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Rupert Dreyfus

Autor von The Rebel's Sketchbook

4 Werke 22 Mitglieder 8 Rezensionen

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Beinhaltet den Namen: Mr Rupert Dreyfus

Werke von Rupert Dreyfus

The Rebel's Sketchbook (2015) 12 Exemplare
Spark (2014) 6 Exemplare
Broke (2018) 1 Exemplar

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For Broke Dreyfus addresses the hardships of the daily grind. For many, working harder doesn’t bring reward as a consequence but instead ends in exhaustion and deeper financial uncertainty. This book is for those under the delusion that meritocratic ascendency for all is possible under the current governmental system.

Set in contemporary Britain the novel tackles the toll taken by being broke, the stress of living day to day on meagre means. It is about the tiredness experienced as a result of not having enough money to feed yourself, and about the strain and worry when the threat of eviction is ever present. The Haves and Have Nots have always coexisted, of course, and the resultant disparities have rung out over centuries. No one is pretending the put-upon have a new or novel complaint. Here Dreyfus provides a frontline account of desperate lives, and attempts to give a voice to those whose stories are untold. There is no whinging here, apart from understandable venting on occasion, but we are all human, are we not? Dreyfus establishes a set of characters at the bottom of the socioeconomic strata and presents their tribulations in a forthright and uncompromising manner. Parts of this book are deathly funny, I warn you.

So, if Britain is broke - both in finances and in the general sense - what is the sensible response? For those forced into a very scummy-looking corner and left with the last vestiges of an instinct for survival, the answer sometimes comes from dodgy places. Into this world is thrown Oscar, battling to keep his head above water, struggling with insecure jobs low on employee rights, and facing being thrown out of his less than palatial living quarters. Through a fog of anxiety and increasing physical frailty, he searches for a way to remedy the situation, or at least hang on to what little he has. A series of acquaintances turn up and they somehow stumble into an outlandish scheme that no one in their right mind would entertain as wise in any circumstance. But circumstances conspire, and a bleak comedy of errors ensues. As with all Dreyfus’ writing, there is a strong streak of boisterous humour, but here it is never far from a blackness close to resignation. Whatever capers the brisk and punchy dialogue underlines, beneath a sense of lostness and abandonment suggests itself, the absurdity of the situation displaying an uncomfortable melancholy and frustration.

Broke is a record of modern underclass woes. Among the satirical riffing Dreyfus is known for and does well there is a swell of rage and despondency that marks this out as having a tone unique in his catalogue. Sharp and entertaining.
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RebeccaGransden | Dec 22, 2018 |
Woe betide the righteous. Taking the clapped out bus of fury and the nostalgo punk ethos that bricked it to branding and back again this novella trips intercontinental raucous. A ragtag musical gathering of punkniks attempt to deliver themselves up Stateside, with a side order of heart pumping chaos and chemicals around arteries fattened with dismay.

This one is Dreyfus fully realised, a synthesis of all the cheery mischief and doggedness he’s been honing. This focused dollop of hilarity. Whatever your opinion Trumpwise, there is undeniably a question to be had. Sick Bastard decide to make an art of asking by unleashing some originator punk leakage on an America unready. It is so gleeful in parts you may have to smack yourself, the amusements so grounded and unfluffy it’s like gut won out over deconstruction. Which is fun to the max.

The novella burned so funny and no-nonsense sense and senseless that I got a bit sad around the edges. Does this spirit live anymore? Is there a place for Sick Bastard to tear the fabric up and stuff it down some bleating throats, metaphorically at least? Then it dawned that I’d just read it. Me div.

Embrace the Sick Bastard in your life. That Sick Bastard is never more needed.
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RebeccaGransden | 1 weitere Rezension | Jul 3, 2017 |
This isn’t just my favourite of Rupert Dreyfus’ books to date, nor is it one of my favourite indie books, it’s simply one of my favourite books, period. If I was going to include the best quotes from Prezident Scumbag! in this review, I’d be posting 90% of the novella’s content, so I’ll let you discover that for yourselves.

First off, this short tale about British crusty punk band Sick Bastard travelling to the U.S. to perform a protest song about America’s new cunt of a president is funny as fuck. Every other page, I found myself literally laughing out loud like a stoned crazed hyena.

Secondly, Dreyfus manages to write so succinctly and poignantly about the fucked up state of the modern world and what we need to do to improve it, through simple things like being kind and employing anarchism (actual anarchism, not the media lie where anarchy is synonymous with violence and destruction), that this book is way deeper than it’s cartoonish facade may first seem.

It’s easy to lambaste the modern political world, and it’s easy to make jokes about the likes of Trump, but Dreyfus’ criticism of such things is on anther level – because 1) He knows what he’s talking about, and it’s easy to see that the author is well versed in anarchist literature and the like, and 2) He really, deeply fucking cares about the state of the world and wants to make a change. This isn’t just political satire for the sake of it – this is a work of fiction that has arisen from the author’s own heartfelt despair about the austerity-driven, big-business, odds-stacked-against-us, global political landscape. It needs sorting out, and it could well be the likes of Sick Bastard that actually make the change happen in the real world.

Having read all of Dreyfus’ previous works, I’m also happy to say that his writing just keeps getting better and better. I adored his debut novel ‘Spark’ and the short stories follow-up ‘The Rebel’s Sketchbook’, as well as his other two subsequent freebie shorts, but with each one, I can see the author honing his craft: The satire has been improved, where the balance of comedy and heavy issues are perfectly spliced together. The style of writing has improved, where northern English slang has been finely tuned – and is slightly reminiscent of Irvine Welsh’s thick-Scottish prose (and Dreyfus’ works are also reminiscent of Welsh in that characters from his previous books make guest appearances), and the comedy has also improved; Drefyus’ works have just gotten funnier and funnier.

Yeah, I’m ‘online mates’ with Rupert, so maybe you’ll think I’m biased in my opinion, but authors like him have only become part of my circle because I dig the writing so much. I feel like I want to literally shout from the rooftops about Rupert’s books, because they’re not just incredibly original, funny and brilliant – they’re also very much needed. So read Prezident Scumbag!, or I’ll lamp ya one geez.
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HarryWhitewolf | 1 weitere Rezension | Jun 28, 2017 |
Can one man destroy the global economy? In the Anonymous and hacktivist age, it actually seems more than possible.
Who would that one man be? Perhaps some terrorist or lone psycho, if you believed what you heard on the six o’clock news. But in truth, he’d just be some guy. And it would just sort of happen.

Internet scams, hacking and cracking, the Deep Web, capitalist greed, cycles of destruction and creation, using speed dating as therapy, notions of god and snorting sheep… you’ll find it all here.

This is one of the best Indie book debuts I’ve read. It’s also a great example of why Indie authors are needed, because if Spark – a book about the disaffected masses who want to topple current power structures- had been published by Random House and promoted in The Guardian Review section, it wouldn’t speak to the underbelly of society in any meaningful way. Rest assured, author Rupert Dreyfus is ‘on side’ and this sometimes feels like a mouthpiece for all the post-generation Xers- the Y Bother Generation as Dreyfus calls them.

Don’t get me wrong though- this isn’t a novel that will only appeal to that demographic. Spark is expertly crafted, sharp, funny and smooth and should appeal to anyone who just likes a simple tale told brilliantly.

My only criticism was that I would have liked some parts (the scumbag character Vinnie’s scam, for instance) to be resolved or told in more detail- but that really is the worst I can say about it in terms of critiquing. 95% of Spark is pure gold.

I particularly liked Dreyfus’ wry humour (I literally had a smile or smirk on my face with most every page) along with his great similes and descriptions –and there’s plenty of philosophical and poignant depth to it all as well.

I’m sure it would make the author happy to see Spark being illegally downloaded on torrents- so you really should BUY this book and make Rupert Dreyfus mainstream famous. Just to piss him off.
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HarryWhitewolf | 2 weitere Rezensionen | Aug 29, 2015 |

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Werke
4
Mitglieder
22
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#553,378
Bewertung
½ 4.6
Rezensionen
8
ISBNs
4