A Fool's Alphabet: Complete & Unabridged

The 26 chapters of this book are named after places, one for each letter of the alphabet. Moving around in time as well as location, it reads rather like a collection of short stories with a common central character rather than a novel. Rather than being driven by exposition of a plot, each episode is enjoyed as a nicely written set piece.

The writing is good - Faulks has a style which is elegant and descriptive without being overblown. Some chapters are very strong, for instance the description of office life and the chapter set in Jerusalem. Others were less interesting, although I suspect every reader would have a different preference depending on their own experiences.

It isn't really a very memorable book. I enjoyed the experience of reading it whilst I was actually reading the words, but it is not a work that has made any particular emotional impact on me. That's not to say it isn't a good read, but a book with so little long standing impact cannot, in my opinion, be great.

The writing will be particularly enjoyed by those who love language and word play - there is plenty of exploration on the origin of words, for example. I would also recommend it to those who like short stories, and its themes of 'finding yourself' and mental illness will be of interest to those with experience of these issues. Overall, I suppose I feel ambivalently positive towards the book - it wasn't a waste of time to read, but I wouldn't say it was unmissable.

Short and sweet. (3/3 people found this helpful)

A Fool's Alphabet is essentially a biography of a half-Italian half-English male, called Pietro. I say 'male' because the biography is in no chronological order and instead, small fragments of Pietro's life are uncovered throughout the book therefore giving Pietro no fixed age. Reading the book, I got the distinct impression that I was experiencing fragments of Pietros memories, and the fact that they are in no order really emphasises this feeling.

The book contains lots of different locations including the Middle-East, Asia and America, and of course the UK and Italy. So, if you like travelling, you will probably enjoy this book as a large proportion of it is based around Pietro's travels.

I have read both Birdsong and Charlotte Gray before this, and they are completely different to this. Buy this if you like Faulks; you might turn out to love it, but it really isn't as bad as some people are making out. At worst, it will turn out to be average.

Is that it ?? (2/5 people found this helpful)

I've just finished reading A Fool's Alphabet and feel completely let down. Having read Birdsong, Charlotte Gray and Girl at the Lion d'Or I was expecting a lot more than what I got. There is no plot. There are no interesting characters. Nothing happens. I'm not exaggerating, nothing happens. Reading this book is like being put into the body and mind of a outstandingly average person, and looking back at this person's life. You look hard trying to find something..anything that might either entertain, educate or inform you, something that is missing from your own dull life. But there's nothing, just a dull middle-class guy with the normal fears and hang-ups that everybody has. It's simply not enough for an author to take the reader to different places around the world at different times in the company of an insipid, whining nobody. There has to be some kind of theme, plot, REASON for the reader to continue reading.
I'd recommend this book only to people who had read every book in existence and felt like wasting a few hours.

The Time Travellers Wife (3/12 people found this helpful)

This book kept me gripped from the first page. The way Niffeneger describes Henry's journey with Clare makes the book all the more interesting. It is not a fairy tale love story and as a result displays the unconventional idea of what a love story is, that it is not about living happy ever after but the time that the people who are in love spend together. Truly a great read!!

Life as it is - plain, human, real - the finest kind of art (28/28 people found this helpful)

This is quite simply one of the most poignant and reflective books I've read, precisely because it lacks the "melodrama" or "plot" that are the pre-requisites of most novels and...which are totally absent in most peoples' lives. Shorn of these constraints it becomes a quite brilliant exploration of a "normal" person: so skilfully written that you are subtly and compelling drawn into it and, by the end, feel you know the central character (Pietro) inside out. Sequenced as a series of "random" snapshots (with each chapter moving backwards & forwards through time, with no obvious structure) its end effect is like looking at a good friend's photo album with the pages mixed-up in some sort of random order. Young to old/old to young; parents to children; hopes to reality, ecstatic infatuation to family life... it's all there: "life as it is - plain, human, real".

Clever, beautifully written and wholly effective this is "art" rather than popular fiction because, having read it, you'll feel that you'll know Pietro for the rest of your life. But... of course, he's not "real", you only want him to be. A rare feat of writing indeed!

A Fool's Alphabet: Complete & Unabridged

Sebastian Faulks

Reader Reviews:

26 set pieces (0/0 people found this helpful)

Short and sweet. (3/3 people found this helpful)

Is that it ?? (2/5 people found this helpful)

The Time Travellers Wife (3/12 people found this helpful)

Life as it is - plain, human, real - the finest kind of art (28/28 people found this helpful)

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