Skip to main content

Starter for Ten by David Nicholls

Publisher: Villard

 

Date of Publish: January 1st 2003

 

Pages: 352

 

Genre: Comedy, Love

 

Recommendation for which gender: Unisex

 

Overview

This book is all about a young adult called Brian Jackson who is a working class member in society, in the year 1985. He comes from Southend, Essex and one of his favourite things is to answer questions on 'The University Challenge' hence why the title of the book is called 'Starter for Ten'. Starter for ten is the first set of questions that one of the teams must answer to answer more questions. Also giving them ten points if their question is indeed correct.
 
Brian Jackson is an English Literature student and unlike other students from the university, studied hard because he wanted to be there. Not because his parents are rich,which in fact they were not. His father also liked the T.V quiz, but he died before Brian even started attending University. This is also a point where Brian decides that he wants to go onto 'The University Challenge' is so that he can make his Dad proud, even when he is no longer breathing.
 
The main character is also a huge Kate Bush fan, so when he first sees Alice Harbinson for the first time, he describes Alice to resemble a lot like her. Unfortunately, his obssession with her did not end and therefore could be one of his main downfalls within the story. This inevitably begins when he gives her his answers in a test to go on the University Challenge team. Of course he never really was able to get on the team after that, due to Alice only beating him by a few questions. Thankfully for him this did not last for long, as he was able to join due to one of the members' injuries.

Criticisms

When i had finally gotten to the end of the novel, i found it very disappointing. To point it out straight, it was all to do with the ending. It was just so annoying - to be completely honest. This was because of the mistakes that he had made, it does not feel like he tried to correct them. Rather more like to run away from all of his problems. Unfortunately, most times in peoples lives, you can't run away from the obvious, you just have to plow ahead. It is kind of a disgrace, due to the fact that most people would have to carry on with their problems regardless, because otherwise it will not get you anywhere.
 
On the contrary, i found the elements of the University Challenge very interesting. So much so that now i have actually gotten a little more into the televised quiz myself. This is the most amazing thing about a single book, it can change your whole perception of the world and how it all works.
 

Rating: ***

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

It is back to Amanda Hocking this week, with her new book that I have recently been talking about, when reviewing her other series, the Trylle Trilogy. Although, this book is now in a new series, but set in the same universe. It is called the Kanin Chronicles... I must admit, when actually owning the book, the cover is very enchanting and beautiful. How for instance, the main character and protagonist, Bryn Aven, is at the centre of attention, with her coat covered in red. Whereas in the background, it is very muted colours, with the whites and blacks, but also having a sort of wonderland type of presence. Red to me also makes me feel quite uncomfortable and moreover is a colour for danger. So, onto the criticisms then! First of all, I don't know why but I felt a little bit out of place with this new world. Maybe it is because I read the other series in the same universe, I may have gotten used to them far too much. So when there are old characters appearing and being ment
2 comments
Read more

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

This has been a long time in the making, but here it is. A court of Mist and Fury. I think that there is now the time to definitely say something about this, especially when the next book has already come out in the series. I genuinely do love this book. I think that it is much better than the first one in the series. This is mainly because of that in which the new characters are far more likeable, and those who we had been introduced to previously have been developed. For example, with Rhysand, I have found to be far more complicated than what had already been shown in the first book. In fact, I don't think that the first book did any justice for him. In any sort of perspective. However, it has also identified that Tamlin is not all that he seems, very annoying more than anything. I think however, that it is more due to the fact of that in which it feels like it was a waste to have a whole book with him in, now that the story has developed. In this next instalment, it carr
Post a Comment
Read more

Sunburn by Darren Dash

This is the cover of the recently published book "Sunburn" by Darren Dash (yes, it actually does feature a character getting burnt), which was published earlier than expected on the 1st May. This truly seems like a momentous event. This author has probably influenced my reading patterns the most, since I first picked up a book just for leisure. He is truly an inspirational guy. The cover itself is very sinister. The mix of reds and oranges as well as the sun connotes that the sun plays an antagonising role in the story. Maybe even a factor to all of the characters downfall. The simplicity makes it very intriguing as well as making it feel very uncomforting. Simple but well executed. This demonic masterpiece does not fail to disappoint even the most biggest of horror fans. Set in a perfect setting, the characters are strong, that even the smallest mistake they make can be very vexing. It focuses on three characters: Dominic; Curran and Martini. Who despite
1 comment
Read more