Madness is Better than Defeat
- Author Ned Beauman
- Narrator Eric Meyers
- Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
- Run Time 15 hours and 56 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Humorous fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- $13.95
- $12.95
- $11.95
- $10.95
- $9.95
Listen to a sample
What to expect
In 1938, two rival expeditions set off for a lost Mayan temple in the jungles of Honduras, one intending to shoot a screwball comedy on location there, the other intending to disassemble it and ship it back to New York. A seemingly endless stalemate ensues, and twenty years later, when a rogue CIA agent learns that both expeditions are still out in the wilderness, he embarks on a mission to exploit the temple as a geopolitical pawn. But the mission hurtles towards disaster when he discovers that the temple is the locus of grander conspiracies than anyone could have guessed.
(P)2017 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Critics Review
-
Dazzling . . . his best to date . . . If there is one adjective that describes Beauman’s prose it is ‘buoyant’ – a quality which allows the reader to get through a long book with little effort, and the author to carry the considerable heft of his intelligence lightly. And it is a roaming intelligence.
Spectator -
Madness is Better than Defeat is a Swiss watch: there isn’t a single moving part out of place . . . The jokes are superb . . . a zestful romp? Undoubtedly. But that doesn’t quite do justice to the experience of reading Madness is Better than Defeat. The book is certainly a literary performance of a high order . . . The clockwork runs beautifully. Every paragraph gives pleasure.
Literary Review -
Almost perfect . . . This is one of the most purely enjoyable novels I’ve read in years – by turns sad, moving, thoughtful, intriguing, clever, enlightening, surprising and laugh-out-loud funny – which is more than enough. I can’t think of any type of reader who wouldn’t enjoy it: whether your thing is genre, literary or, like this, a fizzling, sparking, sparkling mixture of the two.
Irish Independent -
A teaming shaggy-dog comedy of megalomania and obsession . . . Beauman is a sparkling writer, and his book bustles with diverting micro-narratives . . . A novel of great intelligence and humour, cleverly structured and brimming with tricks . . . a tremendous rainbow
New Statesman -
Beauman has a gift: he’s a natural comic writer. (I’ve only read one funnier book this year)
Guardian -
It reminded me of a Coen brothers film . . . I found it enchanting, and I was happy to turn every page . . . I really enjoyed it
BBC Radio 4 Saturday Review
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