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The Nothing
The Nothing | Hanif Kureishi
9 posts | 5 read | 9 to read
One night, when I am old, sick, right out of semen, and don't need things to get any worse, I hear the noises growing louder. I am sure they are making love in Zenab's bedroom which is next to mine. Waldo, a f?ted filmmaker, is confined by old age and ill health to his London apartment. Frail and frustrated, he is cared for by his lovely younger wife, Zee. But when he suspects that Zee is beginning an affair with Eddie, 'more than an acquaintance and less than a friend for over thirty years,' Waldo is pressed to action: determined to expose the couple, he sets himself first to prove his suspicions correct - and then to enact his revenge. Written with characteristic black humour and with an acute eye for detail, Kureishi's eagerly awaited novella will have his readers dazzled once again by a brilliant mind at work.
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review
Oana7
The Nothing | Hanif Kureishi
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Mehso-so

Well, it definitely wasn't my type of book... The book tells story of Waldo, a famous film director who is now old and very sick... He is trying to outsmart Eddie who comes into his life and seduces Zee, the much younger wife of Waldo. I can only give it one ⭐

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Reggie
The Nothing | Hanif Kureishi
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Pickpick

If the author didn‘t have such a command of language , this could easily have become B movie type of book. Told from 1st person, we meet Waldo, a celebrated filmmaker at the end of his life bound to a wheelchair. Waldo starts to suspect his younger by 20 years wife, Zee is having an affair with an acquaintance of theirs, Eddie. Ensue life chess match. Waldo was entertaining to me in a very crass way, one I‘m almost embarrassed to admit to. Pick!

minkyb Never be embarrassed! 🤗 6y
Cathythoughts 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 6y
chapter_fifty2017 I could pick this book 👍 6y
51 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Reggie
The Nothing | Hanif Kureishi
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This main character will shock you with his depravity, but then he also has moments of warm and sincere introspection that make for a nice pace. The top quote is probably one of the nicer ones I could find without body parts or sex. There are a lot of those.

batsy I loathed Waldo but also kind of liked Waldo. As a character study, I liked the book. 6y
Reggie I think his age and circumstance gave him permission to be so frank and have no shame. He is the unrestrained voice we all wish for maybe? Yeah, I was always on the fence with him, but ultimately liked him. Credit to the author also because I ended up feeling sorry for Eddie. They were all despicable and pitiable. @batsy 6y
batsy Yes to everything you said. It's always hard to pull off that balance. And I love Kureishi's sentences; every scathing, depraved inner thought was both uncomfortable and delightful. 6y
38 likes1 stack add3 comments
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PictureandBook
The Nothing | Hanif Kureishi
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Mehso-so

Tl:dr: old man is still creepy at the end of his life.

Good: clean, well-constructed language.
Bad: misogyny and creepy characters.

One of my favorite authors of youth creates a well-written book about creepy/ empty people. But it does match my bookshelves

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ReadingEnvy
The Nothing | Hanif Kureishi
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Mehso-so

The Guardian said it best: "The tormented revenge fantasies of a cuckolded film-maker." So if that's your thing, well, this is the book for you. eARC from publisher. Book out January 2.

vivastory I always confuse Kureishi with Kunzru 😬 I love Kunzru, haven't read Kureishi 6y
Billypar @vivastory I only ever read The Black Album and really disliked it. But I've wondered if his other stuff was better. @ReadingEnvy are there other ones from this author you would recommend? 6y
Notafraidofwords I shall pass 😊 6y
ReadingEnvy @vivastory @Billypar I suspect I also thought this was one and got the other. I haven't read anything else by this author. At least it was short! 6y
66 likes5 comments
blurb
Fridayfilms
The Nothing | Hanif Kureishi
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Holiday reads

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DeborahSmall
The Nothing | Hanif Kureishi
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#AnditsAugust #forfontssake some of my favourite fonts on covers ❤️️📚

LeahBergen How is Burning Bright? I've liked a few of her others. 7y
mcipher I loved The Book Of Lost Things! 7y
DeborahSmall @LeahBergen it was my first of hers and I read it because I love Blake, it's a great book 7y
I-read-and-eat Reading The Book of Lost Things right now and I love it. I has already made me laugh and cry. 7y
DeborahSmall @I-read-and-eat good to know. I've read most of his Charlie Parker series. Going to see him next month in Belfast. His new book 'He' looks really good ❤️️ 7y
93 likes5 comments
review
batsy
The Nothing | Hanif Kureishi
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Pickpick

This is a hard book to rate, but I'll go with a pick. It's always a pleasure to read Kureishi, and this is shot through with vivid descriptions and black humour on every page. A bawdy, obnoxious, clever novella about a loathsome character, Waldo, a celebrated filmmaker now confined to his home because of illness and advancing age. A 1st person account of a descent into paranoia and sexual jealousy. It's a great character study, but not much more.

Cinfhen Great review 7y
batsy @Cinfhen Thanks :) 7y
LeahBergen Awesome review. 7y
batsy @LeahBergen Thank you! 7y
44 likes4 stack adds4 comments
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batsy
The Nothing | Hanif Kureishi
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Talk about an opening line

vivastory That would not be out of place as an opening line in a Rushdie novel 7y
LeahBergen 😮😮 7y
batsy @vivastory That's good to know! I did not get on too well with Rushdie the few times I've tried and I do feel like I'm missing out on *something*. Want to try again, maybe with Satanic Verses. 7y
36 likes1 stack add3 comments