Download White Merc with Fins djvu

I often don't find typical "humorous" books at all funny. Personally I need to find something with wit, intelligence and a good dose of irony. Written in 1st person, the protagonist is allowed to ruminate, often with self deprecating humor and some surprising insight. Insights about his past, present, and very uncertain future, combine with a zany plot slowly revealed to make this a "page turner". Highly entertaining. Read it !

"A White Merc with Fins" touched a chord in my soul. I'm 24, LMC, educated, shiftless, lost in a dreadful demanding world that expects those without a trust fund to work like stink for the basic pleasures of life while those 'with' can "look up a friend in publishing" when uni finishes. This book isn't about 'haves and have nots' though, its the story of a man who wishes simply to save his own life. The underlying theme is a critique of western society and our crazy mixed up priorites. What 'normal' society sees as deviance, ie drugs and sex, are simply Hawes' way of expressing what I felt to be his contempt for the basic fabric of our society; money. By having a positive, active and supremely human character acting in a 'deviant'manner, and (by the way) succeeding Hawes introduces the idea that society's idea of deviance is simply the grossest type of narrow-minded hypocrisy. I mean really, isn't it ever so slightly strange that money and mummy are very very similar? To be purely hedonistic, to thumb our noses at the establishment (to borrow from eighties punk), to escape and save our own lives. Thats the best idea I've heard in ages. 'A White Merc with Fins' is simply brilliant. An intelligent, thoughtful, enjoyable and exciting first novel. Go James Hawes, we need more of you. Check out 'Rancid Aluminium' too. Very different, so don't go in expecting the same thing. Definatly check them both out, this educated hedonist absolutly recommends.

This excellent read is the first effort from Mr.Hawes,
a young, British author. The story centers around the
struggles of a soon-to-be-thirty, balding university
graduate contemplating his failing prospects
and lack of employability. But, he comes up with a
plan that will leave him and his associates well
off. It seems almost too simple, but the cast of
characters assembled and the author's fine sense of pacing
kept this reader engaged throughout the text.

Although it's difficult to predict future work based on
what is in hand, I feel confident in saying that Britain
has produced a new voice and an original literary artist.
This book reminds one of other first efforts (principally
Martin Amis)in its vision and clarity of focus. In a
vast ocean dominated by the dross of most contemporary
fiction, and bashing against the rocky musings of most
self-absorbed authors, Mr. Hawes' book stands out as something
deserving of any discerning reader's interest.

This is an amazing book that hits its pace immediately and never lets up. It's a tremendous take on contemporary British society delivered in a similar fashion as the mid-'90's films of John Hodge, Andrew MacDonald and Danny Boyle, as well as the novels of fellow Britwits and pop culture addicts Irvine Welsh and Nick Hornby.
However, as good a writer of personalities as Hornby doubtless is, there is NO WAY he could have written this book. "A White Merc With Fins" has a very developed and intricate plotline that moves despite sufficient character development that never actually becomes the story itself.
The story itself deals with a stew of complexities involving some of the issues evident within mid-'90's London; drug use, sexual identity, racism, politcal activism, and beneath it all the unspoken hang-ups of class identity within a modern society that strives to distance itself from a history of strict classism...but can't quite seem to find the plot in doing so.
Any number of these traits would make an interesting enough story on their own...but in this book they serve as mere sandwich spreads over the meat of Hawes' actual story. The novel takes place within a matter of days leading up to a bank heist planned by a man (the book's narrator) who, approaching the sell-by age of thirty, has accomplished absolutely nothing during his adult life. He has no proper home of his own, no career, no plan for his life...and he sees, in the glances afforded into the window of a walk-up across the way from his own quarters, the life that awaits him lest he do something drastic to change his fortunes.
He has no plan for his life...so he develops "the Plan" to rob a bank.
Naturally.
Why didn't I think of that?
"The Plan" involves the narrator, a small circle of close friends including his new girlfriend with a fondness for 501 jeans that accentuate her perfectly flat stomach and, uh, questionable bodily grooming habits, a Quentin Tarantino fetishist, the brother of an ex-girlfriend who dreams of opening a bake shop in his hometown of Zaragosa, a local gangstar, a fat Welshman from the coalmines who is delightfully gay, a terminal AIDS patient otherwise thriving as a money launderer, a half-Jewish skinhead, and the Irish Republican Army.
If all that isn't sufficient to stoke your curiosity to the point of giving this book a read, I simply don't know what could possibly be wrong with you...pick it up AT ONCE and have at it; you will not regret it.

If you are in London, this book is inescapable. Advertisements are in the Tube and on taxis. It's deserving of the publicity. Written at an engaging pace, oddly punctuated, and filled with Central London landmarks, the book draws you in. Faced with a dead end life and a career in the accountancy, our hero has "The Plan." He invites a terrific cast of friends to try and pull it off. The brilliant and complex plan is slowly revealed, culminating it its bizzare execution. If you don't speak "British" or know your way around London, you may be occasionally lost, but stick with it. You won't be sorry