books
one." the 'ast taro (enturres should double up as an unexpet ted treat for those gtrlty ()5 morbid fast iriatro': Obtain a working knowledge of gibbets, gallo\.'.s and t"e stal‘old and gas." insights into the may hartgrnart's hazards, sut I‘. as poor guality rope, (ould (ause untold embarrassment to the exet utrorrer
Less hands-on, but probably more ghoulish, rs the real flesh of this text- book style (I()( urnertt \.‘.'I‘~|( h (obsists of
new titles
URBAN THRILLER
Kingdom Gone Frank Lean (William Heinemann £15.99)
lists of babies and the (“"108 for ‘~.'.'ITI(IT they \.‘.ere hung These range from murder to \'~.'rlt'til fire-raising ar‘d l)(‘Si|(TIl't\/, but some of these wrong- (I()'tt(ts are so rhino! they att as a (}"'YT re'rrrr‘der of \.'.'.t‘y (ab'tal purrrshrr‘erit \tas eghtly abolished »\lt(I the fat? that the name of the Fast mart hanged Ilt Stotla'td r‘. T903 ller‘t'y Burnett' is so tiri‘arrnlrar rs eguaily (I'sturbrrtg
Not exa< t y toffee-table material, but str" \.'.orth a l)t.T( he's to those salt" a real blood-lust for life LC
CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED
Love
Lowell A. Sift Vanni (Canongate Books £9.99; fl goes directly to Childline)
arose with 3
‘Sharp ,hip-shootin refreshingly nasty mst’ Arena
No doubt l'arik lea" bedezes he has entered tl‘e dark underbefty of Harm urt'ar‘ tos'.-I"e ‘.'.sth th2s (()ttf(‘lt‘l)()"(llv tI‘r He." set r‘. the ( tty But a handful of ()I)s(*".ttt!()rr‘s, "o "hatter It()‘.'~. astute, does "ot bake a good Var." Nor 's it er‘ough to 't‘erely assetrtifle t."e usual [)l(’-'t7lli(""‘ a! suspe< ts o‘ (labs, (ults, drugs, (ta/y {)()II‘.|( am and standa'd De'tt (ops ti". their .m sunderstood agd'essro" and 'tttsplated sexual ad‘.'a't< es
No, yot. "axe to lane a ’ead < hara< te' \‘.ho Is '.'.eIl-dra‘.'.'i »\'t(T t!‘e ("-a'at ferisatioo o‘ lea'i's private detettze, Dane C mane, Is a short of a (artoor‘ A (ertaio level of beleuab ltty about th > blot IS also a beneft at least terr‘ws of (ause and et't'ett but lapses o‘ (ons sterit y are totaly trrttorgi‘.'able
Lea" has fa: ed to keep up He pate s;r‘<e be r‘g nominated for the C \‘J’A (told Dagger Award in 1997 ill)
H!STORICAL REFERENCE The Encyclopaedia Of Scottish Executions
1750 to 1963
Alex E. Young (Eric Dobby Publishing £14.99)
lr'tes
A rtrrre-ytuir-o'd girl is abando-"ed by he' parents and s-"e is sent to a" orphanage only to be shunned arid
ll(l|( uled by orphans and sta“ It :s the stuft to "rake "eade's \.‘~.’eep, but low, I()\.‘.'(‘II A Srf‘s T964 story, does rr‘ore than 'rte'e’y lttt rte pity
llte a< tuai story :s't't solely 'eiraet ()l‘ they are kept sr'wp‘e and "tatter—ot-tatt Subtle
the unords to' its telling
errtbhasis rs added not t"'oug"‘ loud ‘.'.otds or ex<la."1at'ort rr‘arks but through the 'hte'estr'ig ( tit-outs ob eat "‘ page Illustrator a"d desrg".e' \."arrrt.'s pages are either bughtly
of o sewer EXfl‘lll‘ZOflS
I 750 m I 96.?__ _
tluores<eet or subtle U‘ak (moms and g'ey shades
love is a simple T)()().k ‘.'.i°.lt a simple 'riessage It 's also beauttal llt arr al'riost a‘.'.'l_t‘.'.ard ar‘d rs all the bette' ‘or t SB
REVENGE PSYCHO—DRAIVIA The Salesman Joseph O'Connor (Vintage (.599)
Alex T“. ' n 3 . . . ‘0‘ u” "art .l"l er, bar. sot :a. Itrstory, part
torv‘taritu 'Y‘.("ll()l generallyspeaku‘g,
T sser:‘.:a'l\/ a rete'errte boo-t, this <l"sl‘:r’ The Sales/hart '.'.orks \.‘.el| as all three
attotint of pub'( and prisor‘ liarighgs
84 THE lIST 7 2' '99s:
Sl‘aprrtg iI't' none as a letter ‘.‘."tt(-.". b‘,
ADVERTISING SATIRE Soft Rupert Thomson (Bloomsbury £6.99)
As searing as Rupert Thomson's latest novel is, you can’t help but wonder if he is hoarding a hidden stock of literary firepower which he is, as yet, reluctant to unleash upon us. And his hesitancy in exploring themes of greater scope might be the rogue factor keeping him on the cult periphery rather than propelling him into the big time.
Still, Soft consists of over 300 intelligent and neatly plotted pages underpinned by a truly contemporary British voice. Its stripped-down, incandescent style works brilliantly in this complex and weaving allegory on the
intrusive reach of advertising. Precisely observed trawls through the underbelly of London's East End contrast effectively with a clinical savaging of ad-agency tactics, while wicked twists and persuasive characters keep
the suspense high.
Thomson's ability to unsettle is also formidable, and he shies away from the overt gore-and-torture set-pieces which seem to be increasingly de rigeur in modern fiction. Instead, he lets the reader's imagination follow the implications of the book's central motif — subliminal advertising in the soft drinks industry - to their logical and chilling extension.
The essential cleverness of the novel is the way it defamiliarises our passive participation in the culture of product branding, sounding a cautionary note which never preaches or fragments a strong story. Soft is informed, entertaining and sophisticated, a rare triumvirate indeed, and signals that Thomson is hurtling towards prominence as one of the most adept and original writers working today. Buy this and laugh knowingly at those anti-consumer Sprite ads for the rest of time. (Clark Dunn)
a drst'aug"t ‘atlxer to h.s (o'rtatose daughter g:‘.es ()'( ()t‘tt()' stope to explore a ‘.a"ety of issues, from the et‘et ts o‘ ()I(()lt()'iS’Yt ()tt a ".mrrrage, to the i'vrbatt of bot" the Beaties a"d "eror" ()IT Hub It's youtl‘ le'wort and hid artrte‘, br'rrg a young (oupie together only to' boo/e to dr ‘.e them apart ‘\.'.'I‘r‘e a ge"e'atror‘. on, their daughte' rs b'utalzsed by a sma< k- razaged gang
The (Irartra Irr tl‘. > book stems from the ‘at'ter's eas'ly tr"derstar‘dable desi'e for ‘.’(‘l‘(;(‘(i't((‘, but ‘.'.It("t tI‘-e (<)rtfr(>r‘itatrooal stertes arose, they a'e tttilltl)(‘l(‘(l by ex< essru'e ler‘gtl‘. ar‘d sor'te dodgy psyt hologitat 'tt()ii‘.<TT1()lt That, and a rather obs ous anti-r. lerrtal plot st aside, The Sales/Hart 'e'ritw‘s art .'t\.‘()I‘."lt(; and germ "ely moxrhg read RT
CONTEMPORARY SATIRE Glamorama Bret Faston Ellis (Picador £16.99)
Bret lasto" l L's is ohe ot those \.'..' te's ‘.'.hose :totorrett. is out of all p'opo'tro" to the ba'rrbers of books he at tually sells less lira/r /e!o made ' (it, Amer/(arr l’sf,'( rro 'nade hi'rr "tTd"l()trS, x'nll (yr'a'rrorarrra br:".g hirrt resbett and a "e‘.'. gerreratro't of ‘arts‘ The sI‘ort ar‘s\.‘.ef is ’rto' The ‘rrst th rd o‘ Ola/"orarha is ter~f< 'eadz'tg, alter ‘.‘.h:( h poi'tt, ‘v.‘.'l‘ert it oug“t to take olt, rt betorries il‘i( ohe'th and spra\.'.'riig
Th s 's the story ot' ‘s'lt to' \‘.ard, a super-two lglaeriatfa'wte, '.'.l‘o ‘rhds he'isel‘ (dtt(}I‘T up H‘ the t\.‘.'I:g"t ‘.'.o'.(: of 'rtterriatro'tai tetr<)"sr',t ll‘e ( t:ttr"g
satl'e ob stiper’k rat Nev. York
glamorama
“
(or‘tplete ‘.'.rtl‘ almost e"t re pages o‘ (elebrrty "a'rted'obb hg 's s..'(;r< a“, wet -se, but \it to' e"°.e's t"e t.'t(re-".'.o' d o‘ boobs a"d 'a"so"v "otes tI‘e book's ‘o( as is him”. lflrs I‘as so ‘a' ‘ar ed to estape tl‘e t'ab o‘ 't s os‘." "“a":\. a":: (ii'ar'orae‘a =s 'tot '1 s
ext PR
TREND ANALYSIS Next: The Flow Of The Future
Marian Salzrr‘an Ira '.It.tt.thia (HarnerCollins £14.99)
\'.' ha": (i': st)" or‘te sat: a terattsre, 'ttx"orro\'. "s ‘ tt'o" s yesterday s ltt“.'.‘s \et: boasts a
(it"‘ti "t‘ (tilltit i‘. it" (;("‘t"(ltt‘
k"ox'.:edge about tl‘e 'fl.tt;'e,
dest rib "g rise? as a :)'at t t u'“ 'titl‘e' {Itati sor‘te ‘. sro" of the b'a‘.e "ex‘. world
'he K!‘-t)‘.'.:t‘(t(}t‘ " (t..es’.ro" film‘s Tl‘e