BACK LIST
BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS
I No Laughing Mam"; The Life and something that‘s much more up to Times of Han“ O'Brien AmmmV date in its opinions and broader in Cronin (£16.95 Grafton) ‘Blather‘ Scope the new Time Out Film Guide was a short-lived literary magazine (Penguin £9.99lfl151h0hllt
that was co-foundcd and Reissued in paperback is another co-publishcd by Flam] ()‘Brjcn (aka recommended item The Bloomsbury Brian O'Nolan and Myles Nu Foreign Guide (Bloomsbury
Gopaleen to name but two of a ton). I £9.99). where Ronald Bergan and the enigmatic Irish humorist. when Robyn (‘arney have done a fine job
he was a student in Dublin. ‘We are 0“ WitChthg thc PartS 9th“ SUCh Come and browse for unusual Christmas an arrogant and dt‘PTW‘d ht’d," 0t VOIUm“ seld‘m‘ "“magc- . . men.‘ declared the first editorial. in twins Olhmikfi L10“)th 1021 bOOkS at Helms Fountam ‘Blather doesn‘t care. A sardonic Sthgh‘ dtTCCt9T~ Pith" hit“? Ct’mc uP laugh escapes us as we bow. cruel With an CSPCCtithy Stmhg “St
and cynical hounds that we are. It is 3 including a trio ofrevealing works in
terrible laugh. the laugh of lost men. 3003939 0" 36073838 (£13-99)~ Wlm
Do you get the smell of porter'." WCthTS‘ catty Cttttt‘ttl Ptcccs
Though he didn‘t know it at the time fl
that just about sums up Flann WIM WENDY“
O Brien. except to say that that they me KN
don‘t come much funnier. Anthony pjcwm—fs -
Cronin has done a competent job '
and has stirred Lazarus but if you
think this is the last word you‘ve got
to be joking. Invariably O‘Brien was
(most immediately in the ‘Irish
Times’ which is re-running his
columns) and there is still a mile or
Sun 3rd, 10th,17th Dec 11am—5pm two lcftinalifc OIMVICS-. . Sun 24th11am_4pm I William Faulkner: American Writer
« , 6 Frederic R. Karl (Faber £25) Karl is Openmg Hours' Mon—sat 103 pm an American academic who knows I
information but cannot distinguish
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J \‘H‘
\\ We also have a very good selection of toys,
crafts & gifts and if you'd like a break from __ Christmas shopping why not have a coffee & ’ cake in our coffee house?
’ i 4.-.. 4 A . . _. V", d ‘ v ‘7 between what is and is not ,/ \— L' X L :l J J «is. v \4 v a -_.' redundant. He should be working ‘ .. ‘2 " A . , ~13“ _ -—- m- for British Coal. His book runs— Emmion Pictmes (£12.99). and the
plods is more pertinent — to 1131 pages. not all ofwhich however are dispensable. Faulknerians will find the forty page index particularly useful. Here is an example of how a biographer can be immersed in a supreme stylist and not be influenced in any way: ‘Some pluses on the set. besides Hawks. were. ofcourse. Meta and Bogart. also Bacall and Hoagy Carmichael. all ofwhom he liked.‘ But where else would you find a list of alcoholic American authors and a discussion of American writers concern with ‘the manhood syndrome“? ‘A good deal of Faulkner‘s writing is awkward.‘ writes the biographer. Coming from Karl that‘s rich. (Alan Taylor)
extremely witty and candid Letters (£17.50) of Francois Truffaut. Andrew Robinson has also done a valuable service in his major biography Satyajit Ray (Andre Deutsch £17.95). illuminating the work ofthe great Indian film-maker. while the same publishers have put together a very desirable number with Stephen M. Silverman‘s coffee table monograph on David Lean (£25). and a very different native film-maker named Russell has produced The Gospel According to 5! Ken with his autobiography A British Picture (W. H. Allen £14.95). ()n the serious side ofthings. two BFI books are worth noting. Thomas Elseasser‘s New German Cinema
(BFI/Macmillan £33/£l(l.95) is the — first extended study ofa hugely
Film editorTrevorJohnston scampers influential Strand 0f EUTOPL‘an
- big (fibrinth tnbat £0th he better than “Jane gusteit t'it statkiitge?
i‘. I l tl .._.j '::l “I .f~’ ' l j. i .‘
through his mm book bunch. film-making. and James Donald has edited a provocative series ofessays ‘Groan‘ say the shelves. indicating in Fantasy In The Cinema (BFI that the recent flood of film-related also/£9.95) which displays the books shows no sign of abating. a same capacity for subversion the fact that should doubtless chccr genre itself. at its best. is capable of. many a literate cinephile with deep Oh yes. and for those ofyou POCkCtS- For mOSt COmmOH of concerned with the beasts. blood and garden souls however, their first breast count in your celluloid then requirement in this line is the cinema swiftly check out Joe Bob Goes To The directory to sit beside the telly and Movies (Penguin Originals £5.99) by video to offer some advice on the Texan liberal Joe Bob Briggs. mazy path of film history and. as sure Still, ifyou have only enough as sequel follows blockbuster. shekels left for one movie book. my
Hallitvell's Film Guide (Granada £25). up would be Geoff Andrews' an now in its seventh hardback edition. Handbook (Longman £10.95), a
114 GeorgeSu'cet,Edinburgh.Tel:03l 2253436. Wt“ (Sonthiuc ‘0 56“ healthilY- 50 fat compact and incisive survey ofall the Mon-Sat9.30am-10pm;8un 12 noon-7pm as thtS mm is COhCCTth though the major directors that‘s so stimulating, late L-H"5 tome is only really and at times contentious. I‘ve hardly satIStaCtOY)’ When dealing With been able to leave it alone. (Trevor
Hollywood movies pre-l950, and for Johnston)
82 The List 24 November- 7 December 1989