I

1 mail sacks, stamps and telephone ; directories.

l

in a tone which is emotional but never emptin sentimental. The book is more

. place; issues of language and sectarianism evolve naturally from Carson's picturesque prose.

j association structure lacks pace, making

. reading experience. One to dip into

9 In the self-effacing manner which so ' often illuminates his poetry, Donny

Mezzanine in his jOyful, defamiliarised

books.

collection shows he has gifts his peers can lack a measure of warmth, the confidence to speak plainly and clearly, and to eulogise, always With a roguish humour to fall back on.

The Waistband And Other Poems is delightfully mixter-maxter, containing anecdotes, travel poems, memOir, songs and jokes. There is also a finer handled sequence of poems about his mother's death which avoids the usual mawkish sentiment. O'Rourke is a remorseless name-dropper and there are poems here to Schuyler, O’Hara and MacCaig, alongside artists, footballers and actors. He has an understated touch which serves him well. He may not rate himself as a star player, but he should be in no doubt that he certainly makes the team. (RL)

The Zig Zag Kid , David Grossman (Bloomsbury £13.99) “kt-t Location: Israel, 1957. Hero: Nonny, a week before his Bar Mitzvah and thirteenth birthday. Scenario: Nonny’s dad and long-standing lady friend pack OUr boy hero off, apparently to Visit his grouchy Uncle Samuel But they engineer a meeting en route With the amazing Felix, who \Nlll shepherd Nonny though hair-raiSing adventures in Tel Aviv that mark his passage to adulthood.

Miscellaneous items: a purple scarf, golden ears of wheat, 'The Mountain ; of the Moon’, Question: Is Felix legit, 3 or has Nonny been hoodwinked into a

voluntary kidnapping? Weary aside Who cares? Conclusion Mr Grossman merges the

new titles

FICTION The Star Factory

Ciaran Carson (Granta £13.99) writ

Straddling the genres of guidebook, memoir and epic prose poem, The Star Factory a homage to the Belfast of Carson's youth - is almost inevitably patchy. But the book has an undeniable beauty and lyricism, and there are shades of Nicolson Baker’s The

depictions of daily minutiae such as

Carson’s Belfast is convincingly drawn; he takes the reader on an unhurried, meandering t0ur around the city, pointing out sights, sounds and smells

than a simple evocation of a time and

Ultimately, however, the dreamy word

for a laconic, rather than gripping,

rather than immerse yourself in. (PR)

The Waistband

Donny O'Rourke (Polygon £7.95) '95: tit" s- s-

O'Rourke has claimed he will never be up there with Scottish poetry’s big boys and girls. But this generous second

WATERSTONE’S, 13/14 Princes St. Tel: 0131 556 3034

"The Provos"

Wed. 26th at 7pm Tickets Free with BBC journalist Peter Taylor.

Beer tasting with Jeff Evans of

CAM RA. Thu. 27th at 7pm Tickets £2 In association with Caledonian Breweries. £2 off "The Good Beer Guide” on the night.

Author and broadcaster

Magnus Magnusson on "Rum: Nature's Island” Tue. 2nd Dec at 7pm.

Tickets Free.

Hugh Johnson wine tasting

at the Balmoral Hotel. Thu. 4th Dec at 7pm Tickets £15 including wine and a copy of "The Pocket Wine Book 1998" worth £8.99

104 THE LIST 2i lIov—d Dec 1997

British society's problems. Kevin

that far from providing a solution, -‘ prohibition in general - and the hysteria

Drugs And The Party Line ; Kevin Williamson (Rebel Inc. £6.99)

****

There is no denying that the misuse of

we,”

legal and illicit drugs is at the top of

Williamson's contention is that in order to tackle the problem we have to understand why that should be when, 50 years after its start and despite billions of pounds' investment. the war on drugs has not been won. He argues

whipped up by the Scotland Against Drugs campaign in particular - have only exacerbated the problem.

The drugs debate needs books like this - it is well informed, accessible and

5 for the most part intelligently argued. Although there are odd bits of hasty

writing and dodgy logic, it is refreshingly current. Williamson's arguments for

harm reduction and the inclusion of alcohol and tobacco with the ‘big six’

illicit drugs are strong and will be easily comprehensible to most readers. The . case for decriminalisation and eventual legalisation of all presently illegal

5 drugs, particularly heroin, will receive less support. even if they are no less

~ cogently argued. But such contentious topics must be included on the agenda

if the debate over recreational drug use is to make any headway. (TD)

' Laverty will explore some of the themes in his latest Booker Prize shortlisted novel Grace Notes.

Charles MacLean Tue 25 Nov. 6.30pm.

John Smiths. 57 St Vincent Street. 221

7472. Whisky tastings with the author of

Molt Whisky (Mitchell Beazley £25).

Beryl Bainbridge Tue 25 Nov. 7pm. £2.

Waterstone’s. 153—157 Sauchiehall

Street. 332 9105. Bainbridge will read

and sign copies of Every Man For

1 Hintst'lj‘lAbacus £6.99) which won her

the 1996 Whitbread Novel OfThe Year.

Dilys Rose Tue 25 Nov. 8.30pm. Clutha

Vaults. 167 Stockwell Street. 552 7520. A

talk and reading by this award-winning

fiction writer and oet.

The Legacy Of A exander 'Greek' Thomson Wed 26 Nov. 6pm. £2. Waterstone‘s. 153—157 Sauchiehall

Street. 332 9105. See under Lectures & Events in Art listings.

: Magnus Magnusson Wed 26 Nov.

6.30pm. John Smith‘s. 57 St Vincent

Street. 221 7472. Magnusson will talk

about his new book Rum: Nature 's Islam!

(Luath Press. £7.95).

20th Century Classical Music Evening

Wed 26 Nov. 8pm. £2. Waterstone's. 153—157 Sauchiehall Street. 332 9105.

Authors Jack Lawson and Conrad

Wilson. front Phaidon's 20th Century

Composers series. will talk about Carl

Nielsen and Giacomo Puccini

respectively. followed by a recital of

sortie of the composers' work.

India: A Real Traveller's Destination? Thu 27 Nov. 7pm. £2. Waterstone's. 153—157 Sauchiehall Street. 332 9105. The author of Footprint India Hunt/book (Footprint £16.99) will give a talk based on his book.

genres of adult and children’s fiction to all our detriment. On a whimsical tip, The Zig Zag Kid is slightly endearing. In every other respect, it's a puny ambassador for Israeli literature. (OM)

PAPERBACK REPRINTS Don't Ask Me Why

Tania Kindersley (Sceptre £6.99)

s s it use

Another fine slice of post-adolescent angst from 30-year-old Kindersley. This time, the dominant theme is of friendships place in a world of new experiences. Hard-done-by Ash meets the charmed Virge at Oxford in the mid-80$ Quickly inseparable, their perfect partnership is tested when graduation (and the real world) moves the goal posts. (SM)

David Bowie: Living On The Brink

George Tremlett (arrow £6.99) at: it Touted on the premise that BOWie's

calculated manipulation of the media has perpetuated a myth around the man, Tremlett claims unique inSight through their personal relationship. Unfortunately, their matey days would appear to be over, as this unauthorised biography concentrates on the early days which, while they are interesting, still leaves a lot of loose ends. (SM)

Ian Stewart Fri 29 Nov, 7pm. £2. Waterstone‘s. 153—157 Sauchiehall Street. 332 9105. The popular scientist will give a lecture based on his latest book (co-written with Jack Cohen) entitled l-‘ignu'nts ()j'Reulitv The Evolution ()f'l'lte Curious Mind (Cambrid e £16.95).

The Sun ay Rhymes Sun 30 Nov. 3—5pm. Brel. 39 Ashton Lane. 342 4966. Viv Gee hosts an afternoon of poetry. with special guests Liz. Lochhead and Rab Fulton.

; Marion Sinclair On Writing Mon I Dec. 8pm. £2. Waterstone's. 153—157 Sauchiehall Street. 332 9105. Sinclair will talk about her time at Polygon and the role of the publisher in terms of

commissioning. editing and promoting

REVIEWERS THIS ISSUE: Roddy Lumsden, Susan Mackenzie, Deirdre Molloy, Peter Ross

Glasgow

Val McDermid and Christopher Brookmyre Fri 21 Nov. 7pm. £2. Waterstone‘s. 153—157 Sauchiehall Street. 332 9105. Scottish crime writers Val McDermid and Christopher Brookmyre will read from and talk about

their latest books The Wire In The I Blood ( HarperCollins £16.99) and The STAR RATINGS 1 Country ()fT/lt’ Blint/ (Little. Brown * * * * * Unm'ssable ,1 £75.99) respective/ti". * * * * very gQOdh 1 Bernard Mac Laverty On Writing Mon * myth ‘3 Srm

24 Nov. 8pm. £2. Waterstone's. 153—157 * Yggyeaggegggamed ; Sauchiehall Street. 332 (nos. Mac l