Observatory Mansions

by Edward Carey

Book Overview

"Easily the most brilliant fiction I've seen this year -- it proves the potential brilliance of the novel form." -- John Fowles, author of The Magus Observatory Mansions, once the Orme family's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375709231
• ISBN13: 9780375709234
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 370 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant is the only word for this story.

Oberservatory Mansions is in a class all by itself. In fact, I can think of only few other novels of such quality, ingenuity and effect. It captivates you from the first page and never disappoints you. Its filled with sad characters but the story somehow never saddens you. The writing style is superb. Could possibly make an excellent movie only if Carey was in charge if every aspect. Brilliant is the only word to describe it.

One of my favourite books in the last few years

Decidedly off-beat story populated by enthrallingly bizarre characters. This book is very human and peculiarly English, or Englishly peculiar. You realize that no matter how impersonal a city becomes, it never stops being a home, and people's eccentricities grow to fill the vestiges of remaining open space.

Wow! Could have read about a thousand more pages of this!

So I happened to pick this book up at work because I was lacking something to read before I went to bed. Lets cut to the chase and say that I didnt make it to bed at the planned hour. I stayed up and read the whole thing in one sitting. It has been a long time since I read such a refreshing, brillant novel. Carey has breathed life into the reclusive world of those possessing the ability to turn their backs on the rest of humanity. Anna Tap enbodies a vision of the outside world that turns their existance upside down. With such memorable characters as Twenty-Dog Woman, Peter Bugg, Porter,Claire Higg, and of course Frances Orme, this novel will stay with you long after you read the last word. Take it from a voracious reader like myself, debut novels dont get much better than this. Bravo Carey! I look forward to future novels.

A thought-provoking book that haunts you after you're done.

Wow. Finishing this book I am overwhelmed and awed that this is Carey's first novel. Very unique characters and situations and writing style. In many places you can see Carey's theatre background with the dialog reading more like a play without punctuation and the book's plot is more in scenes and acts than chapters, but it really works well for this story - it's about life (and all life's a play!) or the lack of life of this group of misfit characters. I really like the way Carey draws the reader in little by little -- reavealing just enough about one character to shock you, to move you, to keep you reading .... and then switches to another character. It's a book that I'm going to keep thinking about long after the reading of it. Yes, these are disturbed characters, but who among us can't recognize themselves in one or more of them? Anyone who collects anything must wonder where is the line that separates my collecting from the bizarre collecting of Francis Orne? I read a lot of books, and I love a book that keeps me guessing right up to the end, and this one definitely does. Bravo, Mr. Carey!

You will love this one.

Certainly, this book is exceptionally creative. Moreover, the main character, Francis, is probably none like you've read before. The character development is impeccable. The location, mostly is Observatory Mansions, and we are able to dive deeply into the history of it's inhabitants and formal inhabitants. But it's more than that. We wonder why the people are the way they are, and what made them become so out of the ordinary. And then, a person who seems quite normal enters the equation and mixes everything up. I don't want to give away the plot, I just want to say this has a beautiful mix of humor, sadness, complexity, and judgement. You will find that it is one of the better books you've read this year.