Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Title: The Cutting Room
Author: Louise Welsh
Publisher: Canongate
The Cutting Room is the highly acclaimed debut novel by Scottish writer Louise Welsh. On the one hand celebrated as being a striking new crime novel, while on the other being described as a work that transcends the genre. Personally I think I'm in the transcends genre camp, though that is most likely because I don't entirely believe that it is a crime novel at all.
Despite the fact that I found The Cutting Room to be reasonably enjoyable, I do have to say that I mainly found it unsatisfying. At the root of that dissatisfaction is the complete lack of tension that I feel. As we reach the climax, there is a twist of sorts and the tension should come from the last mad rush. However it doesn't really have the effect, I don't really get that mad rush - nothing that is happening really seems to make a difference.
Rilke is an agent for an auction house, and with the death of Mr. McKindless it looks like they are being offered the biggest job the company has seen in a long time. However Rilke is sent off on a tangent of obsession when he finds some photographs in the attic of the house. They seem to show the murder of a young woman, and there seems to be a link to the dead man. This is where I hit on the core of the book, and the reason why I get no real sense of tension or urgency. The photographs are clearly old, so if a woman died, then she died some 30-40 years before. If Mr. McKindless was involved in her death, then he isn't going to be threatening anyone else, since he is dead. In fact Rilke seems to spend far too much time trying to determine whether the photos are even real for us to feel particularly concerned by their content. On his quest for the truth Rilke certainly meets plenty of dubious characters, and is warned that they are bad bastards and he shouldn't mess. Despite this suggestion there is no evidence of threat until the last 20-30 pages and even then it's too quick to change the feeling of the previous 200.
Almost as central to the book as the photographs is the character of Rilke, and the fact that he is homosexual. In some ways I can't decide what to make of the portrayal of Rilke. At one point he expresses negative feeling towards the gay clichés, Judy Garland records and affected campness. So we know that Rilke isn't that kind of gay, in fact for the most part Rilke is just a regular guy - which, lets face it, is how it should be. However Rilke seems to spend a reasonable amount of time in parks, bar toilets and generally with strangers, taking every opportunity to have sex. In some ways this comes across as another kind of cliché, the cruising and the ease and the promiscuity of the scene. Sure, this is a more honest portrayal, no doubt, than the Judy Garland style approach, but it is still one that seems exaggerated by the familiarity. On the other hand for people that pay attention to these kind of things, the fact that Rilke is the main character is probably a big deal, especially when the response to the book is taken into account.
With that in mind it will be interesting to see how the film fares. The latest press reporting that Robert Carlyle has been cast in the lead role. As cinema is a more popular medium the debate over the prominent gay role will no doubt be more conscious. In some ways I think the ending of the book feels somewhat cinematic and as such it may well work better on the big screen. The cast of characters should also be quite colourful for an adaptation.
For me the whole interaction of the character and who he meets is more interesting than the actual thing which is supposed to drive the book. His reaction to a young man he meets being perhaps the most endearing thing about the character, contrasting the bulk of what we are shown. Still I remain unconvinced in the end, with some heavy handed scenes, and certain lines of the book really detracting from the whole.
RVWR: PTR
August 2003
Title: Going Out
Author: Scarlett Thomas
Publisher: 4th Estate
Going Out is the most recent novel by Scarlett Thomas, which has just been published as paper back, following an oversized edition. Going Out is essentially the story of Luke and Julie, two 25 year olds who have been best friends for years. Luke was diagnosed with XP, the illness which means he is allergic to sunlight (think those precocious children in The Others!), as a child. With the result he has been house bound all his life, carefully avoiding any exposure that could set off his allergies. His greatest ambition is to get out and see something of the world past the television. Julie has become increasingly paranoid and a hypochondriac, just about everything scares her. She won't travel by plane or train and can just about manage b-roads. The thought of staying inside, safe, for the rest of her life appeals. However Julie would do anything for Luke to get better. This is how the pair end up on a road trip to Wales - a healer having contacted Luke to suggest that if he comes to see him he might be able to help. The first half of the book is concerned with the set up, introducing these two and the rest of the characters. The latter part of the book sees all the characters suddenly brought together for this journey - on which each have their own goals.
Going Out is very much a contemporary novel, so that it is already dated by the references which mark when it is set. Which isn't to suggest that the book is out of date, rather that Scarlett Thomas has made this a novel dense with pop culture references. In a way that really makes the characters alive, making it easier for us to follow and appreciate what is happening. Being set in the south east of England with a journey to Wales, there is a certain level of this book which might work best if you are British. However Thomas' ability makes this a thoroughly enjoyable book, with characters that are lively and a situation that is filled with a light humour. Overall I found this an entirely enjoyable novel, and coupled with having read Dead Clever before, I can safely say I have become a big fan of Scarlett's work.
RVWR: PTR
August 2003
Title: Slaughterhouse 5
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Publisher: Vintage
The Vintage Crucial Classics print is a selection of 12 classic novels produced in a limited edition format. These books are being sold at a special price of £3.99, including work by Graham Greene, Angela Carter, Iris Murdoch, and Mikhail Bulgakov. Of the dozen I have so far bought Bulgakov's The Master And Margarita, and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5.
Despite the reputation of Vonnegut I have never read any of his material until now. Starting off Slaughterhouse 5 I get impressions of Philip K Dick's work, a writer from the same general time, who at least initially seems to have the same kind of vibe. Though as I work my way forward the difference that makes Vonnegut who he is starts to come through.
There are a couple of interpretations of Slaughterhouse 5 available. One is that Billy Pilgrim is a unique individual, who has come unstuck in time, travelling from moment to moment over the course of his life without warning; including being kidnapped by aliens and made to live in one of their zoos. The other interpretation is that Billy Pilgrim is barking mad, a man thrown into World War II at the deep end and living with the repercussions for the rest of his life.
As far as Billy Pilgrim is concerned it all makes sense. He studied to become an optometrist. Was sent to Europe before he could finish his study. Was soon captured by the Germans and made a prisoner of war. As a prisoner of war he was witness to the catastrophic bombing of Dresden. Upon returning home he finished his training. Married and had children.
The flow of Slaughterhouse 5 however is not that straight forward. Just as the life of Billy Pilgrim would seem not to be that straight forward. Vonnegut cuts the narrative up, propelling us on with a certain tongue in cheek effect. One moment Billy is on his honeymoon, the next in a prisoner of war camp, the next in an alien zoo. Through which he has to maintain a certain outlook so he can keep going, his motto becoming - so it goes.
The bombing of Dresden is what Slaughterhouse 5 is really about. The first chapter accounting for Vonnegut's own experience as a prisoner of war, who witnessed the bombing himself. He explains how this is a book about those events, how it is not a big book, because only so much can be said. A comment which is true, this is not a big book, just over 150 pages, but even with that Dresden remains a presence. Something inevitable and dark, which can't be shifted, and reflects throughout the real tragedy that is Billy Pilgrim's life. Even if he manages to shrug everything else off, we the reader are left with the effect of Vonnegut's story.
RVWR: PTR
August 2003
Title: Sweetmeat
Author: Luke Sutherland
Publisher: Doubleday
I have just finished reading Sweetmeat, the second novel by Luke Sutherland. Sutherland was involved with alt.rock band Long Fin Killie, before more recently working under the name Bows, who released several CDs on the Too Pure label. Jellyroll was his first novel.
Sutherland creates a considerable character with Sweetmeat. Bohemond is as Sutherland gleefully and regularly points out a "fat black chef", and he really means fat. The fact that he has long hair and permanent make up doesn't help when it comes to people's responses to him. Bohemond is used to being treated like a freak, and throws himself into his cooking instead of dwelling on it. Still he does dwell on his unrequited love for Hermione, who owns the hotel where he works. They saved each other's lives, and Bo has been in love with her since.
Sweetmeat starts with the imminent wedding of Hermione. Bohemond plots to cook the most fantastic meal ever, so that Hermione will realise what a mistake she is making and turn to Bo instead of her husband to be. Interspersed with these plans, Faulkner the head of the hotel's band and an aging adventurer regales guests with wild tales. Tales which have an edge of the fantastic to them, an edge which permeates the atmosphere of the hotel as the book goes on.
Reality becomes a fracture. Relationships become too complex. In his desperate desire to capture Hermione's heart Bohemond does foolish things. At times you want to slap him, tell him to get a grip, point him in the direction of what is really going on. In some ways the odd little events manage to do this for us, the images and glimpses of things can't be real start to guide and turn Bohemond and soon he is involved in something else entirely.
At first the fairy tale/story telling aspect of Sweetmeat is a little distracting. It is a ploy I've seen before, interspersing core narrative with tangents, sometimes coming across as padding. But these tales start to merge with reality and the result starts to become magical. Sutherland's prose and Bohemond's faith (naive as it may sometimes be) bring the reader in and keep them captivated. Initially not sure what to make of Sweetmeat in the end I enjoyed this book a lot.
RVWR: PTR
August 2003
Title: After The Quake
Author: Huraki Murakami
Publisher: Vintage
After The Quake is the most recent book by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. A series of six short stories, all linked loosely by an earthquake. Each story makes passing reference for the most part, one of the characters likely being from the area or knowing someone where the quake happened. As the stories goes on they each get further and further from the actual event, which is to say they are in chronological order.
As I say the references to the earthquake are passing, in all but one story, so the links to each other are a little tenuous and the stories can easily stand as individuals. The narratives tend towards the snapshot form rather than plot form, which is something I am becoming conscious of in literary short stories. This tends to make the pieces brief and to be honest not entirely memorable. We meet a girl who likes to hang out with a man that builds fires. A woman who gets away from her past on holiday, swimming every day. A man who deals with the aftermath of a failed love triangle while lamenting the death of the short story. and a giant frog who will fight the worm who would destroy Tokyo.
The super frog story is actually my favourite of the pieces here, there is a strong sense of the absurd and a definite humour that appeals, with more of an actual plot seeming to come through. The other pieces work well enough at painting their pictures, but overall After The Quake is too short.
RVWR: PTR
August 2003
Title: So I Am Glad
Author: A.L. Kennedy
Publisher: Vintage
So I Am Glad is a curious novel. Saying what it is about is easy, explaining how that works probably less so. When a strange man comes down the stairs and into kitchen of a shared house in Glasgow, Jennifer assumes he is Martin, the new guy who is going to stay with them for awhile. Rather he is an amnesiac, with no memory of who he is or how he came to be in the house. Not long after his appearance he realises that he is in fact Cyrano De Bergerac, which is odd given he remembers dying 300 years earlier. When he decides he is being a burden on Jennifer he decides to leave the house, but with nothing to his name and in a foreign time/country he has limited options. Jennifer has had growing feelings for Cyrano, which given that Jennifer doesn't tend to have feelings about much is quite something. So she is quite distraught by his disappearance - a period which sees both of them hit bottom. With reunion helping the two to some degree, but the darkness of the time between needs to be resolved.
Quite how a 300 year dead French man ends up in Glasgow is never really covered, its not really a worry when it comes down to it. The core of the book is Jennifer who from my reading of Kennedy's work to date seems to be one of her classic characters - to some degree appearing perfectly normal, while being animated by an inner turmoil. Though given how calm Jennifer claims she is turmoil is likely too strong a word.
Kennedy writes Jennifer as narrator, so much of the story is through her thoughts and reflections. Tending towards emotional ground, as this is essentially for the most part a love story. There is also a strong thread of darkness through both characters - Jennifer has had violent relationships, and Savienen comes from a different age where men killed each other for honour, which sets him up for the life of violence led while outside the house.
Of course one hopes that an author gets better with each new work. So it should not really be a surprise that I found that I enjoyed the recent novel Everything You Need to a greater extent than this previous novel. Still over all I did enjoy So I Am Glad, and am likely to continue to explore Kennedy's work back the way while waiting for another forward step.
RVWR: PTR
August 2003
Title: The Earthquake Bird
Author: Susanna Jones
Publisher: Picador
Instead of being a seventh son, Lucy was a disappointment. A fact she was never allowed to forget as she was neglected or mistreated as a child. So when she was old enough Lucy was only too happy to get as far away from home as possible. For Lucy that means Japan, where she has been for 10 years now. so she is less than pleased by the arrival of Lily. An English girl who has run away, to find herself a stranger in a strange land. Lily sees Lucy as her saviour - a woman from the same part of England, who knows how things work here. For Lucy though Lily opens wounds, triggering memories she'd rather not have.
The Earthquake Bird starts with the arrest of Lucy for Lily's murder. From there the story unfolds in Lucy's head - locked in a cell and refusing to answer any of the police's questions. With this Lucy's character and history are built up. First meeting her Japanese boyfriend, starting her job and the like. The things from her past, dark moments which seem to implicate Lucy. The introduction of Lily and how despite it all they became friends. Susanna Jones pulls all the pieces together in her first novel so that we really don't know whether Lucy did kill Lily or not right up till the end.
The quotes on the back of the book promise a shocking conclusion. For me though the tone of the book is off-kilter enough that little seems surprising. Lucy refers to herself regularly in the third person, which seems curious. With that, our perceptions of what is going on are shaped by the way Lucy looks at the world. Overall I enjoyed The Earthquake Bird, the writing style is strong and readable. The mix of cultures provides an interesting backdrop, especially where it is ones that contrast so much, and where the character will never quite fit in.
RVWR: PTR
August 2003
Title: Felaheen
Author: Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Publisher: Earthlight
Felaheen is the third in Jon Courtenay Grimwood's Arabesk Trilogy, a cycle following the rise of Ashraf Bey from prison inmate to son of the most powerful man in Africa. All along there has been an 'is he, isn't he' scene set up, regarding whether he was just a convenient pawn put in place at the right time, who has run with it, or if he is indeed who they say he is. At the same time Raf has found himself playing the role of detective. In Pashazade he stood accused of murdering the aunt who brought him to Africa. In Effendi the father of the woman he loves was put on trial. Leaving Felaheen, where someone is trying to kill the Emir of Tunis, his alleged father.
In some ways Jon Courtenay Grimwood has fallen into a rut with this series. It doesn't really flex and expand as it should. The use of flashback damages the pacing, so that it takes longer to get into. Felaheen avoids the stumbling overlap that initially tripped up Effendi but still comes out as the weakest of the trilogy. A plot is certainly there, enough bits and bobs, suspects and distractions. So that by the time we get to whodunit it seems too easy, too out of a hat, for the reader to really care.
Which is a real pity, because Pashazade had a lot of potential to be built on. Ashraf is of course too cool, things done in his head make him truly post-human. His niece Hani obviously comes from the same background, an 11 year old genius, who is destined no doubt to surpass her uncle. The growth of Hani, and how she contrasts/compliments Ashraf and his past is one of the real successes of the series. Though perhaps at the expense of Zara, who was a bomb in Pashazade and a damp squib in everything else, a radiant woman defying her culture, ready to go off at any minute. While she is present in Effendi and Felaheen it almost seems that Grimwood can't quite work out what to do with her - so instead of being this striking character she is pouting wallpaper. Another addition which worked well was Edward, Ashraf's assistant. An average man who is good at his job and utterly bemused to find someone who noticed enough to take him seriously. Bumbling in some ways, but there is a certain joy as he relishes and celebrates the role.
Ultimately fellaheen is disappointing, there is a lot of potential in there that never quite comes together. Saddening me to say Pashazade remains the highlight.
RVWR: PTR
August 2003
