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 enlarge | Author: James Bradley
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  59 reviews
Sales Rank: 2380
Media: Paperback
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 0571232760
EAN: 9780571232765
ASIN: 0571232760
Publication Date: June 19, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 twaddle October 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm just fascinated to find out how this turkey got onto any list? Some poor soul has recommended it? As what? Kleenex is cheaper, softer, and is conveniently perforated.
Can I give it no stars? October 21, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
It came well reviewed by the literary crowd but what a let down. Every character was indistinguishable from the other. The " hero " was the most unlikeable of the lot. What a pity he couldn't stay buried. The book would have finished, eighty pages earlier.
The convention of using short chapters beaks up any attempt to create rounded characters producing a series of vignettes rather than a crafted narrative. I couldn't decide whether the author wanted a novel that was a "cracking,gothic yarn" or beautifully portrayed characters. The best authors can do both. James Bradley does neither.
What a let down! October 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The cover of this novel promises many things, and "Gothic" is one of them, particularly as bodysnatching is its main theme, but I found it a complete disappointment. The writing is disjointed, characters are not developed, and there are umpteen "snapshots" of various people passing through the novel. Also, what I found completely baffling was that it was a Richard and Judy Summer Read choice. The novel is hardly one you would read on the beach, as it is more appropriate for autumn/winter!
Perhaps James Bradley had an impatient editor? I think so, as the book may have been initially a longer one, but has suffered because of excessive editing. Bradley's descriptions of early 19th century London are excellent: its cruelty, poverty and general throwaway attitude to life, but the novel is totall lacking in soul and depth.
I found The Resurrectionist in a local charity shop and thought it might be worth reading. I was wrong. A pity, as the novel could have been so much better.
Awful. October 11, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Like many others, I had high hopes for this book because of the setting. Unlike a lot of the other people on here, I actually can sympathise with Gabriel and his descent into addiction and truly dark antics, but I have to agree that the characterisation is atrocious - nobody has any sort of memorable qualities and you will constantly be wondering who is who. The ending in Australia seems tacked on, goes nowhere and is really confusing too.
In all, a waste of your precious time. Worth the one star only for the bit in the middle where Gabriel starts robbing graves - that's the only part where you sense something is actually going to happen and force the characters to act/react.
Buy 'The Minutes of the Lazarus Club' instead.
Hype Over Substance October 8, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Another example of hype over substance. This book does not warrant the publicity it received. In the hands of a better writer the story could have been excellent. Sadly it falls flat. Spend your hard earned cash on something else.
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