Headlong Audiobook

" A tense plot is inextricably bound up with scholarly research. I'm yet to be disappointed by Michael Frayn's ability to create compelling narratives from diverse subject matter. "

" A farcical novel about art theft. I read it for a book group and did not like it as much as I had hoped I would. "

" An amazingly inventive tale - art history, thriller, and medieval life, all wound into one delightful story. "

" I'm becoming bogged-down in the art history section of the book. I also can't help wondering why the main character didn't just do the right thing and make an offer on the painting--or at least be halfway honest about it. He goes to such great lengths after a single glimpse at the painting in question. Obsessive, much? "

" 4.5 stars... I loved Headlong. The flighty main character, his poor suffering wife, his burbling baby, the tax evading neighbor and the neighbor's giggling wife, made their less than idyllic country life a counterpoint to the 15th century Netherlands where Bruegel's paintings were meticulously created. The references to Bruegel's paintings were very interesting and I really enjoyed the facts that peppered this piece of fiction.... "

" An excellent book about a guy frantically researching in a bunch of books... Who knew that was fun? "

" Came highly recommended. THis book is a gentle spoof on the British class differences- the has- beens vs. the wannabes,- on art history, and on art collecting and fraud. Very British humor. "

" Hilarious and smart "farce" of academic art history, mystery thriller, and love triangle. Frayn at his best. "

" One of my favourite books-I read it a long time ago but I keep thinking about it. "

" A fantastic read for art lovers. "

" Would you like to learn about the life and times of Pieter Bruegel the Elder while cringing painfully the whole way through? This might be your sort of book. "

" I found this book very readable and the mystery within to be fast-paced and page-turning. And there were many very funny parts where I truly laughed outloud. (I kept imagining Hugh Grant making the observations of the narrator, and that made it even more amusing for me!) I liked the combination of the present discovery of the art mystery of the past that was done so well in Josephine Tey's "The Daughter of Time." It's plausible to believe that the narrator, who has studied Dutch philosophy, art, and history, and his wife, an art historian, both with finely honed academic research skills, might certainly make an art discovery that others have missed. But there was just too much 16th century history and politics--way more, I think, than was needed to tell the story. And this detracted from the interest of the book for me. If I'm reading a novel, I'm looking for novel qualities, not treatises on 16h century Netherlands that go on and for pages. Fifty pages less of the Netherlands, and it would have been a 4-star read. "

" Not the book I had expected. Very much a play of two halves, with an art theft farce in one half and a discourse on Bruegel for the other. I enjoyed both, but sadly not always together. "

" It was an ok book. Interesting but I really wish the ending were different. "

" I wanted to give this book a higher rating b/c the writing was truly clever and the author is clearly intelligent and interesting, but his plotline is boring and I plain old did not like the ending. So there. "

" Interesting story, with Brueghel as the backdrop, but a disappointing ending. "

" I couldn't get into this book at all! Read several chapters, then skimmed through the rest. Maybe it was over my head... couldn't get into the whole art/philosophy stuff. Would not recommend. "

" Kinda humorous, kinda enlightening, kinda ironic - isn't it?! "

" Enjoyed the Bruegel mystery tour very much, and the first third of the book while it was setting the scene. But for me the farce of the last third of the book didn't really succeed and I did skip over quite a bit of the last few chapters, wanting to hear the plot but not all the detail. "

" A fun, gripping tale. Nothing momentous, but not disappointing either. "

" Slow start, but that is probably me. I learned a lot about the Netherlands, history and art. Reminded me of Ethan Frome. "

" This book is very clever. This man, as far as a I can recall, is having a midlife crisis that takes an interesting form, one which leads to the reader learning a lot about the heady world of visual art. "

" A bit of art history mixed with humor. Fun read. "

" Eh. In the end it reminded me too much of the art history lessons that the Da Vinci Code was made out of (granted, these were better and more well-written, but still). "

" Just a quirky little book about a goofy professor of art history who thinks he finds a great, lost painting in a country house in England. Michael Frayn is very funny and very convincing about the art (because his hero is learning it all over the course of the book). A pleasant entertainment. "

" A fun, gripping tale. Nothing momentous, but not disappointing either. "

" A tense plot is inextricably bound up with scholarly research. I'm yet to be disappointed by Michael Frayn's ability to create compelling narratives from diverse subject matter. "

" Fun story of a philosophy academic's dilemna and thought process when he believes he's discovered a European art masterpiece. "

" Interesting art history stuff, but frustratingly mixed with farce. "

" One of my favourite books-I read it a long time ago but I keep thinking about it. "

" An appreciation of art history might be a prerequisite. Much fun. "

" An excellent book about a guy frantically researching in a bunch of books... Who knew that was fun? "

" What is worth more? A human life or a priceless work of art? "

" Not the book I had expected. Very much a play of two halves, with an art theft farce in one half and a discourse on Bruegel for the other. I enjoyed both, but sadly not always together. "

" If you like art in historical context, there are things to like here. I could have done without some of the extramarital nonsense though... Don't read unless you REALLY want to hear about the Netherlands of the 17th century... "

" Not nearly as good as "Spies," while I found the book sufficiently amusing to read it all the way through, it was somewhat navel gazing. The narrator/ main character is on the brink of being so thoroughly unlikable, that I didn't really feel bad for him as he was heading toward disaster. "

" I enjoyed this book, especially because of all the detail about one of my favorite artists, Bruegel. It was a library discard volume left on a counter for sharing books at our local mom and pop store. "

" It is an art history lesson in the guise of a detective story. I cannot imagine anyone enjoying the book without a background in art history and a book about Pieter Bruegel the Elder on hand. "

" Need to read this again - I don't often re-read things but this one, definitely. "

" This book was a joy from start to finish. It is a sign of good writing when you can be so invested in characters who can infuriate us so much. Frayn's characters are layered and carry a very real, natural quality. "

" One of my favorite books of all time. I mean it! "

" this is a great 'art history thriller' about an amateur who believes he's discovered a lost breugel and will do anything to get his hands on it. it's heavy on the history, and very entertaining. "

" The main character was a complete and utter idiot. Everything worked out for him exactly as it should. "

" In all fairness, I couldn't actually finish reading this book. Way too much talk about art without being interesting. Maybe I just don't like art. Could that be it? Or maybe I don't like history. Now, that's more likely... "

" What is worth more? A human life or a priceless work of art? "

" A beautifully tale of male obsession and female resilience told with biting humour and not a little irony. Oh and you learn a lot about Netherlandish art of the mid 16th century to boot. "

" Satisfyingly baroque in its art history mystery, which successfully (if only barely) trumps the dangerously-close-to-off-putting pathos of its scholarly protagonist. "

" This is a good book but there is extreme detail about art history which made the book more of a task to read than perhaps necessary. Not for the light reader but an interesting combination of fiction, art history and dutch history. "

" Reads well with nice pace. "

" I did learn a lot about the artist Bruegel while reading this book, but other than that I thought it was very boring. I liked the female character in this book. But the main character, the husband, I thought was despicable. "

" Not as funny as I expected considering the author, but good in a quirky way. "

" Perhaps a bit more than you'll want to know about Brueghel, but great characters, witty scenes and dialogue, unexpected twists. "

" Slow start, but that is probably me. I learned a lot about the Netherlands, history and art. Reminded me of Ethan Frome. "

" Hilarious. Also set in Dorset, where I live, and can vouch for the characters: antique dealers and their wiles are flayed alive here. "

" Hilarious. Also set in Dorset, where I live, and can vouch for the characters: antique dealers and their wiles are flayed alive here. "

" hated this book. could not force myself to read after 100 pages (my rule for giving a book a chance). "

" I loved this book! It was well written, funny, a good mystery and an European art history lesson all in one. This book was a lucky find for me as I believe I picked it up at a book sale for $.25. "

" I loved this book! It was well written, funny, a good mystery and an European art history lesson all in one. This book was a lucky find for me as I believe I picked it up at a book sale for $.25. "

" I couldn't get into this book at all! Read several chapters, then skimmed through the rest. Maybe it was over my head... couldn't get into the whole art/philosophy stuff. Would not recommend. "

" I couldn't get into this book at all! Read several chapters, then skimmed through the rest. Maybe it was over my head... couldn't get into the whole art/philosophy stuff. Would not recommend. "

" I enjoyed this book, especially because of all the detail about one of my favorite artists, Bruegel. It was a library discard volume left on a counter for sharing books at our local mom and pop store. "

" I enjoyed this book, especially because of all the detail about one of my favorite artists, Bruegel. It was a library discard volume left on a counter for sharing books at our local mom and pop store. "

" It was an ok book. Interesting but I really wish the ending were different. "

" It was an ok book. Interesting but I really wish the ending were different. "

" Most likely the funniest book ever written with classic Dutch painting as one of it's central themes... "

" Came highly recommended. THis book is a gentle spoof on the British class differences- the has- beens vs. the wannabes,- on art history, and on art collecting and fraud. Very British humor. "

" Satisfyingly baroque in its art history mystery, which successfully (if only barely) trumps the dangerously-close-to-off-putting pathos of its scholarly protagonist. "

" Came highly recommended. THis book is a gentle spoof on the British class differences- the has- beens vs. the wannabes,- on art history, and on art collecting and fraud. Very British humor. "

" Satisfyingly baroque in its art history mystery, which successfully (if only barely) trumps the dangerously-close-to-off-putting pathos of its scholarly protagonist. "

" A beautifully tale of male obsession and female resilience told with biting humour and not a little irony. Oh and you learn a lot about Netherlandish art of the mid 16th century to boot. "

" Hugely entertaining novel from playwright and novelist Frayn. "

" It got a wee bit silly towards the end but the art history stuff was interesting! "

" A bit of art history mixed with humor. Fun read. "