‘THERE'S POTENTIAL FOR HEROISM IN AN ORDINARY EAST KILBRIDE GRANNY'
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A fruitless trip to the cinema inspired CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE’s latest feelgood drama. Doug Johnstone wonders how he makes it all look so easy.
hristopher Brookmyre knows the Value ol‘ an
eye-catching title. His latest noy'el this ninth in
as many years) has probably" the best natne yet: All Fun and (fumes ('ntil Some/truly loses (HI l'fy't'. ;\nd given the author‘s tendencies towards gruesome torture and death (in his noy'els. anyway). it comes as a wee surprise to lind that no one actually becomes berelt ol a peeper in the book. Instead we get a rollicking. big. dal't rollercoaster thriller of a book. dealing with espionage. the arms industry. millionaires. drug dealers. secret underground bunkers and. ahem. a 46-year-old liast Kilbride granny in the ball-busting lead role.
"l‘he idea goes back sey'eral years] says Brookmyre. chttckling. ‘My' wife and I went to see one of the Pierce Brosnan Bond moy'ies and. em. it wottld be euphemistic to say“ that we shared our dissatislaction with it. My wile suggested creating a female James Bond character. but rather than just haying a female secret agent l decided to make the character as unglamorous as possible. illustrating the potential for heroism in someone like an ordinary liast Kilbride granny.‘
Many of Brookmyre‘s books contain ordinary characters placed in extraordinary circumstances who heroicall)’ rise to the occasion. and .‘Ill I’tm and (James .
. seems to be the distillation of that ethos. l‘or
Brookmyre it’s simply more interesting to write about characters in this way. ‘There is a recurring theme in my work ot‘ people who haye been yery underestimated and oy'erlooked.‘ he says. ‘lt' you w rite abottt a higth trained person that belongs in the world ot~ secret agents. then readers are one step remoyed from it. It‘s more e\citing if you can make the reader belieye it's a person just like
them that it's happening to. because then they think about how they would react in that situation. lt enhances the sense ol‘ escapism.‘
Brookmyre's lictiott is unashamedly populist. lcclgootl and escapist. something that helps it lily oll the shelycs. bttt which also attracts a remarkable leyel ol~ snootincss l'rom the literary pages ol‘ the country 's newspapers. which seem to regard his writing as somehow beneath contempt. Needless to say. Brookmyre couldn't giy e a toss. and eyen takes the piss out ot the situation on his website. ‘I tend to get my worst reyiews trom the Scottish broadsheet tll'l\ tlcsks. I think these pcoplc al'c thinking: “I could be doing this. why isn‘t it me?" .\lso. I‘m probably not pretentious enough. ll you make yourscll seem alool‘ and mysterious. it makes it easier for l‘olk to belieye you'ye got some kind ol magic talent. ()ne ol the things I do is I tlittkc it look czlsy. but it's a lot harder to make it look easy than people think.‘
(‘urrently linishing till his nest book t‘a \ery modest small town tnurder mystery‘l and abottt to start an original screenplay t'lots ol' people getting killed in the middle ol‘ nowhere in the north of Scotland' l. things are btisy as ey er l‘or Brookmyre. but the prolific writer wouldn‘t haye it any other way. ‘I can‘t imagine keeping mysell occupied without all the work.‘ he says. "l‘hankt‘ully. somehow the year does get swallowed up.‘
All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye is published by Little, Brown on Thu 5 May. Christopher Brookmyre reads from the book at The Hub, Edinburgh, Wed 4 May; Waterstone’s, Glasgow, Thu 5 May.
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=E= Christopher Brookmyre Some poll somewhere once dubbed Mr Brookmyre as the 'fourth coolest writer living today'. We're not really about to argue as he launches his new one upon us. See preview. Little, Brown; the Hub, Edinburgh, Wed 4 May; Waterstone's, Glasgow. Thu 5 May.
:2: Louise Dean A stirring tale of life in Belfast during the torrid year of 1979 is the basis for The Human Season. And Louise Dean. who visited the Maze prison for research, delivers gloriously. See review. Scribner.
=2: Shirow Masamune Two Ghost in the Shel/s for the price of one as we get some more manga classics set in a cyborg— led Tokyo. Digital imagery merges with pen and ink to superb effect. See review. Dark Horse/Titan.
=i: Laura Hird The Born Free author (pictured) hosts a workshop for writers interested in composing tales about being a parent. You don't have to be one to write there. but it might well help. Gorgie City Farm. Edinburgh, Fri 29 Apr.
:24 Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair With the election behind us all and the (38 conference ahead. the times they are a-callin' for more radicalism. And this year's Edinburgh independent Radical Book Fair should provide it with the likes of Tom Leonard, Angus Calder and James Kelman doing their lit bit. Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Thu 12 May.
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