sl I \’ll l).\\’ll s
-
llll iiiMiN‘l HI HUH’
comrade and /ealot Paul Dahl. When the next generation uncover the horrifying past. can they forgive?
The book moves back and forth from the disintegration of the Third Reich in 19/15 to a Germany fifteen years later. where a now— waning British [impire is dominant. As you'd expect from a novel of this kind. strong and dark emotions are explored. What is unusual. however. is that questions of the guilt on both sides are raised. The cruelty of human nature is pitted against love. strength and a desire to move on. (Victoria Ooochl
(ZHIMl lllltll l l'li JAMES PATTERSON Tst To Die (Headline S‘llSHQl 0.0
’l hink of a gourmet. tougher than she looks or feels inside. wrth a household pet and plenty of female friends to support her. She's someone who has tragedy in her past and is bereft of a long-term partner. and you've got the profile of practically every female detective in modern crime fiction. James Patterson knows every cliche in the book and. with Inspector Lindsey Boxer. he demonstrates exactly how to use them to startling effect.
This is certainly page— turning stuff. It's written in brief stabs (12? chapters in 343 pagesl which keep you hooked on the plot as it twrsts around the brutal slaying of a series of honeymooning cOuples on their wedding nights. And Patterson displays a particular knowledge of how to keep the twrsts coming too. But when all the red herrings are gone and the case is
solved. you can't help but want something a little less obvious. iThom Dibdini
POP l ici lON LOUISE VOSS
To Be Someone (Bantam Press $12.99 .0.
Helena Nicholls is a highly successful radio DJ and ex-member of successful pop hand Blue ldea. A reunion wrth her hand cohort at a music awards ceremony leads to a horrific accident that finds Helena severely |ll]llT(3(l. An extended stay in hospital and forced SOJOllili from work lead Helena to compile her life story through her
To Be Someone LOUISE VOSS
pop career and beyond.
Willi many years experience of the music industry. Louise Voss is well-versed in the technicalities of her field but no matter how accurate they might be. it still feels a little flat. So much of what is written seems all too familiar. and at times. it strays perilously close to heavy-handed cliche. Only Voss' dry sense of humour saves it. Be thankful that this is no trainspotter novel and it is possible to be entertained wrthout being bogged down by musical references. (Mark Robertson)
HISTORICAL COMEDY MATTHEW KNEALE
English Passengers (Penguin 536.99l .00..
Whitbi‘ead winner. Booker nominee: it's easy to be put off by such hype. But English Passengers is that rare animal. a novel that can actually deliver on it. Matthew Kneale's work takes a Manx-smuggling crew. gives them cargo Of a batty anti-DarWinist churchman and an unpleasant raCial supremaCist. and doses them liberally wrth bad
luck. before dumi, " ; them o' the f;()l(,"liif_:(l sle :2‘ Tasmania.
This comedy is ltflllflgl‘, offset ‘.'.’|lll historical detail. and with the numb rage of an Aborigine who has seen his MW)", of life eradicated by “(:i\.rilisirig’ influences. Despite havrng twenty different narrator‘s and a broad scope. it remains coherent and lil'l'lllll‘rll‘, readable throughout. iJames Smartl
RH AilONSlllP COME .l)Y JESSICA ADAMS Tom, Dick And Debbie Harry (Black Swan $13.93” .0
Never fallen in love Willi your husband's best man. had your life saved by the winged spirit of a dead horse. or been pipped to the bedpost by a bisexual drummer? Panic not. Jessica Adams' latest novel serves up a selection of life's more bizarre tWIsts of late, for pure Vicarious enjoyment. Entertainingly. gritty detail and acute observations abound as Tom. Dick. Harry. Bronte and Sarah are all portrayed in their true middle—class Tasmanian glory: theirs appear to be a life of sweaty shirts and chronic insecurity. Sadly, mundane thoughts and cliched metaphors are also rife and the iokes iust aren't really very funny. Maybe. such tedious characters should keep their uninspiring streams of conscrousness to themselves in future. or at least prescribe them as an insomnia cure. (Heather Walmsley)
ALSO PUBLISHED Victor Headley Off Duty (Hodder 5‘ ll). 95),) Metropolitan Yardie gangster tale.
Olivia Goldsmith Bad Boy (HarperCo//rns
£16. 99) Seattle-set romantic comedy. Michael Guinzberg Tor) Of The World. Ma! (Canongafe £9.99) New York art scene satire. Charlotte Church Vorce OfAn Ange/ (Lift/e. Brown £7 7.1.99) Showa veteran tells of her long. hard life in the public eye.
Chris Brown Bower rJo/in B/ake E 75.99; 1970s football. fashion and fighting.
Books
WATERSTONE'S
AUTHOR EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS GLASGOW. ROYAL CONCERT HALL.
Tuesday 17th April at 1pm
SANOI TOKSVIO
'Flying Under Bridges'
One of the finest and feistiest wits of the present day discusses her new novel.
Tickets are available only from the Royal Concert Hall.
Thursday 12th April at 6pm
JAMES ROBERTSON
'The Fanatic'
Local author James Robertson will be reading from and discussing his best- selling first novel.
,_ .r /: . — Tickets free.
iiii 4,;Mroiiilu‘nuiiitu r'f _ ,3
Details of all events at Waterstone's can be found in the listings section.
SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE MONTH
£2 OFF in APRIL 'OAMAOE LAND'
Short stories for the modern age
Ed. Alan Bissett
RRP: £9.99 Waterstone's price: £7.99
Waterstone's Edinburgh:
83 George Street Tel: 0131 225 3436 East End, 13-14 Princes Street Tel: 0131 556 3034 West End, 128 Princes Street Tel: 0131 226 2666
Waterstone's Glasgow:
153-157 Sauchiehall Street Tel: 0141 332 9105 174-176 Argyle St Tel: 0141 248 4814 47 Braehead Shopping Centre Tel: 0141 885 9333
Visit us at www.waterstones.co.uk
12—2‘) Apr 2001 THE LIST 105