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I was beating the life out of Bibhuti with a baseball bat when my first monsoon broke...John Lock has come to India to meet his destiny: a destiny dressed in a white karate suit and sporting an impressive moustache. He has fled the quiet desperation of his life in England: decades wasted in a meaningless job, a marriage foundering in the wake of loss and a terrible secret he cannot bear to share with his wife. He has come to offer his help to a man who has learned to conquer pain, a world record breaker who specialises in feats of extreme endurance and ill-advised masochism. Bibhuti Nayak's next record attempt - to have fifty baseball bats broken over his body - will set the seal on a career that has seen him rise from poverty to become a minor celebrity in a nation where standing out from the crowd requires tenacity, courage and perhaps a touch of madness. In answering Bibhuti's call for assistance, John hopes to rewrite a brave end to a life poorly lived. But as they take their leap of faith together, and John is welcomed into Bibhuti's family, and into the colour and chaos of Mumbai - where he encounters ping-pong-playing monks, a fearless seven-year-old martial arts warrior and an old man longing for the monsoon to wash him away - he learns more about life, and death, and everything in between than he could ever have bargained for.
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Review:
Man on Fire is astonishingly moving in its heartbreak and humour . About 50 pages into this enchanting book, I discovered that it is a true story and Bibhuti is a real man . Man on Fire does what a novel at its best can do; underneath the humour and pathos and Bibhuti's hopes and dreams, we find an account of India itself. Out of this unlikely material, Stephen Kelman has written a book of profound beauty and deep empathy ( Justin Cartwright Observer )
Kelman gives an intoxicating picture of Mumbai in all its chaos, which is a neat contrast to Bibhuti's mindfulness ( The Sunday Times Ireland )
Man on Fire, in essence, is like a buddy movie with a spiritual bent; that this spirituality comes from the most unlikely source is its strength, and not a weakness ( Erica Wagner Guardian )
An enthralling fictionalised part-biography of Bibhuti, is Kelman's moving tribute to the Times of India journalist . Kelman - no relation to James, although he shares the great Glaswegian's ability to write dark, gut-wrenching books full of life and energy, and that are often very funny ( Jackie McGlone Sunday Herald )
This confirms his ability to evoke deep emotion. Its hybrid fact-and-fiction subject probably won't attract as many readers as his first book, but those who venture will be richly rewarded ( Daily Mail John Harding )
In a glorious opening monologue that manages to be hilarious and sympathetic, Bibhuti recounts his inaugural boundary-buster: receiving 43 kicks to his unprotected groin . Whatever the result, Bibhuti is certainly a wonderful creation who resists prat-falling into reductive buffoonery thanks to Kelman's nicely measured portrait . Man on Fire is a strange, arresting novel that is borne aloft by two vivid protagonists, and threated together by a delicate chain of imagery . the novel offers a salutary meditation on time: how we fill it, how we waste is and the tricky challenge of telling the difference ( James Kidd Independent )
He has a fine eye for sketching delightful scenes: a shipment of snow globes saves during the monsoon; a group of monks dedicated to table tennis ( Jeffrey Burke Irish Mail on Sunday )
An original tale about faith, friendship and determination . an enthralling novel by a writer of considerable talent (Financial Times)
One of the most quirky books I have ever read ... A revelatory and very touching book (Observer, Books of the Year 2015)
Book Description:
Kelman gives an intoxicating picture of Mumbai in all its chaos, which is a neat contrast to Bibhuti's mindfulness ( The Sunday Times Ireland )
Man on Fire, in essence, is like a buddy movie with a spiritual bent; that this spirituality comes from the most unlikely source is its strength, and not a weakness ( Erica Wagner Guardian )
An enthralling fictionalised part-biography of Bibhuti, is Kelman's moving tribute to the Times of India journalist . Kelman - no relation to James, although he shares the great Glaswegian's ability to write dark, gut-wrenching books full of life and energy, and that are often very funny ( Jackie McGlone Sunday Herald )
This confirms his ability to evoke deep emotion. Its hybrid fact-and-fiction subject probably won't attract as many readers as his first book, but those who venture will be richly rewarded ( Daily Mail John Harding )
In a glorious opening monologue that manages to be hilarious and sympathetic, Bibhuti recounts his inaugural boundary-buster: receiving 43 kicks to his unprotected groin . Whatever the result, Bibhuti is certainly a wonderful creation who resists prat-falling into reductive buffoonery thanks to Kelman's nicely measured portrait . Man on Fire is a strange, arresting novel that is borne aloft by two vivid protagonists, and threated together by a delicate chain of imagery . the novel offers a salutary meditation on time: how we fill it, how we waste is and the tricky challenge of telling the difference ( James Kidd Independent )
He has a fine eye for sketching delightful scenes: a shipment of snow globes saves during the monsoon; a group of monks dedicated to table tennis ( Jeffrey Burke Irish Mail on Sunday )
An original tale about faith, friendship and determination . an enthralling novel by a writer of considerable talent (Financial Times)
One of the most quirky books I have ever read ... A revelatory and very touching book (Observer, Books of the Year 2015)
An unforgettable story of faith, forgiveness and second chances, Man on Fire is a powerful and touching novel from the Booker and Guardian-shortlisted author of Pigeon English
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- PublisherBloomsbury Circus
- Publication date2015
- ISBN 10 1408865467
- ISBN 13 9781408865460
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages320
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Man on Fire
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Bloomsbury, London
(2015)
ISBN 10: 1408865467
ISBN 13: 9781408865460
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. First Edition. A fine unread 1st impression in a fine dustwrapper. Signed and dated [11.08.2015] by the Author on the title page. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 007359
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