poppyshake Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 Oh yes, the Morrissey Autobiography....I put it down months ago and haven't touched it since then . I've just looked it into my e-reader and I see that I only got as far as 1% of it. But to be brutally honest, I wouldn't advise it to anyone as I found it dire! The prose is reminiscent of a depressed teenager, who thinks he is the new Oscar Wilde, but he is not. It's like a very dull The Smiths lyric, without the good tune. I was just so disappointing, and I regret that I bought it. Morrissey was negative about absolutely everything, and he does it in such a bad way. I found it excruciatingly embarrassing that he wrote it. *shakes head and shudders* Oh dear! .. best left well alone then. Thanks for the warning Marie .. my Audible credits are precious .. I'm not wasting them on this. Some things are better remembered in your head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Oh dear! .. best left well alone then. Thanks for the warning Marie .. my Audible credits are precious .. I'm not wasting them on this. Some things are better remembered in your head I wish that I had had a sample look at it before I bought it, but I had no idea that it was going to be as bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 I was surprised to see that Penguin published the Morrissey Autobiography as a Penguin Modern Classic. I don't have anything against Morrissey (I don't actually know anything about him), but I thought books had to be a little more established to gain the title of 'classic'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 You have to wonder what the criteria is .. it hasn't had time to become a modern classic for one thing and I'm pretty sure, from what Marie and others have said, that it doesn't deserve the title. Steinbeck, Orwell, Woolf and Wyndham certainly but Morrissey seems a very odd choice. You can't really publish a book as a 'modern classic' on the off chance that it might become one surely This is encouraging news for my toast book though Yes .. the good folk at Penguin are just the sort of visionary people I'm looking for (and they're clearly not too worried about it being cr*p ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 (edited) You have to wonder what the criteria is Quite simply, that this was part of the deal insisted upon by Morrissey, which was too valuable presumably for Penguin to refuse. Says a lot about Penguin, sadly (couldn't give a t*ss about the self-regarding Morrissey!). Edited March 6, 2014 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 Quite simply, that this was part of the deal insisted upon by Morrissey, which was too valuable presumably for Penguin to refuse. Says a lot about Penguin, sadly (couldn't give a t*ss about the self-regarding Morrissey!). Gracious! .. he is sinking in my opinion by the minute. I still love the music but will have to remember him in retrospect Seems ridiculous that Penguin gave in to such a request .. especially as the book is pretty poor. I'm disappointed in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 You have to wonder what the criteria is .. it hasn't had time to become a modern classic for one thing and I'm pretty sure, from what Marie and others have said, that it doesn't deserve the title. Steinbeck, Orwell, Woolf and Wyndham certainly but Morrissey seems a very odd choice. You can't really publish a book as a 'modern classic' on the off chance that it might become one surely p ) I agree with you entirely . What were thinking of putting Autobiography as a Penguin Classic?! And it's dire, and as a huge fan of Morrissey during the The Smiths days, it's even worse to find out he wrote that.... . Also Penguin Books have gone down in my esteem since then too. Quite simply, that this was part of the deal insisted upon by Morrissey, which was too valuable presumably for Penguin to refuse. Says a lot about Penguin, sadly I agree with too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Hi Kay. I read an article in a book magazine aaaages ago about Dear Lupin/Dear Lumpy. I can't actually remember what the article said now ( ) but I'm pretty sure you've read them and I just wondered... I have the chance to get Dear Lupin free - but do I need to have read Dear Lumpy first... and also, is Dear Lupin worth reading? (Does the above even make sense?! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 9, 2014 Author Share Posted March 9, 2014 Hi Kay. I read an article in a book magazine aaaages ago about Dear Lupin/Dear Lumpy. I can't actually remember what the article said now ( ) but I'm pretty sure you've read them and I just wondered... I have the chance to get Dear Lupin free - but do I need to have read Dear Lumpy first... and also, is Dear Lupin worth reading? (Does the above even make sense?! ) Yes .. totally You don't need to have read one to read the other. They are complimentary .. and if you get on with it you'll probably want to read the other but in any case Dear Lupin was first I think so you'd be starting in the right place For the most part I liked it ... the family are all a bit eccentric so that makes for good reading. Because the two children are so different (Lupin/Charlie and Lumpy/Louise) the letters Roger writes are different .. that is they have the same humour but Charlie was a bit of a delinquent so there was a lot more wailing and gnashing of teeth etc going on in Dear Lupin. Hope you are well lovely Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Yes .. totally You don't need to have read one to read the other. They are complimentary .. and if you get on with it you'll probably want to read the other but in any case Dear Lupin was first I think so you'd be starting in the right place For the most part I liked it ... the family are all a bit eccentric so that makes for good reading. Because the two children are so different (Lupin/Charlie and Lumpy/Louise) the letters Roger writes are different .. that is they have the same humour but Charlie was a bit of a delinquent so there was a lot more wailing and gnashing of teeth etc going on in Dear Lupin. Hope you are well lovely Janet Thanks - I've downloaded it. I'm okay thanks. Not great, but not bad - so I suppose it could be worse. Hope you and Alan are okay. xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Thanks - I've downloaded it. Hope you enjoy it Janet I'm okay thanks. Not great, but not bad - so I suppose it could be worse. Hope you and Alan are okay. xx Well I'm hoping it will get a lot better for you .. greatness at the very least Alan and I are fine thanks Janet xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 (edited) The Goldfinch by Donna TarttAmazon's Synopsis: Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle. The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.Review: This isn't an easy book to review so I've made it easier for myself by writing this a full three weeks after finishing I've only read one book by Donna before (The Secret History) but enjoyed it immensely .. there's something about her style of storytelling that immediately draws you in. This story was no different, in fact there were a lot of similarities, especially in the way the story is told. I did have a couple of niggles with it, she's very detailed and sometimes you can get a bit bogged down. I'm pretty sure she intentionally does this as just when you feel you're drifting off a bit the plot twists dramatically .. it's both unsettling and exciting ... you can go from reclined to the edge of your seat in no time. The character of Theo frustrated me enormously, I felt I was getting to know him quite well but then he went and disappointed me at almost every turn. Still, the reader's sympathies are with him because of his vulnerable start so you stay with him .. hoping he'll see sense eventually (surely his mother's good sense and innate goodness must rub off eventually?) and his life had rather dramatically fallen apart so it's not surprising that he fell apart with it. I was quite boggled by all the drug taking and booze swallowing .. I thought things got a bit rough in The Secret History but this was on a whole new level .. I didn't know people could be so reckless and still live .. well I guess I did but it was really difficult to see this motherless boy sink to such depths. I hope the writer didn't have to do any extensive practical research for it .. she certainly knew her onions as far as furniture restoration is concerned .. I reckon she could restore a piece of Hepplewhite no problem. I found myself really loving some of the minor characters (Andy and Hobie) but equally found Boris, Theo's best friend, irritating and slightly too OTT .. but only slightly and it didn't stop me believing in him as a character it just made me more annoyed with him. I really wanted to know more about Pippa .. she arrived in the story at a very key moment and I always felt she'd be pivotal but she wasn't .. or at least not in the way I wanted her to be. I've only read two of Donna's books which is not enough to judge (though she's only written one other I believe) but her stories just seem to peter out. There's no big resolution .. there's only a feeling that inroads are being made .. steps taken towards a better path .. though it could all come unstuck again. This annoyed me a little but only because I wanted the book to end in a certain way .. still there was hope that it might have ended that way eventually and so I'm clinging to that Despite all or any of these niggles, I never ever wanted to abandon the book .. quite the opposite, it's very readable and her characters get under your skin .. whether you love or hate them. It's a tome but one that reads easily. 4/5 Edited March 12, 2014 by poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtrpath27 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I've been eyeing this one in the Kindle store. I'm going to have to download the sample and check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Great review, Kay. Funnily enough, I really liked Boris. Yes, he was over the top, but realistically I thought. If that makes any sense at all. heh I really, really, really liked the fact that there was a dog in the story that wasn't used in a bad way. Popchyk survived, beautifully all the way through the book. And yes, I wanted to shake Theo, quite often!! Out of the two of Tartt's I've read, The Secret History, and The Goldfinch, I have to say I actually preferred the latter. Mostly because, I think...although it shouldn't make that much difference....I didn't like one character in TSH, and rather liked several in TG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 A wonderful review of a wonderful book ! And I agree with you with the spoilers entirely . Poor Andy!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to be a Popstar by Tracey Thorn Amazon's Synopsis: 'I was only sixteen when I bought an electric guitar and joined a band. A year later, I formed an all-girl band called the Marine Girls and played gigs, and signed to an indie label, and started releasing records. Then, for eighteen years, between 1982 and 2000, I was one half of the group Everything But the Girl. In that time, we released nine albums and sold nine million records. We went on countless tours, had hit singles and flop singles, were reviewed and interviewed to within an inch of our lives. I've been in the charts, out of them, back in. I've seen myself described as an indie darling, a middle-of-the-road nobody and a disco diva. I haven't always fitted in, you see, and that's made me face up to the realities of a pop career - there are thrills and wonders to be experienced, yes, but also moments of doubt, mistakes, violent lifestyle changes from luxury to squalor and back again, sometimes within minutes.' Review: A really well written and fond look back at the 70's/80's and 90's through the eyes of one half of Everything but the Girl. It's brought fairly up to date actually but most of the really interesting stuff concerns the forming of the band and Tracey's early days. As a teenager she didn't really have much interest in music as her diary reveals .. Brotherhood of Man winning the Eurovision Song Contest being one of the few music related things she bothers to jot down in 1976 It was punk actually that made her sit up and listen but she was slightly late to the party only really starting to take notice mid 1977. She makes an absolutely valid point (leastways I thought it was valid) about punk being responsible for the formation of more bands than any other movement .. the main reason being that nobody felt they had to hone their skills or sit at home practising .. they just bought a guitar (as Tracey did .. second-hand from a market stall) and joined/formed a band .. without ever having played a note Basically you could just go out there, clang about a bit and do some appropriate (or inappropriate) yelling. Tracey didn't have to do that though as obviously she's far more melodic. She wasn't originally the singer .. more the back up but her guitar playing .. though always naive .. had a certain charm to it. With a voice like hers it wasn't long before somebody sat up and took notice, though strangely she hadn't ever thought of herself as a good singer and had to perform her first singing audition in a wardrobe .. so embarrassed was she at the notion of fronting a band. The photo's are dispersed amongst the text which I prefer actually to having a lump of them to flick through, because you're not always having to refer back. She ends each chapter with a set of song lyrics ... some familiar some not .. I found myself scouring the net looking for tracks (especially from the Marine Girls who I'm not familiar with at all.) I nearly always prefer biogs at the beginning or in the middle, especially these sorts of biogs. I'm not that interested in reading about what happens once they've reached normaldom (married with the 2.4 kids etc) .. I much prefer hearing about all the weird and wonderful stuff that can happen to you once you start recording demo tapes in your bedroom and selling them in the backs of magazines. This is possibly why Morrissey can't write for toffee (just a theory ) .. he has stepped too far into normaldom .. it all ends inevitably in whinging and recriminations. Tracey writes in an easy going, slightly self deprecating, chatty style that's very likeable. She wrote the bulk of it many moons ago but shelved it for a while to make music again. It's witty and funny but also at times serious and reflective. Anyone interested in EBTG or the music industry (particularly the late 70's into 80's) .. or even 70's/80's Britain .. will love this I'm sure. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Great review Kay, this book is on my wish list, so it's good to hear it is a good read. I love EBTG, and think Tracey Thorn has such a great voice (aside from her usual stuff, I can definitely recommend her singing on Massive Attack's 'Protection'). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 I've been eyeing this one in the Kindle store. I'm going to have to download the sample and check it out. Brilliant idea .. I was hooked from the first few paragraphs so I think you'll easily be able to tell if it's for you or not Great review, Kay. Thanks Kate Funnily enough, I really liked Boris. Yes, he was over the top, but realistically I thought. If that makes any sense at all. heh It does make sense and of course OTT characters in books are far more acceptable. One thing's for sure .. when Boris turned up .. stuff happened And yes, I wanted to shake Theo, quite often!! Out of the two of Tartt's I've read, The Secret History, and The Goldfinch, I have to say I actually preferred the latter. Mostly because, I think...although it shouldn't make that much difference....I didn't like one character in TSH, and rather liked several in TG. I preferred The Secret History ... but there was really nothing between them and you're right .. there wasn't one likeable character in TSH .. there were intriguing ones though in both books. I too loved the dog and the way his story panned out .. it looked sticky for him several times but it always came good A wonderful review of a wonderful book ! And I agree with you with the spoilers entirely . Thanks Marie I got so attached to Andy and it felt like things were moving in the right direction for him .. took me a while to come to terms with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Great review Kay, this book is on my wish list, so it's good to hear it is a good read. I love EBTG, and think Tracey Thorn has such a great voice (aside from her usual stuff, I can definitely recommend her singing on Massive Attack's 'Protection'). Thanks Chrissy Yes .. I love 'Protection' too .. I haven't actually come across anything yet that I don't like of hers .. it's costing me a fortune in downloads (well .. a small fortune that is .. it's definitely eating into my book money ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Hope you enjoy it Janet Well I'm hoping it will get a lot better for you .. greatness at the very least Alan and I are fine thanks Janet xx Thanks, Kay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 Hollow City by Ransom Riggs Waterstone's Synopsis: This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine's island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises. Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages. Review: I couldn't remember much about the story of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and so was a bit worried that I'd need to glance through it again in order to refresh my memory but once I started on the sequel .. it all came flooding back. Ransom doesn't do a lot of recapping actually (which I'm glad about because it can get tedious) but the first few paragraphs reminded me of where we'd left off. I think .. in my head .. I had mixed some of it up with The Night Circus etc so it was good to straighten it out again. I really enjoyed the story but strangely (being as it's probably the book's main appeal) I could have done without the photos Don't get me wrong I love the photos ... very eerie most of them .. it's just .. for me .. they didn't always gel with the story in the way they were meant to. I felt this with the first book but felt it more here ... some of the photos weren't right for the text. There was one in particular clearly showing a man .. when the text was describing a boy and another supposedly of two pairs of eyes glinting in a dark tunnel which were too far apart to be human eyes at any rate. Let's just say that I wasn't convinced and at times it seemed as if the story purposefully went off somewhere in order to include a photo. This may be just me though as obviously I knew this was the set up and I wouldn't put it past my mind to keep reminding me to look for inconsistencies. Readers with more imagination and less of a suspicious nature won't have a problem Now .. those are the negatives (haha .. a pun ) .. for some reason I always mention them as if they're a big deal but they weren't really. For the most part (aside from one or two pointless detours) I loved the story and found it gripping and absorbing. I love the way it builds to a climax .. it had me flicking pages well into the night and I'm truly looking forward to the next installment. I wouldn't be sorry if there weren't any photos .. though of course I know there will be. I will try not to start looking for flaws from the outset but now it's in there I doubt I can stop the little voice from nagging. Still I must know the resolution as I'm entirely absorbed by the characters (and I felt they were more fleshed out in this story actually and that the story itself had more depth to it) and their plight. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 I'm glad you liked this book, great review ! I believe the first book of the series is on my wishlist. I like your pun . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Thanks Gaia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 The Darling Buds of May by H.E. BatesAmazon's Synopsis: 'Home looks nice. Allus does though, don't it? Perfick'. And so the Larkins - Pop, Ma, Mariette, Zinnia, Petunia, Primrose, Victoria and Montgomery - return from an outing for fish and chips and ice cream one May evening. There, amid the rustic charms of home, they discover a visitor: one Cedric Charlton, Her Majesty's inspector of taxes. Mr Charlton is visiting to find out why junk-dealer Pop hasn't paid his tax - but nothing's that simple at the Larkins. Mariette takes a shine to 'Charley' - as Pop calls him - and before long the family have introduced the uncomplaining inspector to the delights of country living: the lusty scents of wild flowers, the pleasures of a bottle of Dragon's Blood, cold cream dribbled over a bowl of strawberries and hot, hot summer nights. In fact, soon Charley can't see any reason to return to the office at all.Review: Very easy to read and entertaining. Maybe it's a little too ideal .. nobody seemed to get into a tizz about anything (well Mariette did get into a cat fight over Charley but it didn't amount to much) but then they're probably too stuffed full of food, bucolic charm and Dragon's Blood to care less. I like a book with food in it but this one took the biscuit ... they don't stop stuffing from morning to night. You couldn't help but worry about their cholesterol (and very weird combinations too .. like putting ketchup on iced buns terrible way to treat a bun I thought.) I couldn't help worrying about Charley either who was like a lamb to the slaughter but then he willingly went there so there was no saving him.On the whole I liked it very much .. it's very amiable .. but I didn't love it. There wasn't a lot of depth to the story (there isn't meant to be .. that's not its purpose) though it is well written and would be perfect (not to mention 'perfick' .. ) for reading whilst drowsing away a sunny afternoon. Actually I will probably read at least one sequel (I saw at the back of this book that they go to France .. that's got to be worth a look, though Lord knows what they'll be putting on the croissants )So idyllic as to make one positively dissatisfied with life .. and very seductive .. that is until one reads about Ma being as 'huge as a buffalo' .. that's taking a love for buns too far 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 *cough cough* oh! .. it's a little bit dusty in here .. I do apologise I've been neglecting it .. please look the other way while I flick a duster round I've been distracted I've not put the effort in and now my mojo is sulking from lack of nutrition. Luckily my last few reads have been brilliant so that's perked it up a bit. I need to write down some thoughts .. about the books I mean ... you don't want to hear any of the other stuff .. not unless you want nightmares Paperboy by Christopher FowlerAmazon's Synopsis: Christopher Fowler's memoir captures life in suburban London as it has rarely been seen: through the eyes of a lonely boy who spends his days between the library and the cinema, devouring novels, comics, cereal packets - anything that might reveal a story. Caught between an ever-sensible but exhausted mother and a DIY-obsessed father fighting his own demons, Christopher takes refuge in words. His parents try to understand their son's peculiar obsessions, but fast lose patience with him - and each other. The war of nerves escalates to include every member of the Fowler family, and something has to give, but does it mean that a boy must always give up his dreams for the tough lessons of real life? Beautifully written, this rich and astute evocation of a time and a place recalls a childhood at once entertainingly eccentric and endearingly ordinary.Review: So enjoyable I haven't read any of Christopher's fiction novels so he was unknown to me (though I have heard of his Bryant & May detective novels.) I think the cover first drew me in and then the blurb made it sound irresistable. I love memoirs which recount childhoods spent in the 50's, 60's and 70's .. such great nostalgia .. and if it's a writer's memoir too then so much the better. This could have been a bit of a mis-mem ... Christopher certainly has a tale of woe to tell but, for the most part, he tells it with humour and a certain irony which means you never feel weighed down by it .. though I did often feel tearful .. especially towards the end. To all of us avid book readers, Christopher is and always has been something of a kindred spirit .. eating up books and literally living in the library and cinema .. anywhere in fact where a story is being told.'In a house that contained so little to read, I would read anything, because I possessed no functioning critical faculties whatsoever. At breakfast I would read the Cornflakes box, and then, when it was empty, attempt to make the absurdly complicated paper sculpture of a tiger's head that Kellogg's had printed on the back of the packet. I would even read the sugar bag, although Mr Cube, the anthropomorphic lump of sugar brought in by Tate & Lyle to deliver propoganda messages against the government's plan to privatise the sugar industry, gave me the creeps, as did Mr Therm, the weird dancing gas flame who advertised cookers. When there was absolutely nothing else left to read at the breakfast table I would read my father's Daily Express, every front page of which featured 'Our Radiant New Queen'. In times of desperation I read my mother's knitting pamphlets. I would read on the toilet and in the bath, and while crossing the road, which you could do because there were hardly any cars about. I read while walking along the pavement, aided by a sixth sense that kept me from vanishing down manholes or smacking into lampposts. I read just standing up for a pee, with a comic book propped on the cistern.'His family didn't understand him (he calls his mother and father, Kath and Bill .. which seemed odd to me, though I know it's not that unusual to be on first name terms with your parents .. it did seem to highlight his detachment from them though.) His father in particular, struggled to connect with him and they were often at odds and estranged (his father burned one of his beloved books .. even if he hadn't been a tyrant I couldn't think well of him after that ) His mother was more sympathetic but she too had her problems with his father and her absolutely awful MIL .. she encouraged Christopher in his writing though and gave him sound advice and nourishment (nourishment of a cerebral sort that is .. she couldn't cook for toffee .. she cooked meat until leathery, 'after which she would pour elasticated Bisto filled with tumorous lumps over it'. Tinned peaches in 'nasal-slime' syrup followed.) Christopher was enthusiastic but more often than not disappointed with the results of his labours. Periodically he would get his typewriter out and bash out some stories but they never came to anything (there's a fantastic piece where Christopher attempts to write a story .. the blank white paper reminds him of a lab coat and then snow and then stardust etc .. he tries to flesh out these ideas but bails out each time amid a sea of hopelessness .. at one point writing 'He checked his - what do you call them? - Petri dishes, and saw that the culture in Experiment 857B had changed colour in the last few minutes. Placing the test tube in a centrifuge, he spun it until - what did cultures do, separate like bad milk? And what would that show? .. It was no good, I couldn't do this, I had failed science at O level. With a shrug of disappointment at not becoming a household name, the scientist dissolved into random atoms.' ) and the typewriter would inevitably be returned to the wardrobe to gather dust for a few more years. Ironically it was a visit to his father that finally unlocked the writer within him. He got lost in an underground car park and it panicked him .. it really was as simple as that. He wrote it down and somehow this got him into the habit of writing down all his experiences .. whether they were 'sad or frightening or a cause for small happiness'. Before long he had ten short stories which soon became a published collection.I think he's recently written a follow up to this one (yes .. I've just looked it up .. it's called Film Freak .. and it concentrates on his love of movies) so that's a must for me. Also I really want to read some of his fiction. From what he says here I should recognise some of it as he does like to let his real life experiences leak into his stories. If Vesta curries and Jamboree bags conjure up warm feelings of nostalgia for you then you'll love this but anyone who loves reading about fellow book lovers and writers will love it anyway. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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