It is probably good for both of us that GR reviews have a character limit. For me, so there is a limit on my copyright violations. For you, so you won't have to read every line that I found amazing, remarkable, thoughtful, or funny. It took me two reads to compile my thoughts on The Gone-Away World, and I'm not sure we're done with each other yet. It's one of those kinds of books that offers more each time through. Not the lull of a comforting, familiar read, but the folds of the "ah-ha!" kind of plotting, the thoughtful "oh yes!" of appreciation, and the generating of fanciful ideas.

Harkaway's ability with word choice, not quite absurdist, but at the far limits of possibility, knocks me out. It's silly and irreverent: "It will be a useful study aid in my newly chosen specialist field of getting-the-fuck-out-of-here-olgy" (p.229)

Then, just when it reaches the limits, the reader/narrator realizes the situation is serious and the irony is washed away, resulting in a powerful emotional exposure and, sometimes, a sad transition to disaster. For instance, there's an ongoing bit about the narrator's girlfriend in college who was physically stimulated by their rebellion. It was funny ("we all but wear out the oppressive manacles of the state oppressor and it's getting to the point where we'll have to pinch some new ones") right until it's brought back home in a way that illuminates the self-delusion (in this case, with real oppression): "This place does not feel like my country. It feels like countries I have read about where things are very bad. It feels, in fact, like exactly the kind of thing we were protesting against, but we thought it was elsewhere. It is not heartening to find that it has come to us" (p.105)

Harkaway's metaphors come through in the strangest places, but are all the more delightful for the oddity. There's a prolonged hot spell and Gonzo's father's bees are keeping the hive cool by fanning their wings and laboriously flying in water droplets: "Air conditioning by slave labour, if you believe that a hive is run by an autocrat, but Old Man Lubitsch has long ago explained that the Queen is an asset, cherished and nurtured but not obeyed, and that the hives are a functioning biological machine. He cannot decide if they represent an eerie social harmony or a grim nightmare of mechanistic subservience to a purposeless and endlessly repeating pattern" (p.54).

Or thoughts on fighting an endless war:
"We were, in other words, screwed. But we were on top of the situation. We knew we were screwed, and we had chosen the manner of our screwedness. We understood it and to that extent we controlled it. It was like the Nuclear Threat--while it was going on, we didn't have to think about any other kinds of screwed we might be" (p.257)

He does this over and over again, and then when you feel you might be hitting some sort of ironic, comedic overload (think three or four hours of The Daily Show), he throws in an emotional connection that reminds us these characters are also human.

For instance, in the middle of an escape with the Special Forces crew and a few ancillary staff, the team takes a moment: "A brief council of war is convened, during which everyone takes turns to hold Egon, because he is shaking and needs to be loved, and we are leaving no one behind, not physically and not spiritually, because we are who we are and that is how we're going to stay" (p.231).

There is a powerful motif of identity running through, and the identity we have as people versus the identity we have in roles, whether chosen or foisted upon us. One of the most moving and ambivalent sections of this dealt with George Copsen, the father of one of Gonzo's admirers, and a member of the military:
"He lifts the red telephone and says: 'Copsen.' Someone on the other end speaks, firmly and simply. General George either grows older or grows colder; it happens to him from within like a tall building being demolished or flowers growing in fast motion, and I realise he is making himself into the cog, rather than the man" (p.188). The ultimate outcome of this theme via the mechanism of the Stuff, was downright amazing. I was astonished.

What elevates it beyond a discourse on human nature/civilization is the astonishing concept of the Go-Away Bomb, and it's fallout, the Stuff. "The Go Away Bomb is a thing of awful power, a vacuum cleaner of information, sucking the organising principle, the information, out of matter, and energy. Professor Derek assumed that either of these latter two stripped of the first simply ceased to exist. It seems he was wrong. Matter stripped of information becomes Stuff... desperate for new information. It becomes hungry"(p.255). And there is for me, the moral of the story, the philosophical underpinning; the idea of forming and creation from ideas, for what else happens when people meet Stuff, but ideas become almost-real? And what is reality, except our perception of things, our assumptions? And if the nightmares and dreams aren't quite real, well they do exist in our heads, and in our emotions, our perceptions and our reactions, so that they are, in some ways, real enough.

As I said, it's that kind of a book.

Everything in this book is so very quotable--I have a sticky note filled with partial quotes and page references. It's slightly blurry, of course, from dropping it in the bath, but still legible. Mostly. But I love Harkaway's social commentary. It's funny in that wry way, when something is unfortunately true (the corporate Pencilneck), funny in that gross way (a derriere shaped stain on the pool table that implies unauthorized activities), and funny in that oddball way such as exploring identity issues through a troupe of mimes, and a group of circus travelers named 'K.'

It misses five stars because some significant editing could have tightened it up and broadened its appeal (much like this review). The second time through I can appreciate foreshadowing related to the narrator identity. I can see where it got lost before; I was distracted and enjoying the Pencilneck B through M metaphor, and lost the actual plot point. But it was there. It's the type of thing that editing around it could have given it a little more importance, and likely made the impact a little more profound.

One of the book groups I'm in read it for a monthly read, and it was rather disappointing how many readers felt they were forcing themselves to through it, even as they appreciated sections. No need to throw every thought into your book, Harkaway; save some for the next time. On re-read, a mere forty pages in I can see where it could have been trimmed already. A paragraph here, a paragraph there, sections musing on someone's life/death that the narrator is only speculating on. Less can be more; it could have given more prominence to the plot and world-building and evened the pace. After a leisurely pace through childhood, adolescence and college, the grande finale and confrontation seemed rather tacked on.

That said, I found myself alternatively smiling, snickering, tense and moved when reading. In the final Carol-mark of greatness, I believe it deserves a spot in my physical library, and I'm looking forward to giving [b:Angelmaker|12266560|Angelmaker|Nick Harkaway|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1326121401s/12266560.jpg|14751763] a try. Four-and-a-half imaginary stars.

Cross posted at my blog: http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/the-gone-away-world-by-nick-harkaway-o... ( )

Too often the writer riffed for too long ( )

Great fun, inventive clever and telling a cracking (slightly weird) story whilst making a political point. The only thing I didn't much enjoy was the structure of the novel it begins in the story's present and then jumps back in time to see how we got here, before picking up again almost 2/3 of the way through with the conclusion.

Our carefully unnamed hero is part of a mercenary team. They're based in a pub in a small village/town of a world we almost don't recognise although it was once ours. There's a major fire in a supply line and the team are contracted by some official to go and put it out. It's not quite clear why no-one else can do this. They drive off being aware of the border between the real world, and the parts that are 'gone away' and now teeming with monsters of various sorts, mostly based on how bad your imagination is.

The flashbacks go right back to our hero's childhood, learning martial arts, meeting girls becoming a soldier and getting deployed. Being integrated into an experimental physics unit.... where the boffin's learn how matter and energy are controlled by information, and hence how they can be made to 'go away'. The physics is fun science fiction hand wavy variety - a vaguely plausible sounding principle which can be used as a macguffin for the rest of the novel. It is clever, and well done.

The banter between the teammates is excellent, the details and characters nicely fleshed out and balanced, and best of all the politics and motivations suitably cynical and believable.

Really enjoyed will read more by this author. ( )

Add my name to those who cannot fathom the reasons why so many people wax lyrical about, 'The Gone Away World.'

I have learnt a few things about myself having read this however:

1. I am not a fantasy fan (My distaste of 'The 13 and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear' first aroused my suspicion, this has affirmed it resolutely) especially when it feels particularly made up.

2. I do not like this writing style (which I feel is sadly how I myself write haha) full of digressions, tangents, asides and somewhat esoteric concepts which detract from the experience rather than add to it.

At points it was enjoyable, I liked the central idea and I thought the plot twist was skilfully executed and an engaging concept to boot (hence the second star) but I felt all this was hampered by Harkaway's writing which was all just too complicated: there was a huge cast of characters who were quite flat, relatively unexplored and empty vessels for the plot; the 'fantasy' had to be explained so much so that the suspension of belief was broken and it all felt painfully made-up and deliberate.

I'm confused and slightly indignant that people compare Harkaway to Douglas Adams or Kurt Vonnegut, especially. I've nothing against the guy obviously but there is a hugely apparent gulf in quality no? - surely people can see that, right?

Sigh. I'm glad I read it and I have 'Angelmaker' which maybe I'll like more? (Let me know please!) but unfortunately, this was a read I'd quite like to 'Go Away' ha! Ahem, sorry folks. ( )

Very fun. The pace and snappy dialog and discourse was fun. The story was good, complex but logical. Very enjoyable novel to read. Fun.

Nick Harkaway is a master of painting zany inside a deep meaningful novel. A truly unique experience and one of the few books that might actually read completely different upon a reread (which I will do someday). I loved the humor. I loved the characters and I loved the story. Read this story and let it take you in completely unexpected directions. Just when you think you have a grasp on where it is heading he hits you with a mallet. ( )

Once I accepted this book for what it was—a weird soup of science fiction and satire—I found it very enjoyable. It didn't all work for me. The Pynchonesque mime troop was a bridge too far. But it is an impressive feat of imagination and solid storytelling. ( )

Although I came to this novel on the basis of my appreciation of a later work by the same author, it made an eerily good match for the most recent feature film I enjoyed. If you liked the martial arts action, twisted humor, melodramatic pathos, and reality-warping mindfuckery of Everything Everywhere All at Once, you might find that Nick Harkaway's doorstop 2008 first novel actually delivers a kindred experience.

The Gone-Away World contains about half a dozen major anagnorises or revelatory plot pivots, each with perfectly adequate narrative preparation and often outright foreshadowing. After getting caught with my pants down by a couple of these, I got really vigilant, paying special attention to what the story hadn't told me at that point, and my effort was rewarded with being able to anticipate the next big surprise by maybe two or three pages. Then as I kept on reading, feeling pleased with myself, I got surprised again! (Well, I sort of saw that coming.) And again! (OMG, how could I fail to have seen that coming!) It was like losing a sparring bout.

The semi-fantastic post-apocalyptic setting is definitely sui generis (although comparisons others have made to Vonnegut have some merit), and it took me a few of the book's longish chapters to get comfortable with the narrative framing. But even before that point I found the prose fast-moving and congenial.

There's possibly an allegory here, certainly a parable. I had to wonder if Harkaway named "FOX"--"the gunk ... inFOrmationally eXtra-saturated" (259) that stabilizes reality after the Go Away War has totally disrupted it--as a conscious poke at US propaganda media. The book takes aim at even bigger troubles, though, if you want to read it that way. The repeated tacit references to the legend of Andromeda in the final arc were poignant.

On the whole, I liked this novel a lot and found it to be a lively ride. It fell a little short of the tremendously high esteem I have for Harkaway's Gnomon, but that's hardly grounds to dismiss it. It is perhaps, as I've seen some suggest, more accessible than the later book, while still delivering a considerable taste of what the writer has to offer.

I really enjoy books with a nice metaphorical apocalypse, and this was fun and symbolic and twisty in ways that I appreciate. It also failed the Bechdel test. I was thinking about why I care about the Bechdel test in media that I consume, and what it comes down to is that passing the Bechdel test means that women get to be characters; books that fail by and large treat women as props. And I am tired of media where men are people and women are props. Yet sometimes I'm having enough fun that I can overlook it, and it's into that conflicted space where this book falls. ( )

Word salads that weren’t that funny. Didn’t stray far into the second chapter.

WTF. This book sucked my brain out for several days. I had to read it very fast, as the library wanted it back, but it's such a polysyllabic impressionistic stew of a book that I don't think that mattered. Some of the other reviews sum it up well. Part Philip K. Dick with a bit of Stanislav Lem, part Dickensian social satire, Catch-22 meets Lake Wobegon Days: the book is insane.

I will go and read another of this author's novels, but not for a while, when I've got my breath back. It takes stamina, but it was worth the ride.

MB 15-xii-2021 ( )

Easily one of the enjoyable books I've read in the last year. Imagine Catch-22 written by Kurt Vonnegut: it's a comparison every review seems to make, but it's dead-on, imo.

It's a little too self-consciously Quirky! in places, but that's easily compensated for with some truly poignant moments amidst the gonzo world Harkaway writes. I loved it. ( )

Unfortunately I only read the first 50 pages or so... despite having enjoyed Gnomon, the way this was written frustrated me a bit- the language just seemed a bit too contrived, too entertaining. Some other time I may be in the mood- it is a long book and I simply did not feel up to being committed to it when I have so many other good books waiting to be read. ( )

I loved this book. The Gone-Away World is a rip-roaring apocalyptic adventure story delivered in almost (but not really) stream-of-consciousness style. It is complete with danger, love, mystery, tension, ninjas, mimes and... well, I'll say no more because I don't want to spoil it for any other readers. Suffice to say that it's a wild ride with lots & lots of hilarious and heart-breaking digressions along the way. Once Harkaway begins to wrap things up, the denouement pulls it all together beautifully. ( )

Questo è un libro di idee, non di trama.
Nonostante qualche colpo di scena ben piazzato il plot non mi ha convinto del tutto... Ma le idee, cazzo, questo libro ne è pieno: numerose, intelligentissime e spiazzanti...
peccato che non bastino a far arrivare il libro al suo massimo potenziale, magari al livello di capolavoro. Certo, nessuno pretendeva tanto, per 2 motivi soprattutto: 1) questo è un libro d'esordio per Nick Harkaway, 2) questo libro è letteralmente soffocato da parenti illustri, a partire dal padre dell'autore, il celebre Le Carrè fino ad arrivare al padre letterario di questo romanzo: Kurt Vonnegut, autore fin troppo presente che con la sua pesante eredità impedisce a "il mondo dopo la fine del mondo" di volare alto. L'autore ha comunque talento e le idee, come ho già detto, non mancano.. speriamo solo che riesca ad affrancarsi da due padri così ingombranti e sfornare il capolavoro che credo sia capace di sfornare!
P.S. 20 EURO PER QUESTA EDIZIONE CHE SEMBRA STAMPATA SU CARTONE PER PACCHI CON INCHIOSTRO DILUITO????? MA STIAMO SCHERZANDO????!!!!
giusto uno sfogo per i prezzi surreali dei libri, soprattutto dei libri editi dalla collana strade blu: ridicoli!!
( )

This is an interesting book. It is crude but not explicit, and has some language, but the story is unique and engaging. There are some chapters near the beginning that absolutely drag, but most don't. It really needs a 2.5 rating. ( )

What was this book?

I started out reading a blokey kind of adventure story kind of thing then suddenly I'm in the middle of science fiction, both very good I might add...but what the...??.

But as you read you can feel the landscape slowly changing as you go along but it's not quite clear where we are going. Was he making it up as he went along? It definitely did not feel like a planned out piece of work but somehow that added to the tension.

After a couple of chapters that bordered on zombie hunting territory then we end up on what is one of the best delves into what constitutes identity. In fact I thought it was all about identity....or was it?

It was a bit like 26 capitals in 21 days but it was so well done. It's been a while since I had to catch my breath in a book but here it is, this one did.

It seems a but unfair to even try to summarise this book because the reading experience is not singular in any way but I can say that it is superb, spacious and very wide in both scope, intention and achievement.

Don't not read this book, it is a sizeable undertaking but make room for it. ( )

huh, I was sure I reviewed this

3.5 stars

it's wonderful most of the time, but occasionally errs on the side of self-indulgence ( )

Combine the style and optimism of [a:P.G. Wodehouse|7963|P.G. Wodehouse|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1198684105p2/7963.jpg] with the scope and digressions of Russian literature, add some absurdist sci-fi in the vein of [b:John Dies at the End|1857440|John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, #1)|David Wong|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1189289716s/1857440.jpg|1858059], and you'll arrive at The Gone-Away World. ( )

This is one of the most extraordinary and inventive books I have ever read. The author just lays on layer after layer of strange, and manages to make it work by the sheer audacity of keeping going.

I'm deliberately saying nothing about content because much of the pleasure of this book comes from discovering the world it creates, so I don't think I can say anything descriptive without taking something away from that. Just read it! ( )

Annoying! We are left hung in the middle of a crisis in the first section, so the author can take us leisurely into the past lives of his characters.
Drawn out so long, I abandoned them all. ( )

This book was awesome! I highly recommend it to anyone who loves science fiction or hates the dehumanizing structures of corporations. The book is an excellent modern example of the former and a clever, articulate invective against the latter.

Corporations have been on my mind a lot lately, mostly because of non-fiction books and lectures I have come across, as well as recent political debates. I found it delightful to read a work of fiction that pulls a lot of those threads together and presents the ideas in a new way with strings of words that haven't been used before. His taxonomy of "pencilneck" company men was particularly enjoyable.

The book is an examination of the multiple personas that people have and the way that corporations exploit them. The company man is expected to squash his most human traits and to become a cog in the machine, with no qualms about immoral or inhuman actions. Those that are unwilling or unable to switch off their humanity are replaced by those who can.

I am surprised that I had not heard of this book before. It was published four years ago. I only happened to find it at the library because the paperback has a very bright orange cover that called out to me to pick it up. This book is the perfect piece of science fiction for our times. I hope some of my friends read it so I can discuss it with them. ( )

Pretty amazing. Exciting, innovative wild and only occasionally too wordy (roughly in the middle), hence 4 not 5 stars. ( )

Loved the story, and that kept me going, imaginative and scary. The author's writing style, verbose, stylistic, disjointed, bombastic is not usually something I appreciate. In this case, the story and some characters were strong enough to hold me. I skipped untold numbers of words as they did not advance the story, or excite me. But read it, lovely story. ( )

Masterful, hilarious and so much fun to read. I can't believe this is a first novel. Can't wait to read everything he's written. ( )