BUASI-NOVEL Bech At Bay
, John Updike 2 (Hamish Hamilton £16.99) a»
Cyanide poisoning, asphyxiation and death by subliminal computer
messages - these are just some of the methods by which 'semi- obscure American novelist' Henry
Bech executes his critics. Bech At Bay is the third
3 instalment of the fictional
author’s biography, and is divided into five chapters. each detailing a different period of his later life. Existential angst and rampant horniness are the major themes that run throughout but in addition, law, economics, violence, age and, of course, the literary world are all explored.
The wonderful thing about fictional universes is that anything is possible.
U P D I K E Fiii‘ciii {a Iii-n ' ’ u ., _. _,,'
Bech At Bay: poor execution
Hence,'a 74-year-old author can take a 26-year-old computer wizard as a lover and together they can rub out his critics in a Natural Born Killers- style rampage. The same author can also father a child by this woman, become president of a distinguished literary organisation and then go
on to win the Nobel prize.
There is no doubt that Updike knows how to have fun with his work, but Bech At Bay has a certain aftertaste of self-indulgence that somehow detracts from his talent. Of course, all fiction contains elements of the author living out his fantasies through the written
word, but for a writer of Updike’s calibre to limit these fantasies to sexual conquests with young, nubile women and winning his profession's highest accolade seems somewhat of a waste. Go on Updike/Bech - do your worst. (Kirsty Knaggs)
characters in a way guaranteed to make the Late Review brigade chuckle knowingly
All pretension aside, any book relies
on generating eiripathy for the
; protagonists, and Fair Exchange
, manages this comfortably. Jemima,
‘ L0iiise and Annette are believany flesh and blood, and their problems of
infatuation, adultery and unwanted
5 pregnancy are presented in a way that
is both timeless and fresh (RF)
CRIME FICTION
f Southern Cross
Patricia Cornwell (Little, Brown
; £16.99)
After six crime novels featuring Kay
Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell departed from her set formula with Hornet’s Nest, introducing readers to the world of the Charlotte Police Department
, The fans remained loyal and the book
topped the charts In the inevitable seguel, Hornet's Nest's three main characters are relocated to the author's more familiar stomping ground of Richmond, Virginia, where their main adversary is a Juvenile psyc hopath Of course they also have to cope with their indiVidual neuroses and insecurities Angst-ridden heroescombating an evil foe it's textbook Cornwell stuff, but this is where the similarity to her early work ends Gone are the subtle, complex charac terisations and strong 3 heroines Cornwell even resorts to a Lassie-esgue personification of Deputy Virginia West's bet (at, who can dial the phone to aid her owner's failing love-life Her rec urring position at the
top of the best-seller list is secured but,
like John Grisham, it's a case of more ’iuantny, less guaiity ITO)
NARRATIVE HISTORY
f Son Of The Morning
Star
Evan S. Connell (Pimlico £12.50)
A A'fi'fl *
In 1876, General Custer led the tiny
Seventh Cavalry against an American Indian force of 20,000 camped near
the Little Bighorn river While pride
may come before a fall, in Custer's case Q it came before a scalping and an
eternal place in the American psyche Our macabre fascination with the
3 massacre and the arrant arrogance of Custer's act is dissected in Connell's
hugely informative and atmospheric accoont
The writer's main strength is that he composes With the verve of an accomplished novelist, attacking the telling detail or phrase like a Sioux brave getting laid into a bluecoat Packed full of investigation, from the psychology of Custer to the fate of his horse and why it is better to fight Indians in the rain, Son Of The Morning Star is a compulsive read which brings the savagery and tragedy of the era spinning vividly into life Read it and weep (CD)
REVIEWERS THIS ISSUE: Thom Dibdin, Brian Donaldson, Clark
Dunn, Rodger Evans, Miles Fielder, Rob Fraser, Kirsty Knaggs, Tessa Qtiinn, May Tyler
i STAR RATINGS
* a: w it a» Outstanding
s ,4. ii 2- Recommended ,c 1* a Worth a try ; y i- So-so
it P00r
Watcrstonc’s Edinburgh
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WEST END READING GROUPS
We are intending to set up a number of reading groups and would like you to come and vote for the sort of groups yOu want If you are unable to attend then write to Megan Campbell at the West End Branch.
WRITING GROUPS
We are also interested in setting up a Writers Group If you are interested please write to Matthew Perren at the West End Branch before 20th February.
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)l Jan-«'1 let) 1999 THE LIST 99