Divorcing Jack

Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT
Review: bateman wonderfully depicted the violent aspects of northern irish culture in divorcing jack. beautifully dark humour is strewn throughout the pages. although content is of a sensitive and horrid nature (the "troubles"), one can not help but laugh out loud frequently. a great first novel for him, and his books to follow are equally as interesting and enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: A Wild Ride Through Belfast
Review: Colin Bateman's first novel, Divorcing Jack, is a wild ride through strife-torn Belfast complete with marital infidelity, murder, political intrigue, and a of course the IRA. The novel combines murder mystery with a biting wit as narrator Jack, an alcoholic reporter, tries to get to the bottom of it all while doing his best to stay alive.

This is a very impressive first novel. The characters are richly drawn and stay true to form, and the plot takes some wonderful twists and turns which caught me off guard. The setting of the book was memorable too - many reviewers here on Amazon appear to be from Northern Ireland, which contributed to their enjoyment. I am not from the region and thoroughly enjoyed the novel anyway. I understand they are making a movie based upon Divorcing Jack, and I must say I was thinking, after I read it, that it would make a helluva movie.

Rating:
Summary: cool, comical and a devilishly good read..
Review: Divorcing Jack is my first novel by Colin Batemen, and I thought it might be a good example of modern British/Irish fiction. Fortunately my expectations were met.

The story is a rather slap-stick adventure of a Belfast columnist who finds himself inexplicably falling from an unexpected marital indescretion, to murder, and on to political scandal and terrorism. No, it's not realistic. But the biting satiric humour and colourful local language makes this a delightful read.

Bottom line: murder and mayhem with a comic twist. Colin Bateman captures the mood of modern Belfast without taking matters too seriously (or rather, not serious at all). Fans of other popular British/Irish writers (Hornby, Doyle, Welsh, et al) will find much to enjoy with Divorcing Jack.

Rating:
Summary: Black Humour at its (almost) best
Review: I loved this book!

However, it's fair to say that (along with his other books) CB is just full of wicked jokes that he just has to get out of his system...

But - they're like that in Belfast, aren't they?

Forget the political tomes, if you want to know what the Belfast Zeitgeist is, read this!

It's not comfortable and may often be offensive to some people - but - there y'are now - that's life!

Not five stars, because you have to keep that for people like Seamus Deane and Seamus Heaney....

Rating:
Summary: So much fun!
Review: I think it's a really good book. The first chapters were a bit hard to understand, but if you continue to read, you find out how good the book is. I had to read it for school and i'm glad I choose this book. I'm not english, but I could understand everything, even though it was in english and not in dutch. The story itself, was funny, but also very serious. It gives you a good view of normal people living in Belfast and seeing the troubles though their eyes. I would recommend this book to everyone that loves humor and is interested in the life that people live in Belfast.

Rating:
Summary: Noir Meets Lenny Bruce in a Bomb Filled Amusement Park
Review: Most of us have had a night or two where, mired in alcohol, bad decisions have been made. I don't for a second think that a complete lack of alcohol would make our protagonist, Dan Starkey, a contender for canonization. But, it would keep me from wanting to box this characters ears as I burst out laughing at his latest installment of a good idea.

This perennially soused journalist has a talent for saying the witty thing at the wrong time. The whirlwind of death, danger, politics and sex that picks him up and plunks him down, well the worse for wear, begins with a kiss wrapped around a shared breath mint. A mint shared with a woman he barely knows as his wife whispers in his ears, "You have twenty-four hours to move out."

This paves the way for bad decision number two and the beginning of a domino effect in Starkeys life. Within the prescribed twenty-four hours, the other woman will be dead and Starkey will be the number one suspect. The one clue that could lead Starkey to the real killer slips through his fingers like a greased eel.

This very funny, very intelligent book could have been a mere candy bar between literary meals. It is, instead, a full meal itself. An insider's view into the raging political scene of Northern Ireland in the mid 90s and the warped marriage of a co-dependent couple are tightly conveyed. The sarcasm and fallibility of a hero doing all the wrong things for all the drunk reasons plays beautifully against the fast paced nature of this thriller.

Rating:
Summary: Hail Hail
Review: On a recent trip to England I bought a copy of Bateman's latest Dan Starky Novel, Turbulent Priests. The humor is wonderfully dry and subtle as Bateman takes you through every emotion, from pain to laughter, from passion to anxiety, Bateman knows all of the tricks.

Rating:
Summary: Hail Hail
Review: On a recent trip to England I bought a copy of Bateman's latest Dan Starky Novel, Turbulent Priests. The humor is wonderfully dry and subtle as Bateman takes you through every emotion, from pain to laughter, from passion to anxiety, Bateman knows all of the tricks.

Rating:
Summary: Quite good
Review: Since I saw them filming the movie I thought that I should check out Bateman's book. It is dead funny, but can also be viewed as offensive and doesn't do Belfasters too much justice. Dont read it during lunch, or if you dont see any point in copious useage of 4 letter words beginning with "F". Otherwise an excellent backmail / satire book.

Rating:
Summary: A hilarious "Norn" Irish rant!
Review: The hilarity and ludicrousness of an obviuosly Irish and extremely unlucky lunatic. A breathtaking journey through places I know (despite the disguises) and people I can relate to . I am not sure whether this makes it funnier or sadder. Either way a worthwhile laugh at another man's dilemma