The End of Mr. Y - Scarlett Thomas

Ariel Manto is studying for her PhD, but her Professor, Saul Burlem has mysteriously disappeared. Her main interest is nineteenth century writer Thomas E. Lumas, who writes about thought experiments and fourth spatial dimensions. She is in the habit of looking for his books in second hand bookshops and would give anything to own a copy of his last work The End of Mr Y. To her astonishment she comes across one in a box of books in a second hand bookshop: 'Oh, s**t. This is a copy of The End of Mr Y...It's unbelievable, but there are other Lumas books there, and a couple of Derrida translations that I don't have as well as what looks like a first edition of Eureka, ...  Read the complete review

This has to be one of the most frustrating novels I have ever read. I just wanted to scream 'Well, get on with the story, why don't you? Why are you telling me this?' Ariel Manto is student who comes across a rare book that is supposed to have some kind of curse on it. The book has a page torn from it and she sets out to discover why it was removed, and what it was. It turns out to be a magic formula which she gathers the ingredients for and tries it out. The story itself is quite thrilling and exciting as she goes on her adventures but I really thought that it was ruined by superfluous information. For instance the writer goes into great about a ...  Read the complete review

Victorian gothic and the modern world, worlds apart yet in this book, Scarlett Thomas has managed to put them together. Ariel who is writing a phD on though experiments discovered a rare book in a second hand book shop by Lumas, an author who fell into obscurity, who is known for having radical ideas that goes against reality. Her discovery of the book and the secret inside placed her in danger and leads her to a world known as Troposphere. To reveal more would spoil what the mysteries and the joy of discovering what the author has planted inside the book. It was an enjoyable book to read on a Sunday afternoon when the sky was dark outside and ...  Read the complete review

I have heard this book described as 'Fantasy novel for girls' which I frankly think is a load of rubbish, this is one of the best books I have ever read and I don't think it matters if you are male or female. The book is the story of Ariel Manto who is an impoverished Phd student who to cut a long story short and not give away the plot finds a mysterious book rumoured to be cursed for all who read it. Obviously she buys the book and reads it and this takes her on a life changing journey through science, literature and philosophy. If you're interested in any of those topics )or like me all three) you will absolutely love this book. It's difficult to ...  Read the complete review