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Engleby | 
| Author: Sebastian Faulks
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  96 reviews
Sales Rank: 562
Media: Paperback
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 0099458276
EAN: 9780099458272
ASIN: 0099458276
Publication Date: March 27, 2008
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| Customer Reviews: Read 91 more reviews...
 an unsettling read December 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What better way to spend a Christmas when you are not feeling too well than being tucked up with a good book? From beginning to end this book sets out to unsettle the reader. In some ways there is no doubt from the outset that something bad will happen but the author's well-executed trick is to delay showing his hand until close to the end. The main character's route to adulthood is deftly shown - although to some degree the picture of public school life is a trifle hackneyed. The parts of the book set at university are well-drawn as his career path once he graduates. The real depth to the novel comes in the digressions into what constitutes a human being and his/her mind. a good read from beginning to end with liberal doses of humour along the way.
Compelling, disturbing and yet profound - a masterful novel December 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Engleby" is the eighth novel by acclaimed novelist Sebastian Faulks. Written from the point of view of Mike Engleby, a working-class boy from Reading, it begins in the 1970s and follows his experiences after he wins a scholarship to read English at a prestigious but unnamed university (understood to be Cambridge). Through his writing Engleby reveals himself to be an intelligent and articulate man, although not without his problems. A free taker of drugs and alcohol, he carries the burden of a troubled past and has few friends, save for Jennifer Arkland, the girl with whom he is obsessed. But when, in the middle of his final year, Jennifer disappears, his life takes a dark turn.
Engleby appears to us as a character who is at the same time gifted and maladjusted, depraved and yet nevertheless possible to warm to. Indeed it is his eccentric nature which lies at the heart of the story. Several themes recur throughout the novel: mental illness; truth and fabrication; and questions about the nature of time and even of reality itself. Engleby is the classic unreliable narrator; at no point is the reader sure whether he is being given the full picture of events. Despite this, the story is given a very real grounding in its settings, firstly in Cambridge and then in London. Faulks is able to create a strong sense of place, and it is easy to visualise the different colleges, streets and pubs that Engleby frequents - all of which combine to provide an excellent counterbalance to the novel's more intellectual and philosophical ideas.
Inevitably comparisons will be drawn between the life of the character Engleby and that of the author himself, who was an undergraduate student at Emmanuel College, Cambridge before going on to become a features writer for several London-based newspapers. For Faulks to invest so much of himself in this work is a brave thing to attempt, since it raises the question: how much is Engleby a reflection of the author's own darker side? It may be that the character is intended to be Faulks' alter ego; the novel, an imagining of how his own life might have turned out in different circumstances.
"Engleby" is a dark but also a profound novel, which probes the big questions: what it means to be human; who we are as individuals and what we may become. At turns disturbing, emotional and thought-provoking, it challenges the reader's preconceptions in several ways. As such it is by no means an easy read, but throughout its pages it remains compelling and - especially as its final scene plays out - somehow even touching.
Brilliant, but not at all like "Birdsong" November 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having read and enjoyed Birdsong I bought this to read on holiday. It is nothing like Birdsong!
The book is in the form of a diary and initially I found it difficult going as the language is almost "Vicki Pollard" in places but this is because Mike Engleby is young; as he gets older his vocabulary and literary skills improve but by then I found the book totally compelling.
You get drawn into the narrative, never quite sure exactly what is the truth and what emotion you should be feeling; it is that good.
One of the best books I've read this year.
Engleby November 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sebastian Faulks has taken a daring step with his latest novel, taking the reader deeper then his previous novels. Faulks opens the door into the mind of the eccentric and aloof Mike Engleby, forcing you to step into a world which often leaves you feeling uneasy and perplexed. Full of satirical humour and psychological undertones, this is a raw representation of a traditional English education, and its effects on one man.
Engleby begins his story in the 1970s whilst studying at Cambridge University, where we are given an account of his early school days. Growing up in a traditional English boarding school, Engleby coldly describes the bullying he was often subjected to and his only escape: stealing. This soon leads to an obsession and his fragile mental state begins to unravel.
Throughout the novel Engleby neglects to tell us he is at Cambridge, and we are left to guess from his highly detailed accounts of places and streets. This definitely leaves the reader questioning this man's motives, which only increases when Engleby begins to take an unhealthy interest in Jennifer Arkland, a happy, intelligent and attractive girl who pays him little attention.
When his latest obsession mysteriously disappears and he is left holding her diary, we become abruptly aware of the power of the narrators manipulation on us and events begin to take on a dark twist. Up until this point the reader can almost sympathise with this harmless loner. Cracks begin to show when Engleby confesses to frequent memory loss, and the memory of picking her up on the night of her disappearance returns to him. The question left to the reader is, is this man capable of such atrocities, or is he as much of a victim as Jennifer Arkland?
Having previously read `Human Traces' I was expecting something pretty dark and clever, and that's exactly what I got. Although it was often an intense read it was also an amusing one. My only criticism is that it was quite a flaky read in places, and was in danger of being a little too subtle.
A Masterpiece of Modern Literature November 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sebastian Faulks has produced a stunning work here. It is an autobiographical account of a highly intelligent but deeply troubled young man. The author shows amazing skill in getting inside Engleby's head and showing his disdainful view of the world. At times it is funny, philosophical, mysterious and challenging. The attention to period detail from the 1970s and 1980s is terrific. At the same time there is a dark plot - what was his involvement in the disappearance of a young woman undergraduate? This book is disturbing but so well written that it will grip you. Highly recommended.
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