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hennershenners's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it!
Dated obviousl. Liked the way the almost amoral character developed a conscience.
Couldn't get Bowie's theme out of my head (ba ba bahom...)
Dated obviousl. Liked the way the almost amoral character developed a conscience.
Couldn't get Bowie's theme out of my head (ba ba bahom...)
laurabasjpg's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
5.0
ymmakesthings's review against another edition
Tapping out for now - it certainly has its unique charm but after getting through about a third of the book, I still can’t quite settle into its style. With that said, I thought it was interesting that I could see a lot of myself and others my age in our stage of adolescence in the narrator; perhaps teenagers from different generations share more similarities than we’d think. I might just give it another shot some other time.
fi_is_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sarahe's review against another edition
4.0
Vigorous in language and character, perhaps structurally a bit unsound - but as a contemporary account of teenage culture of 1950s London, written in the 1950s by not-a-teenager... yeah.
kris_mccracken's review against another edition
4.0
Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes was written in 1958 and details the emergence of the ‘mod’ and explores uneasy race relations in inner-city London in the lead up to the swinging sixties.
I initially found it a frustrating read, as the (unnamed) teenage narrator speaks with a litany of (now-) clichéd slang and puns, but once I reminded myself that in many respects MacInnes is recording this language in print for the first time I decided to roll with it.
As such, it is an interesting snapshot of a very specific time and place, and the story rollicks along at a cracking pace to a decent conclusion. Recommended.
I initially found it a frustrating read, as the (unnamed) teenage narrator speaks with a litany of (now-) clichéd slang and puns, but once I reminded myself that in many respects MacInnes is recording this language in print for the first time I decided to roll with it.
As such, it is an interesting snapshot of a very specific time and place, and the story rollicks along at a cracking pace to a decent conclusion. Recommended.
staceyberkheimer's review against another edition
I still use Angela Thirkell for comfort reading sometimes, but it's getting harder to overlook the racism and xenophobia. So it was strangely satisfying to find out that one of her sons, the writer Colin MacInnes, rejected all of that cozy English countryside, the-old-days-were-so-much-better stuff, and wrote books celebrating multi-cultural London and youth culture. "Absolute Beginners" is a period piece, and includes some language that wouldn't be used today, but I think his heart was in the right place.
donnabamforth's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mdrose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
selbyr's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5