From Publishers Weekly
McGregor's poignant, Booker-nominated debut examines in loving detail a day in the lives of the inhabitants of a single British block. It is a day like any other-a woman prepares breakfast for her family, boys play cricket, a man washes his car-until a terrible accident occurs, which is witnessed by all the neighbors but concealed from readers until the novel's end. Drifting from apartment to house to yard, McGregor reveals the stories found in each: there is the couple who fight bitterly and have brilliant sex; the man with hands scarred from trying, unsuccessfully, to save his wife from a fire; the aging veteran keeping from his wife the truth of his imminent demise. Weaving through these tales of the transcendental ordinary is the first-person narrative of a girl coming to terms with her unexpected pregnancy after a one-night stand. Her lover's twin brother arrives to drive her to her parents, but doesn't tell her the truth about his brother's absence; the girl's mother has her own secrets. McGregor's rapt attention to the exquisiteness of daily life sometimes makes his details ring falsely portentous, and his unwavering focus on minutiae-rain, traffic lights-can be wearying. But as the man with the scarred hands remarks, "there are many things you could miss if you are not paying careful attention. There are remarkable things all the time." This is the guiding principle of McGregor's novel, one that requires patience but yields ample rewards.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Nominated for the Booker Prize, this first novel has two narratives: first, there's the story of a single day in the lives of the residents of one street somewhere in England, from an old man struggling to tell his wife that he is dying to an eccentric young man who collects errata from the street and burns with unrequited love for one of his neighbors. The second story follows the aforementioned beloved young woman years later, after she learns she is pregnant. From the beginning, it's obvious that an accident happened on the street toward the end of the day, but we don't actually see the accident until near the end, and the two stories each inch closer to the moment. McGregor creates characters that brim with life and substance through exquisitely detailed descriptions of their lives and memories. But remarkably, almost no one has a name. Instead, the characters are known by their traits ("the man with the burnt hands," "the boy with the yellow sunglasses"), exposing both the disconnection and the unspoken intimacy between neighbors. A wonderful evocation of the beauty and horror of the literally everyday. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A REMARKABLE STORY!,
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This review is from: If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things (Paperback)
This is a prose poem of a novel with a mystery at its center which keeps the reader in suspense from the beginning to the final page.Jon McGregor takes us into the private lives of a quiet urban street in England over the course of a single day. None of the characters have names, but each character is identified by the number of their flat. For instance, in flat #18, lives the boy with the sore eyes who wears glasses. He collects all sorts of weird objects. He is working on his dissertation and argues with his tutors about the differences between archaeology and anthropology. In the upper flat #20 lives an old man and his wife. He is wondering how to tell his wife the news he received from the doctor. He has a hard time with it and decides not to tell his wife anything. Downstairs in flat #20 lives another old man with thinning hair and a carefully trimmed moustache. In flat #16, lives a man with scarred hands. He tried to save his wife from a burning house in vain and now must raise his daughter alone. In flat #17 live a group of young club goers who have just returned from an all-night rave. In flat #22 a girl has to talk about something that has happened to her. She tries to find someone who will listen and finally ends up calling her mother. Her mother is too busy talking about her own life, but she manages to get the words out. In flat #25, there is a resident who is busy painting his house and a mother in flat #19 hanging out her wash. On the sidewalk is a little boy riding his tricycle. He lives in flat #13 with his parents. In flat #21 you can hear a woman screaming at her man for being unfaithful. No One Speaks of their fears, death, grief, lost loves and unspoken despairs in the community. The story begins with a terrible accident which takes place at the end of the day. The first resident out of his house and running to help is the boy with the sore eyes in flat # 18. Everyone on the street stops what they are doing to watch. They are in complete shock. There is an absolute stillness. When the boy returns to his flat, he can't get the scene out of his mind. It just remains with him like a bad dream. The ending is filled with twists and turns. The Remarkable Things refer to the horrible accident. Jon McGregor's debut novel is OUTSTANDING. The writing is lyrical and magical. You feel as though you are in a dream. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things was nominated for the Booker Prize.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remarkable indeed!,
By "rdwos" (Lansing, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things (Paperback)
This amazing, beautifully crafted first novel chronicles one day in the life of a British neighborhood, interspersed with segments that flash forward in the life of one of its residents. McGregor builds a complex portrait out of details, and it wasn't until I finished reading that I realized we never learn most of their names! One of my favorite books of 2003.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Splendid!,
By Brown Sugar (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things (Hardcover)
This book has some of the most beautiful and poetic language I have read in a while. It flows very well and the descriptions are wonderfully detailed. McGregor delves into the seemingly mundane lives of the characters and produces tender observations that you are sure to remember. A highly recommended read!
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