Product Description

Set in and around Clearwater, a vast, subterranean shopping centre lying on the edge of the Thames estuary in Kent, Will Ashon's spectacular debut novel constructs a story of intrigue, action and high entertainment around six principal figures. King James of Vernaland is an ex-secret service hardnut with a God complex, Binary Robert, his young companion with a genius for computer-hacking and data-harvesting; Peter Jones is a disaffected lifestyle journalist desperate to rescue his career with a scoop on the invisible workings of the Clearwater complex, and Mandy, the young shop assistant he befriends in his attempts to penetrate the vast edifice of consumerism. And then there's Jimmy Patel, a retired professional spin-bowler turned melancholic-alcoholic, about to be fingered himself for professional indiscretions. It's just not cricket. CLEAR WATER binds these five together along with the unforgettable Verna Landor - a wartime 'entertainer' of dubious stripe and King James' muse - and builds an extraordinary narrative of espionage, desire and dysfunction to a thrilling denouement. An intricately structured, deadpan exposition of contemporary life, CLEAR WATER announces the arrival of a prodigious new talent.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #579243 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 392 pages

Patrick Neate, author of Twelve Bar Blues
Simply dazzling.

Peter Hobbs, author of The Short Day Dying
A remarkable detonation of energy and ideas. Wildly and brilliantly imaginative... An outstanding debut.

Esquire
A weird and wonderful look at the dreadful side of modern England.

Customer Reviews

Intriguing and smart
Loosely set around an enormous shopping complex, this novel delivers an array of different characters. Each is well-drawn and covers an impressive range, from an aging chanteuse to a shady ex-secret service agent. My favourites are Jimmy Patel, the washed-up cricketer and Peter Jones; a lifestyle journalist who writes ironic articles on consumer products, only to be brought to realise his own baser needs in the very temple of consumerism itself. These diverse voices add up to a narrative that is not comforting us with the unbreakable human spirit but taking aim at modern Britain. Impressive and well-written, this is right on the money. Clearwater intrigued me, made me smile, entertained me and made me think. Recommended.

The great English novel?
Reading this is as exciting as the first time you read Alan Warner or David Mitchell, you feel like someone with real ability is writing about Britain, in the way that Pynchon or Delillo would write about the US. The book is darkly comic, ranging and urgent and Ashon's voice is very different. It's also really hard to put down, which just about tops it off as one of best books I've read in a long time.

wow
I bought this on a whim and it felt really good to discover something like this. It's funny, intense, intelligent and plain old exciting. I haven't read any new writers recently that can be literary but also really addictive. Would definitely recommend this.