Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris

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Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris

Just wondered if anyone else has read this. Don't want to spoil the ending, but she brilliantly leads the reader down blind alleys.

Joanne Harris has always been good at descriptive prose, bringing in the sensory, but she's always had quite a "nice" image as a writer. However, her last couple of novels have introduced the darker side of humanity.

I love a good murder, and this has a few - just what you need when your school is being OFFSTEDed: a vengeful murderer on the loose!

There are multiple narrators, in the Faulkneresque style; the chapter headings don't name the narrators so you have to work it out from the voice - surprisingly easy to do when you write as well as Harris.

Anyone who is interested in writing prose fiction should read AT LEAST one of Joanne Harris' novels, and I can also recommend her short stories.

Yes, I've read it. I loved the twist to but I it seemed to easy- it was X or 'the other one' (not to spoil the ending) from about half way through. I did find my self trying to eliminate on my fingers the characters that X spoke to. I like that other one by Joanne Harris, the one with the French nunnery and the woman who used to be an acrobat and the debonair chap who was her pimp. Loads of suspense and just enough romance. I think her books can be depressing sometimes, though, too many memories, not enough humour, which I think is one of the reasons why I enjoyed Gentlemen and Players I think. My mother thought it was "too creepy".
I think that's a sign of a good book: if your mother doesn't like it!
I think that's a sign of a good book: if your mother doesn't like it!
I enjoyed it immensely - I think that she is an excellent writer and she's one of those I turn towards when I want something a little lighter. She doesn't stretch the brain but she is great entertainment - and she is still developing. Each new book takes her (and you) to a very different place and I think that is a sign of a fine artist. Why not start a discussion about this on http://www.booktribes.com
I wouldn't say that she's literary easy-listening, tcook- there really is something very heavy and dark in the depth and quality of her descriptions. I think I'm with my mother here. It's creepy. (Does it still make it a good book ggggareth? I mean I still think it's excellent, but damndedly creepy)
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