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Open-handed
Open-handed
Jul 18, 2025 7:54 AM

Author:Chris Binchy

Open-handed

The place is Dublin. The time is the present. Five characters - two Irish, three from eastern Europe, all seeking success from wildly different starting points - become entangled with one another in a web of politics, property, sex and violence. Chris Binchy's novel is a beautifully observed portrait of a place and a time, and a thrillingly paced story of an unforgettable group of characters brought together by circumstance, ambition and need.

Reviews

An excellent writer, a marvellous novel. A thrilling read

—— Daily Telegraph

The most thought-provoking novel of the year. An utterly essential read

—— Irvine Welsh

Extraordinary, ambitious, bitingly, laugh-out-loud satirical . . . quite simply, a must-read

—— Daily Mail

Wildly inventive, funny and superbly original

—— The Times

Funny and exciting, Neate is never less than vivid, whether describing the hideous conditions of an African prison, or a run-down pub in London. Excellent

—— Daily Telegraph

A corrosive and blistering satire on colonialism and an eloquent, angry and relevant novel that speaks its own truth to power

—— Sunday Telegraph

A multi-layered, jam-packed and often satirical novel rich in ideas and argument. Neate's most inventive book to date . . . invites comparisons with David Mitchell's genre-busting Cloud Atlas

—— Guardian

Wonderful, impressive, fascinating. Neate is always an engaging and sharp writer

—— Independent on Sunday

Witty and acerbic dialogue, an unflagging comic plot, upbeat entertainment

—— Independent

A very funny take on Englishness, colonialism and the search for authenticity

—— Financial Times

A curious, ridiculous and insightful exploration of Englishness

—— Esquire

Clever, moving and wise

—— Marina Lewycka , Sunday Telegraph Books of the Year

Where Neate excels is in his talent for the incongruously horrible ... there are some excellent jokes along the way

—— Spectator

His most accomplished novel ... stands at some uber-cool crossroads between pop culture, social theory, racial politics and an old-fashioned belief in the power of storytelling ... it's a tricky thing to keep so many balls spinning but Neate makes it look easy

—— Metro

Dry, droll and insightful

—— The Independent

Bodice-ripping romp through the West

—— Times

Missy by Strong and memorable female characters throughout this enjoyable novel

—— http://meandmybigmouth.typepad.com/scottpack

Witty and effortlessly fluid. His books are laugh-out-loud funny

—— Arabella Weir

The funniest writer ever to put words to paper

—— Hugh Laurie

The greatest comic writer ever

—— Douglas Adams

P.G. Wodehouse wrote the best English comic novels of the century

—— Sebastian Faulks

Sublime comic genius

—— Ben Elton
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