Hanif Kureishi's writing is brilliant, witty, and stark. I just found the emotional brutality of the relationship between the famous filmmaker and his wife as s he is dying to be just that....emotionally brutal. Brutality trumped brilliance in this novel. ( )

Dans ce roman, Kureishi explore l'emprise de l'amour : la générosité, la passion, l'oubli de soi, mais aussi la jalousie, la manipulation, la cruauté. Les personnages, peu importe leurs intentions, sont multiples: si l'on regarde leurs actions, on constate qu'ils sont à la fois fragiles et confiants, bons et mauvais. Il est difficile de les aimer comme de les rejeter : ils sont d'une humanité cinglante dont les tares et les vices sont le résultat de blessures profondes. Un vrai régal, mais une lecture difficile. ( )

The Nothing by Hanif Kureishi is certainly not for everyone. I enjoyed reading the vulgar, snarky, grumpy, cynical inner thoughts of an old, wheel-chair-bound, still-a-somebody-at-retirement film director. The old man listens unmoving to the fornication of his younger wife with another man in the next room as he recounts events of the past and plots his revenge. With the help of his muse, a famous and beautiful actress, he stumbles through his revenge, while creating his last masterpiece made up of the damning evidence of his wife's infidelity. Pornographic and unforgiving, at times messy, at times humorous, the plot meanders from coincidence to coincidence, taking advantage of each one with relish. Kureishi does a very good job of limiting the information to one point of view, seeding doubt at every turn about just who has the upper hand.

Recommended for film buffs, lovers of pornography, good food, and mystery.

Many thanks to LibraryThing and the publisher for a copy of the novella for my review. I enjoyed reading this little gem! ( )

Voilà pour moi un livre inutile, dont je me demande comment un éditeur peut accepter de s'en occuper, il paraît que l'auteur a déjà écrit sur le même thème, peut-être que c'était plus intéressant et littéraire, mais là, de description de scène imaginée ou réelles très "chaudes" à son état physique dégradé , je ne vois aucun intérêt dans ce livre, écrit au présent comme une rédaction d'élève maladroit. Il paraît - aussi - que c'est un "thriller"... et bien je n'y ai rien compris, sauf qu'il s'agissait de désir de vengeance d'un vieillard aigri, paranoïaque et libidineux, mais les dernières pages ne m'ont apporté aucun éclaircissement sur l'aboutissement ou non de cette vengeance. ( )

"One night, when I am old, sick, right out of semen, and don't need things to get any worse, I hear noises again."

So begins Hanif Kureishi’s abrasive and disconcerting novel, THE NOTHING. From that very first sentence, we're on a bizarre joyride with Waldo, one of the most unusual narrators in recent fiction. And, frankly, I wasn't always sure I wanted to be along for the ride. Thankfully, it was a short ride.

There was something about Waldo that just wasn't happening for me. Maybe it's the wrong time to be reading about dirty old men. Whatever it is, I couldn't get past my distaste. Of course, we're *supposed* to find Waldo distasteful and hard to like. But I think we're also supposed to see a certain wit and roguish charm in him and enjoy his wicked glee. Mostly, I didn't. But I'll give it to Kureishi: he isn't pulling any punches here. He certainly takes a risk and goes for it.

I hadn't read any of his novels prior to this, but I had read a few of his essays and short stories here and there, and I've enjoyed several of the movies he scripted very much indeed.

So, I certainly won't close my mind to the possibility of enjoying some of his other novels. There is intelligence and fine prose on display in THE NOTHING, and even some laughs. But, on the whole, I didn't find it to be a success.

(Thank you to Faber & Faber for a complimentary advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review.) ( )