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Incendiary by Chris Cleave
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Incendiary

by Chris Cleave

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1841127,917 (3.89)9
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Story of a fictitious May Day terrorist attack in London--written in the form of a letter to Osama bin Laden. I found it disagreeable and contrived. ( )
Gary10 | Jan 14, 2009 | 1 vote
Fantastic story of what may happen when Governments persue terrorists and democracy is lost. Shocking and unexpected. ( )
chiara7 | Aug 13, 2008 |  
Initially i liked the book very much and thought the idea of writing a book to Osama most amusing. The chipper voice of the main protagonist, an unnamed working class woman, comes across very well. Unfortunately the book loses direction halfway through - the plot becomes thin and farcical, and the handling of class consciousness is rather heavy-handed. ( )
bibliobibuli | Apr 21, 2008 |  
A letter written to Osama Bin Laden by a working-class woman in London whose son and husband are killed by suicide bombers at a soccer match. Extremely touching and heartbreaking. Very authentically written. My only complaint is that the book goes on a bit too long and ends with a couple scenes that seem too crazy to be likely. ( )
gwendolyndawson | Mar 24, 2008 |  
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0307262820, Hardcover)

A distraught woman writes a letter to Osama bin Laden after her four-year-old son and her husband are killed in a massive suicide bomb attack at a soccer match in London. In an emotionally raw voice alive with grief, compassion, and startling humor, she tries to convince Osama to abandon his terror campaign by revealing to him the desperate sadness—“I am a woman built on the wreckage of myself”—and the broken heart of a working-class life blown apart.

But the bombing is only the beginning. While security measures transform London into a virtual occupied territory, the narrator, too, finds herself under siege. At first she gains strength by fighting back, taking a civilian job with the police to aid the antiterrorist effort. But when she becomes involved with an upper-class couple, she is drawn into a psychological maelstrom of guilt, ambition, and cynicism that erodes her faith in the society she’s working to defend. And when a new bomb threat sends the city into a deadly panic (“It was a panic like the darkest dream and the more people ran out onto the streets the bigger the panic got like a monster made of human beings”) she is pushed to acts of unfathomable desperation—perhaps her only chance for survival.

A surreal vision made brilliantly, viscerally powerful and undeniable, Incendiary is a stunning debut novel.

The author responded to the tragic events which took place in London on July 7, 2005. Visit his website to read this response, and participate in a forum on the book. (Link provided below.)

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:57 -0400)

(see all 3 descriptions)

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