Incendiary: A Novel Audiobook

" It's hard to know how to classify this book. Written in the form of a letter to Osama Bin Laden, it tells the story of how a British working-class woman who loses her son and husband in a terrorist bombing deals with her grief and the madness of society around her. Typically, someone like that would be portrayed as a saint, but she is a real human being, flaws and all. While the story does have some flashes of humor, in all, it is grief-ridden book. "

" A little too all over the place. "

" Cleave blew me away with his recent novel, Little Bee. I was excited to read the older Incendiary, yet I was deeply disappointed and disgusted. Yes, I finished the entire novel but only because I kept hoping that it was going to turn around and improve. It did not. With a promising beginning, I was immediately intrigued with the heroine of the story writing a letter to Osama Bin Laden blaming him for the deaths of her husband and son in a terrorist attack at a soccer match. However, as it went on, I became less and less thrilled with this woman who was cheating on her husband while he was being killed and then loses her grip on reality and life. This was the biggest sob story I have ever read with the most ridciulous characters and scenarios... I cannot begin to describe, and I won't. All I can do is urge other readers to not even try with this one. I wasted a a couple weeks on this... not because I'm a slow reader but because it was so miserable to read. Cleaves, I was really let down. "

" Yeah, terrorism, yeah, good way to approach the subject, yeah, well written. Just not really my cup of tea. "

" It took me a while to get into this book, but I liked it. "

" A letter to Osama bin Laden, from an East-London mother. Robin Van Persie also makes a cameo showing :) Sparking controversy on the aftermath of terrorism. The movie doesn't do it justice. "

" Raw, first person fictional account of a terrorist attack on London. Read it in two sittings. "

" Grave disappointment after loving Little Bee so much. So depressing without much to redeem it. "

" Page turner in many ways. Main character straight forward lower class woman who speaks her mind! If you like the book - DONT bother with the movie. Thy cut a major character and changed 50% of the plot. Ticked me off! "

" Not a good time in my life to have read this book. Depressing, depressing, depressing. "

" I enjoyed this book, but it just wasn't as good as Little Bee. "

" Not as strong as others "

" As much as I loved the first hundred and something pages, I hated the end. From the middle of the book, the only interesting character is London itself. The rest is pretty annoying and not really convincing. "

" Read this after I enjoyed "Little Bee." Maybe because I lived through the 7/7 bombings in London I did not enjoy the subject matter. I also found myself annoyed by the main character. "

" I really enjoyed the author's writing style. It was punchy and fresh. The subject matter was at times hard to handle, and I may never be able to go to a sporting event again without some level of concern. But the read was worth it. I'm looking forward to more from this author. "

" Loved his other novel, Little Bee, so I thought I'd check this one out. Not nearly as good. Very strange actually. "

" Almost documentary at times. A voyeuristic peek at people in horrible circumstances. "

" Chris Cleave is a great writer! His books are very deep and not light reads but very, very good! "

" I didn't love this one as much as I loved Little Bee - but cleave is an incredible writer and realy worth reading. If you haven't yet, go straight to little bee. "

" I kept turning the pages, but couldn't help thinking there was a great political statement to be found. "

" Cleave never disappoints me. As usual, his work is tragic and beautiful. "

" HATED this. Could not wait for it to end. It was one of those things where I started it, so I wanted to finish it, but I DREADED reading it. Such a disappointment after Little Bee. "

" Very compelling and I'm about half way through. "

" Not the type of book that I could say, "I LOVED this book" because it was haunting and disturbing...but I do think it was a great book!! "

" It takes a little bit to get into the flow of the writing. The main character is writing to Osama bin Laden after a bomb goes off at a soccer game, killing her husband and son. She's from London and has a British accent. A really unusual and interesting story! "

" This is probably one of the most disturbing books I've ever read. Maybe Chris Cleave would consider that a compliment. "

" horrible characters in this book, hated them all, finished the book merely because I had paid for it....would not recommend this book and will not buy another by C Cleave "

" I liked this almost as much as Little Bee but in a different way. Cleave does such a nice job with characterization and how we judge characters as readers. "

" This book was almost creepy to read in that it is so realistic in retrospect!! Can't tell you much without giving away the story. "

" The movie. A waste of Ewan McGregor, I wish he'd had a larger role. Michelle is always great, but the movie... and Matthew MacFayden wasn't well cast. "

" Wow what a book. The voice is incredible, which kept me going through the dark subject matter. I read this book more as a writer, wondering how Chris Cleave manages to keep us so firmly in someone else's head even when we can barely identify with the protagonist. Wow. "