Tunnel Vision

by Keith Lowe

Book Overview

Andy's obsession with the London Underground is interfering with his life. On the eve of his wedding, he makes a drunken bet that challenges him to travel through every single Tube station in just one day. Only by completing the entire map will Andy retrieve the Eurostar tickets he needs to get to his wedding in Paris. At 1 AM, Andy's fianc e, Rachel, will be on the Eurostar, with or without him. Not just an unpredictable story about one man's peculiar...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743423526
• ISBN13: 9780743423526
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: MTV
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.8" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

interesting,quirky and totally worth a read.

i really liked this book. it was very interesting. it was funny, quirky and very informative. i had a mild interest in the Tube before reading it, but now i found myself much more interested. Andy, the main character is a geeky 20something 'trainspotter' whose not-so-good friend Rolf bets him he can't visit every station in a day, which happens to be the day before his wedding and he must keep the bet, otherwise he won't be able to get to the wedding, because his friend has hidden his passport,tickets, among other things. in the way, he meets strange characters like the goodhearted tramp,brian, who helps him on his journey, the italian woman whom he think is a spy following him or naked him, who's also fallen victim of a prank played by his friends on his stag night. one of the things i liked about this book what the way the author writes. it flows very evenly, and while he goes on different subjects and sometimes even rambles, it works, cause it seems like the kind of thing Andy would do. he also uses different formats so the narration isn't always the same. we find a Q & A, and the stream-of-conscience narrator is interrumpted to take us back to when he met his fiancée,Rachel, and other insane tube-related stories. it's full of suspense,making you wonder what's going to happen, if he succeeds, or fails or if he's going to lose his fiancée. it's not clear until the very last minute,and i really enjoyed it. Rachel is also a player on the story, she isn't just Andy's fiancée, we see her too, what it's like for her, what goes through her minds and how she deals with one of Andy's insane friends. it's very good books for those interested in the London Underground, or even London itself. many obsessed geeks may see themselves in Andy, and root for him to win.

Entertaining, but by no means a classic.

When I read the back of the book to get a quick description, I was immediately interested. And as I read the book cover to cover in a short time, I was entertained throughout. However, this isn't exactly classic literature, but more a book that reads right into a movie script.The book has a few interesting elements that pepper the story. The first of which is Andy's flashbacks about his history of Rachel. They seem to come just at the right part of the story, and they seem to end just the same. Lowe stops the flashbacks about halfway through the book, trying to give us the same feeling that Brian (Andy's homeless pal-for-a-day) likely has.I also enjoyed how Andy's part of the story was written in first person, while the chronicalling of Rachel's day was written in third. It is a welcome break from trying to take in the constantly changing thoughts we get from the narrator.I was just a bit disappointed by the lack of detail in points of Andy's journey itself. Sometimes, Lowe seems to go way too heavily into Andy's thoughts and past, and leaves out simple observations. Maybe this fits into Andy's character as a tunnel enthusiast, but for those of us who don't study the tunnel (or have never even been to London), a little more general description would have been nice.Anyway, I believe that if you feel like having a very entertaining read, this is a great book to buy. Like I said, you'll go through it quite fast due to the action-filled journey that doesn't let you put the book down. Cheers to Lowe for a great first novel.

high fidelity on the tube

this book is like a somber version of high fidelity. it showing a man and his obsession and the struggle between deciding what's more important to him: his fascination with the london tube or his relationship with his fiance. lowe proves that a good writer can write about anything and make it interesting.definately unpredictable. i was in london last year, and did a lot of travelling on the tube. there is definately life underground and in this book. it's one of the most creative and inventive stories i've read this year...