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Ghostwritten : A Novel
by Mitchell, David
- Used
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- ISBN 10
- 0340739746
- ISBN 13
- 9780340739747
- Seller
-
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Sceptre. Used - Acceptable. May have underlining, highlighting, margin notes, remainder marks, inscriptions, book plates, tears, significant wear, and/or a missing box or discs. Damaged item.
Synopsis
Ghostwritten, David Mitchell's acclaimed first novel, interweaves nine independent plots from characters in locations around the world - all seemingly connected by chance events. Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize - issued for the best work of fiction in the commonwealth by an author under 35 - many of the themes persist through much of Mitchell's subsequent work.
Read More: Identifying first editions of Ghostwritten : A Novel
Reviews
On Mar 26 2014, CloggieDownunder said:
Ghostwritten is the first novel by British author, David Mitchell. Told by nine different narrators, with a plot spanning centuries and continents, this is an amazing debut novel. The narrators are a member of a doomsday cult who releases poison gas in a subway in Tokyo, and details his retreat to Okinawa and a small nearby island, Kume-jima; a jazz aficionado who works as a sales clerk in a Tokyo music store; a lawyer in a financial institution in Hong Kong who has been moving large sums of money from a certain account; a woman who owns a Tea Shack on China's Holy Mountain and speaks to a tree; a non-corporeal sentient entity which is searching for who or what it is; a gallery attendant in Petersburg who is involved in an art theft scam; a ghostwriter/drummer living in London who saves a woman from being run over by a taxi; an Irish nuclear physicist who quits her job when she finds her research is being used for military purposes; and a late night radio talkback DJ who finds himself fielding calls from an intriguing caller referring to himself as the zookeeper. Mitchell weaves together these nine narrations into a cohesive whole with vague or occasionally direct references to a myriad of common themes, characters, objects, or words (including, but not limited to, albino conger eels, camphor trees, an earth-bound comet, Kilmagoon whiskey, jazz music, cleaning toilets and artificial intelligence) in each narration. His characters muse on, ponder and articulate on various themes: love/lust; chance/fate; brainwashing; propaganda; one's own place in the world; why we are who we are; principles; and the character of London Underground Lines; There is humour, irony, intrigue, and a plentiful helping of tongue-in-cheek comments. And when Mo Muntervary tells Father Wally “Phenomena are interconnected regardless of distance, in a holistic ocean more voodoo than Newton”, she could be describing Mitchell’s own love affair with connections: fans of Mitchell's work will also recognise certain characters and concepts from his other novels, in particular, Cloud Atlas, Black Swan Green and number9dream. This is a brilliant debut novel.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Magers and Quinn Booksellers (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1373342
- Title
- Ghostwritten : A Novel
- Author
- Mitchell, David
- Book Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0340739746
- ISBN 13
- 9780340739747
- Publisher
- Sceptre
- Place of Publication
- London
- This edition first published
- 1999
Terms of Sale
Magers and Quinn Booksellers
Please contact us immediately if you are unsatisfied with your order. Returns accepted within 3 weeks of delivery. All returns must include original packing slip.
About the Seller
Magers and Quinn Booksellers
Biblio member since 2006
Minneapolis, Minnesota
About Magers and Quinn Booksellers
Magers and Quinn Booksellers is the Twin Cities' largest independent book store. We sell new, used, rare, and out-of-print books.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Remainder
- Book(s) which are sold at a very deep discount to alleviate publisher overstock. Often, though not always, they have a remainder...
- Acceptable
- A non-traditional book condition description that generally refers to a book in readable condition, although no standard exists...