, find a far more painful and destructive
' on events from that day but on the . changing face of football generally. He
5 stadia, the struggle of the lower league
Jesus Christ — man or myth? Freke and Gandy believe the latter, and in this
weighty yet accessible tome, they set
1 out to prove it. The Jesus Mysteries
original sources, which the authors
similarity: the three wise men, virgin
Pagan myth of Osiris-Dionysus, who
books
reviews
FOOTBALL NON-FICTION Parklife
Nick Varley (Michael Joseph £9.99) * ‘k * t
The publication of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch led to an opening of the footballing literary floodgates, and since then, the memoirs of every Saturday afternoon dramatist have been well documented.
Emotions, however, have rarely been conveyed so intensely as within Nick Varley’s recollection of his experiences of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. He recalls how, as a naive student journalist, he used his initiative to go to Sheffield to report another case of premier league hooliganism only to
event in progress. This insightful book focuses not only
looks at the downsides to growing commercialism, the media, changing
sides, hooliganism and concludes that in the modern game, the football doesn't seem to matter as much anymore. (MR)
PHILOSOPHY/RELIGION
The Jesus Mysteries
Timothy Freke & Peter Gandy (Thorsons £18.99) shirt
traces the traditional symbols and stories of Christianity back to their
believe belong in Paganism. The comparisons laid out between the two religions are startling in their
birth, crucifixion, resurrection. Even the traditional dates associated with Christianity can all be found in the
was also the son of God. Exhaustively researched, it is hard to
dismiss this as yet another attention-
seeking popular non-fiction work with
little in the way of substantial content.
However, it does raise more questions than it answers so don't be surprised if a sequel is already in the making. Jesus Christ — The Return!, perhaps. (KK)
MAORI FICTION l Baby No-Eyes Each Grace (The Women’s Press
PAT RICLA
GRACE
'lruh, mulh. uli ("bis \llhlllnr.- man-mu
Four years before he was born, Tawera’s mother lost her first, unborn,
i child in a car crash. When his older
sister's body was finally returned, after being mislaid in a rural New Zealand hospital, its eyes were missing, rendering it too late to perform the normal Maori burial ceremonies. From the moment of his birth, Tawera’s sister exists in his head and demands to see the story of life unravel through his eyes.
Stories are what holds this astonishing novel together. Those of Tawera, his mother, grandmother and a collection of relatives who reflect Maori life over a centuw. Stories — of land-theft, language, misunderstanding, ritual, naming and reconciliation — which Grace tells with such a simple, naivete of style that they become breathtaking in their charm.
Big issues may be aired and the narrative drive does wander slightly, but Grace never preaches, just draws you closer to her novel’s magnificent
- and innater humane heart. (TD)
CONTEMPORARY THRILLER Your Blue-Eyed Boy
Helen Dunmore (Penguin £6.99)
* t * it
When her husband's business goes bankrupt, Simone gives up her London legal practice to take a high paid, high pressure position as a district judge. Moving to the country with their two boys, the couple attempt to retrieve their life from near-financial ruin. Then a mysterious and threatening letter arrives from Simone's former lover, an American Vietnam vet.
It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller (Cape Fear //?), but Dunmore's fifth novel really gets inside the head of her protagonist — something films regularly fail to do. Simone's private thoughts in court, at home, her memories of her London life and her previous one in upstate New York serve to bring the character to life.
Dunmore’s writing, which has a wonderful stripped-down, poetic
' simplicity, and a thought-provoking
subtext — the emasculation of men and empowerment of women — makes for a very fine read. (MF)
Continued over page
WATERSTONE'S
Authors at Sauchiehall Street in May
MON 1 7 THE WRITE MAY Scotland’s first Student Journalist of the Year Competition. Over twelve colleges participated this year so come along and lend your support. WED ()nc ()ftke leading Scottish poets 1 9 and authors ofliisflmeration 7 ANDREW reads from his new novel CC When They )3 Lay Bare A powerful mystery ofdark and extraordinary beauty. (Faber and Faber £16.99) Tickets L?2/£.1 conc. ( reticent/11216 against the price oft/Jr 1700/: ) ED 2V 6 DENISE _l\/l_AY_ MINA 7.30 PM
reads from
“Garnethill”
Winner of the John Creasy award for best first crime novel.
('l‘ransworld £6.99)
Tickets £2/L31 conc.
(redeemable against the price of the 11001:)
FOR 'l"I(IKF.TS AND MORE INFORMATION
153—157 Sauchiehall Street
0141 332 9105
13-27 May 1999 THE usr 95