I venture to suggest that The Melancholy Death and Oyster Boy and Other Stories (1997 in the US) was only published because Tim Burton was already famous. [Yes, the Tim Burton of 'Beetlejuice', 'Batman', 'Edward Scissorhands', 'Mars Attacks!' etc.] While the drawings are proficient, whacky and creepy, the writing isn't. Very few of the poems … Continue reading “The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories”
Category: Reading
“Seascraper”
Benjamin Wood's Seascraper is excellent. On reflection, I think I was most impressed by its authenticity: you could believe the character and - perhaps just as important in this case - the environment Wood was describing. And I liked the fact that the novel ended on an upbeat note, one which allowed you to mentally … Continue reading “Seascraper”
“The Boy Who Belonged to the Sea”
Denis Thériault's The Boy Who Belonged to the Sea is, as one reviewer described it, "quirky and charming". It also requires a massive degree of belief suspension if you're going to navigate through to the end as the distance between reality and what happens in the novel is, at times, a chasm. I was thrown … Continue reading “The Boy Who Belonged to the Sea”
“The Year’s Afternoon”
In reading Douglas Dunn's The Year's Afternoon I was struck by just how dated the poetry seemed. Though it was published in 2000, I wouldn't have been surprised had it been written fifty years earlier. I make this assessment based on language, rhyme and the layout of the poems on the page. And some of … Continue reading “The Year’s Afternoon”
“Poundland Rimbaud”
I picked up Johny Fluffypunk's Poundland Rimbaud in the Waterstones' remainders section. And what a whacky thing it is: a mixture of stories, poems, jokes (kind of), and the text of a stage performance. If you're looking for something off-the-wall I doubt you'll get much more weird than this - but you'll have to find … Continue reading “Poundland Rimbaud”
“Lord Malquist & Mr Moon”
The only novel by the playwright Tom Stoppard - and a completely bonkers one! Surreal, off-the-wall; you choose the phrase - but it's also funny and poignant, and I suspect says quite a lot about the young 1966 Stoppard who wrote it just after finished Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Stoppard offers us a cast … Continue reading “Lord Malquist & Mr Moon”
“Twist”
Twist is the fifth novel from Colum McCann I've read - and I daresay it won't be the last. A fluent narrative with just enough in terms of 'teasers' to keep you reading. Interestingly, many of these come at the beginning of chapters rather than at the end; a kind of trailer for what could … Continue reading “Twist”
“Life A User’s Manual”
I should start by confessing that it has taken me more than two years - if not three or four! - to finish reading Georges Perec's novel, Life A User's Manual. And why is that? Although it weighs in at 500 pages (in my 2008 Vintage paperback edition), it's not the size of the book … Continue reading “Life A User’s Manual”
“The Second Chance Convenience Store”
I really must stop trying to read Korean novels (in translation). It seems to me that they are too simple, repetitive, predictable, moralistic, and positive. If that generalisation is correct then I suspect it must be a cultural thing - allied to the fact that I don't like my novels written that way. Indeed, I … Continue reading “The Second Chance Convenience Store”
“Live a Little”
Simply excellent. For me there are two reasons Howard Jacobson's Live a Little shines: the more minor of the two is that he doesn't let the religious backgrounds of the characters overpower the story; the major is the marvellous Beryl Dusinbery. What a marvellous confection of a character! Without doubt one of the best portrayals … Continue reading “Live a Little”
Ian Gouge - Writer 