253
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
253
By (Author) Geoff Ryman
HarperCollins Publishers
Flamingo
29th April 1998
26th March 2010
United Kingdom
Classifications
General
Fiction
823.914
Physical Properties
Paperback
384
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 21mm
259g
Description
A cult classic in the making. 253 is the novel about everyone youve ever met and wished you hadnt or wished you could again.
252 passengers and one driver on the London Underground. They all have their own personal histories, their own thoughts about themselves and their travelling neighbours. And they all have one page devoted to them.
Some characters are tragic, some are inspiring, some are mad/proud/foolish/infuriating (delete where appropriate) and some are just like the person near you right now. Youll meet Estelle whos fallen madly in love with Saddam Hussein; James, who anaesthetises sick gorillas for a living; and Who, a character that doesnt know where, or what, on earth he is. Its a seven-and-a-half minute journey between Embankment and the Elephant & Castle. Its the journey of 253 lifetimes
This is the full text of the celebrated interactive novel that startled the Web when it first went on line. Only it cant crash, the downloading time is quicker and you can read it on the Tube, the train, the bus,, the plane, by foot even by car, so long as youre not driving.
Reviews
'A triumph of imagination, interlaced with considerable wit' New Statesman 'Innovative and engrossing' Independent 'Astonishingly vibrant portraits of each person on the train...A disturbing, melancholy work, but also lyrical and totally engaging' Los Angeles Times
Author Bio
Geoff Ryman is a Canadian living in London. He has published eight novels, a volume of short fiction and co-edited a collection of Canadian fiction. His novels and short stories have won twelve awards. His first novelette on Cambodian themes was published in 1985. The King's Last Songwas inspired by a visit in 2001 to an archaeological dig at Angkor Wat. Geoff is a frequent visitor to Cambodia and has twice visited the country to run workshops in creative writing. His other fiction includes Was, an historical novel about the American West in the 19th and 20th centuries, and 253 about passengers on the London underground.
