Head-Long: Amazon.ca: Michael Frayn: Books

Product Description

Book Description

An unlikely con man wagers wife, wealth, and sanity in pursuit of an elusive Old Master. Invited to dinner by the boorish local landowner, Martin Clay, an easily distracted philosopher, and his art-historian wife are asked to assess three dusty paintings blocking the draught from the chimney. But hiding beneath the soot is nothing less-Martin believes-than a lost work by Bruegel. So begins a hilarious trail of lies and concealments, desperate schemes and soaring hopes as Martin, betting all that he owns and much that he doesn't, embarks on a quest to prove his hunch, win his wife over, and separate the painting from its owner.

About the Author

Michael Frayn is a celebrated British playwright and is also the author of seven novels and three screenplays. Headlong is his first novel to appear in the United States since Now You Know was published in 1993. He lives in London.

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Customer Reviews

74 Reviews

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (74 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that offers a lot!, Jan 7 2007

By	Ian Gordon Malcomson (Smithers, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Headlong (Paperback)

I picked this book up at a remainder sale and I'm glad I did. It offers a most intensive and rewarding read at a couple of levels. For starters,if you know little about Dutch art of the 16th century, this story provides some interesting tidbits about Bruegel and his many interpretations about life during the Counter-Reformation. Against this background, Frayn - a playwright by trade - throws in a complicated, modern day thriller involving the identification and theft of some of Bruegel's paintings of town scenes. The climax to the story is both farce and serious comedy, which only proves that Frayn has written a gem. Keeping the past, present, and future in constant balance throughout the plot is one of the book's endearing features. At the end, the reader, too, has to decide whether the reclamation of antiquity is worth imperiling one's posterity. A great read!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning book!, Jun 24 2003

By	M. Warren (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Headlong (Hardcover)

This is one of the better books I have read in a long time. I know nothing about Dutch art in the 1600's, but I don't have to. Frayn lays everything out for you, and the art history is a vital and exciting element of the book.

The book is so well written, you understand exactly what motivates the main character. Frayn's writing style is easy to read, but very well developed and intelligent. I had to force myself to slow down, I was so caught up in the plot, but wanted to enjoy the writing.

Excellent book!

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3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting art history, but the comedy wasn't great, Jun 5 2002

By	Kim Farrell (Cupertino, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

A couple from London are at their country home for the summer (they are both professors - he of philosophy, she of art history). They are invited to the house of one of their neighbors for dinner, and asked to appraise some paintings they're thinking of selling. The husband (the main character and narrator of the story) thinks one of the paintings (held in low regard by the couple) is actually a long-lost painting by Bruegel, a Netherlandish painter of the mid-1500's. The painting may be part of a series of six (or more) paintings depicting characteristic activities of the peasants during the year, only five of which are currently accounted for (in real life - this novel does try to stick to the historical facts).

About one-third of the book's text advanced the plot of how the main character was going to get his hands on this painting, and the rest was a narrative of his research into Bruegel and the time he lived to try to find hints that could help him prove this was actually the lost painting he thought it was. I found the part that advanced the plot to be less than enthralling; the characters came across as rather slimy and the events just left a bad taste in my mouth; the humor just didn't work for me. However, the part describing the art history and political history of Bruegel's times was interesting, and it was intruging to see how a real historian could go about doing his research into a lost work of art.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining farce
I was waffling on reading this one but a friend gave me the final nudge I needed and I'm awfully glad he did. Read more

Published on Feb 17 2002 by Fanoula Sevastos

4.0 out of 5 stars What a frolic!
Michael Frayn is very current with his plays "Copenhagen" and "Noises Off" delighting audiences bicoastally. Read more

Published on Nov 30 2001 by Grady Harp

5.0 out of 5 stars a real page-turner for people who do not like "page-turners"
First of all this is one of the few underrated books in amazon. I have just finished reading it and I still feel the thrill, speed and colors of it. Read more

Published on Sep 7 2001 by Calvin Hobbes

5.0 out of 5 stars You Have To Be Dead To Think This Isn't Funny
Finding lost medieval paintings just to spite your wife? Well, no. It's to avoid work, really. In Frayn's world the two are not incompatible. In fact, they're inseparable.

Published on Jul 3 2001 by James M. Yeager