William Golding’s The Paper Men made me feel uncomfortable; no so much from the subject matter, but because it didn’t ‘feel’ like Golding (who I generally think is superb).
- The main character’s drunkenness didn’t seem uniformly portrayed and in some places was unconvincing – though in others, brilliant.
- In too many places the book felt less like novel than autobiography – and an autobiography in which the author hand’t decided how they wanted to portray themselves.
- And because I got the overall sense that maybe Golding didn’t particularly ‘believe’ in the book; it lacked a certain authority.
Oh, and the end is really cheap and tricksy! Disappointing.
Wisely, I read DBC Pierre’s introduction after I’d finished the book. I never read an introduction before a book. Why would you? Doing so have spoilt my reading, made me biased from the start. Coming to it post-novel I was able to confirm many of my thoughts and get some background into what is clearly not one of Golding’s best…
Ian Gouge - Writer 