An Awakening

Advantages: Original and interesting
Disadvantages: Might not be what you expect

...As soon as you flick through The Coma you know it's not going to be your average novel. For one thing, there are no page numbers. The text is divided into unnumbered sections which are then divided into numbered mini-sections, some only a few sentences long, and it's illustrated by woodcuts created by Alex Garland's father, Nicholas Garland, who is apparently a political cartoonist. Already, you can sense there's a problem in reviewing this book: it demands to be reviewed on its own terms. It opens with Carl at work late at night. His secretary rings (from home) to tell him that it's nearly quarter to midnight and the last train leaves in 25 minutes. He catches the train. On the train, he steps in when a group of teenage boys try to steal a young woman's bag and gets badly beaten up. He is in a coma. Carl then drifts between dreams...

DoubleFantasy11 27.06.2006 · Read review
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Review of The Coma - Alex Garland

Girlfriend In A Coma

Advantages: Bold and ambitious
Disadvantages: A bit gloomy for some

...DANCER A very arresting and beautiful composition that sometimes deliberately veers off-key to affect a slightly strange and psychedelic sound. Morrissey is in his element with music like this and spins out a mournful but dreamy vocal that seems to be about the violence creeping into Manchester's night life at the time. Love, peace and harmony will have to wait for the next world. Andy Rourke's bass is very evident on this. GIRLFRIEND IN A COMA One of The Smiths greatest ever songs. Johnny Marr's perfect music is heightened by an orchestra and Morrissey infuses his wonderful vocal with all the rich melodrama of a sixties kitchen sink British black and white film. The song is very affecting, especially when Morrissey sings "Let me whisper my last goodbyes" near the end. Perfection. STOP ME IF YOU THINK THAT YOU'VE HEARD THIS...

arthurpringle 09.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Strangeways Here We Come - Smiths (The)

Alc, Booze, Coma

Advantages: none
Disadvantages: plenty

...´ thing, exceptions proving the rule. Being a teacher I know that young men pride themselves in being able to drink enormous amounts of alcohol and brag about that, university students don´t behave much differently especially those living in fraternity houses (for some puberty is rather long [why, for some it never ends!]), ´proll´ is short for proletariat and has come to mean the same as scum, young fascists, for example, pluck up courage for their misdeeds in so called coma-boozing orgies. Only this year a German town where a historical pageant used to be staged during carnival season has abolished it thus renouncing a major source of income; for some reason the event had always attracted young people, so-called rucksack drinkers bringing their own alcohol with them. The inhabitants had complained for years about visitors pissing...

MALU 06.02.2005 · Read review
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Review of Everything that starts with X ...

Butlins in the sun!

Advantages: Plenty to do, good entertainment, great for children
Disadvantages: Some shabby accommodation, expensive supermarket

...Firstly I must say that I booked this very last minute when there wasn't much more around, and after reading a lot of very mixed reviews, I decided that we would just put our heads down and go for it, and even though we got off to a bad start, I am relatively glad that we did. The Bouganvilla Aparthotel is situated on the East coast of Mallorca in Sa Coma. There is a 1 hour transfer from Palma Airport (1hr 45 mins if the coach drops off along the way), but we took this as an opportunity to sit back see a bit of the Island. On arrival, our check in was very simple. We were given a room number and a map to direct us to our apartment and as we were staying all inclusive, our wrist bands were put on (silver for U18's, blue for the drinkers!) ~*~Accommodation~*~ When we entered our room, I really could have cried. After...

chilcott1 29.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Hotetur Bouganvilla Apartments, Sa Coma

Coma Gran Aparthotel

Advantages: Superb family resort
Disadvantages: very busy

...I visited Mallorca in September 2002 with my family (husband and 10 month old daughter). This was our first 'family' holiday so much time was spent choosing the resort and Mallorca itself was an obvious choice due to the flight time (approx 1.5 hours). We choose the Aparthotel Coma Gran which is situated in Sa Coma on the East coast of Mallorca. The airport transfer is approximately 1.25 hours (almost as long as the flight!) The Aparthotel Coma Gran is officially a 3 star hotel, however Skytours give it a 4 keys rating. It is worth pointing out that this hotel changes to Thompson Super Family in 2003. It is currently part of a chain called Hipotels which own a number of other hotels on the island including Marfil Playa and Aptos Paraiso which are also in the Sa Coma Resort. Hipotels website is www.hipotels.com and their...

trickster 28.10.2002 · Read review
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Review of Majorca in General

It's A Wonderful Life

Advantages: lyrical, evocative and ambitious
Disadvantages: a little heavy-handed

...Girlfriend In A Coma has almost exactly the same character as its protagonists - human, blowing hot and cold, involving but somehow not that likable. That's not to say it's not a rather good book. But it's entirely possible to leave it not knowing whether to congratulate or slap the main characters. The book begins with two tragic incidents. It's 1979. Jared, a 16-year-old sex-mad footballer (in the Canadian sense), recounts dying of leukaemia. Karen loses her virginity on a snow-carpeted mountaintop, and within an hour collapses, falling into an inexplicable coma. The two events are connected only by Richard, Karen's boyfriend and Jared's oldest friend, who takes up the story and navigates the next 20 years. How the events surrounding Karen's coma (strangely predicted by the girl herself through odd visions of a vaguely...

ruth_cole 04.11.2005 · Read review
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Review of Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland

No Sleeping Here

Advantages: Strong story, good characters
Disadvantages: Slightly out-dated, some may find subject matter disturbing

...Usually reserved for late-night slots after the majority has gone to bed, Coma appears as one of the low budget, low plot thrillers that subdues the insomnia in a flash. Coma is actually based on the book written by Robin Cook (an 'ophthalmologist', apparently!), and is much more than the dross it appears to be. The story revolves around the investigations of young doctor Susan Wheeler, as she uncovers a sinister plot - by her hospital and murky pharmaceutical companies - to kill healthy patients in order to use their organs for research and transplants. It is up to Susan, and her reluctant part-time boyfriend Mark Bellows, to find out the truth and reveal the murderers. The film itself is a very taught affair, with good performances from Michael Douglas as Bellows and Geneviève Bujold as Susan. The suspense is masterfully...

Arfpint 16.05.2001 · Read review
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Review of Coma

Bring The Pain - Candiria Style!!!

Advantages: Beautiful production quality with a dense mixture of instrumentation
Disadvantages: Not quite as consistant as '300 Percent Density'

...With the release of 'The Coma Imprint' 'Candiria' decided to re-record songs from an earlier album entitled 'Beyond Resonable Doubt', while adding a couple of brilliant new tracks! 'Beyond Reasonable Doubt' was 'Candiria's' second album, It's now completely out of print. So for new fans 'Candiria' decided to re-recorded some of these tracks, and added a couple of new ones. They also included a brilliant E.P. on a second disc that includes some tracks from the groups various side projects. For those new to Candiria, they carefully mix a fusion of violent Hardcore Metal, true Jazz riffing and instruments, Funk, Electronica and Hip & Hop. The result is something very special indeed. 'Candiria's' older music has matured in its re-recorded form from 'Beyond Reasonable Doubt'. The only major difference being a slight loss of the warm...

ondeafears3 20.06.2007 (21.06.2007) · Read review
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Review of COMA Imprint, The - Candiria

Michael Has Arrived

Advantages: Great Suspense, Story
Disadvantages: NONE

...Based on the award winning Novel by Robin Cook this 1978 spectacle paved the way for the historic carrier of Michael Douglas. With a modest star cast of Michael Douglas (DR.Mark Bellow) and Geneviève Bujold (Dr.Susan Wheeler) this movie delivers a thrilling suspense living up to Michael Douglas standards. Young energetic patients are succumbing to a coma repeatedly without any legitimate rhyme or reason and they finally end up dying. Dr.Mark and Susan live together and are in love, after a while when a young and beautiful lady called Nancy (Lois Chiles), Wheeler?s best friend dies in the same way, Wheeler, gets extremely disturbed and suspicious. Wheeler then tells Mark that she smells a rat, Marks just shakes this of thinking its nothing. A couple of more deaths in the same mysterious was drives Wheeler over the edge and she begs...

charles81crompton 04.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of Coma

Narrator in a coma (I know, I know)

Advantages: Gripping.
Disadvantages: Slightly surreal.

...Just recently it seems to have become the in-thing to have a weir...oh, erm...hang on, what's the PC term for it? ...to have a 'differently-abled' child narrator - and Louis Drax is certainly different: he's in a coma. Even when he was conscious his school-mates called him 'Wacko Boy' and as far as young fictional oddball, er, sorry - 'different' characters go, he is probably the Next Big Thing. This is how he introduces himself: "I'm not most kids. I'm Louis Drax. Stuff happens to me that shouldn't happen, like going on a picnic where you drown." Not as dead as Susie Salmon in The Lovely Bones, not as vulgar as Vernon God Little (although he does tell us that "Being born was gross...") and not quite as cruel to animals as Frank in The Wasp Factory (although you really don't want to know what happens to his pet hamsters) - Louis...

PJE_ 01.12.2004 · Read review
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Review of The Ninth Life of Louis Drax - Liz Jensen