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Books
Reviews
LITERARY TALE
JOHN BANVILLE The Sea (Picador) O i
This self-consciously literary offering from the widely-acclaimed veteran lrish author has Booker nomination written all over it. But that doesn't stop it from being a wholly unthrilling 250-page festival of middle-class drudgery from start to finish. John Banville's strong point — like Martin Amis and others to whom he is often compared —- is meant to be his sensual prose. but far from finding it lyrical and compelling. this reviewer felt it was showy and irritating, and more often than not distracting to the point of hair-pulling irritation.
John
Banvillc
The plot. if it can be called that. concerns an elderly man struggling with recent loss and distant tragedy as he returns to the holiday village of his childhood to reminisce. And that's it. The narrator is mildly unpleasant without being out-and-Out hateful, the other characters have no depth whatsoever, and the whole thing dissolves into the symbolic sea of the title long before the end. (Doug Johnstone)
SOCIAL DRAMA NICK BROOKS My Name Is Denise Forrester
(Weidenfeld & Nicolsonl .0
Denise Forrester is a lonely. misunderstood child. struggling with playground bullies and a difficult. if amusingly eccentric. home life. It's a familiar scenario with the potential both for comedy and poignancy. but Nick Brooks appears so snuttevi with
his own wordiness that I frequently wished I could send him to the nearest branch of Over- Writers Anonymous.
Cut through the verbosity and it's possible to see the hardship Denise suffers. but it‘s not easy to have much sympathy for someone so determinedly dysfunctional and who. despite allegedly hating her tovinentors. goes out of her way to retain her status as a weird child. As a debut novel. it is not without merit. Brooks' dialogue is well written and he occasionally gives his language a playful twist. His mistake is cramming in every literary device he can think of with the result winding up a mess when it cOiild so easily have been unusual and Quirky. (Katie GOLild)
HlSlORlCAl. FANIASY RODRIGO FRESAN
Kensington Gardens (Faber) 0000
Delivered as a monologue from tortured children's author Peter Hook to the actor enlisted by Hollywood to play his series' protagonist. Rodrigo Fresan's psychedelic tour de force interweaves a childhood lost amongst the free-spirited glitterati of London‘s swinging 60s and a lifelong obsession with the life. times and legacy of JM
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30 THE LIST 2'. .i-ii .1A.g2/"’2"~
Are these the biggest
geeks of all time?
SOCIAL HISTORY NEIL FEINEMAN Geek Chic
(Thames & Hudson) 0...
During the opening episode of Extras, Ricky Gervais' hapless actor character hurls the ultimate term of abuse at Ben Stiller, who is directing a tense, humanitarian drama. When faced with the ‘nerd’ insult, Stiller reels off the impressive opening weekend box office figures to his name and the significant number of women he’s had intimate relations with, albeit only in the movies. Further proof, as though it were needed, that the geek-nerd
now rules the world.
This lushly produced history of the geek by Neil Feineman (what a geeky name, eh?) pinpoints the comics, films, gadgets, foods, fashion items and pop stars that have turned the archetypal losers into the undisputed champions of the world. The hailing of Woody Allen, Bill Gates and Elvis Costello may suggest that only speccy types have the right to enter the temple of geekdom, but no, Andy Kaufman, Brian Eno, the Star Wars crew
and Aristotle are all honorary members of the club.
Of course, the rise of the geek is inextricably linked with our dependency on technology, so tribute is paid to everything from the printing press to the i-Pod. One of Feineman’s hopes for the future is that the geek world may yet develop to move away from its male bunker, adding in more female icons to join Lisa Simpson, Dana Scully, the Ghost World gals and that lady robot from Metropolis. And just in case you’re interested, Italian geek Salvino D’Armate invented the humble spectacles in 1284.
(Brian Donaldson)
Barrie. While Hook's musings on the nature of childhood are deep and fascinating. it's more about literature and culture. concepts introduced in the Victorian age and since left unchecked.
The exhaustive retelling of the life of Barrie. as with the truncated and grandiose style adopted by the authorls). may seem laboured and speculative at times. but both serve a purpose and offer a timely commentary on today's obsession with the inner child. Fresan's first novel to be translated into English, Ker isi/ igton Gardens is a sprawling yet lucid trip that. while keeping its ghosts at bay. intermittently lets the veil slip. threatening something dark and revelatory ahead.
(Mark EdiiitiiidSOii)
ENSEMBLE DRAMA SIMONETTA AGNELLO HORNBY
The Almond Picker (Viking) Co
This book opens with the death of tvlennulaia. the almond picker of the title. in the sleepy 60s Sicilian town of Roccacolomba. Its residents are obsessed with class distinctiOns and gossip. and when a mafioso honours the the bafflingly wealthy servant Mennulara at her funeral. tongues stait wagging. With the Alfallipe family squabbling over her legacy. even more gossip Spreads. and the author slowly unpicks the myth surrounding the dead woman. Simonetta Agnello Hornby (no relation. surely?) sets about doing this through a panoply of characters
although. sadly. they are mostly drawn from cliche. and there is very little to hold the attention until about two thirds through when a COuple of quiet revelations set the plot rolling properly. While Mennulara herself is an intriguing creation. too many of the other characters (and the image of conservative Sicily in the 19608 for that matter) are irritatineg self—serving. self important or simply too nasty to care much about. (Doug Johnstooe)
ALSO PUBLISHED
Dr Linda Papadopouloo The Man Manual Subtitled: 'Why men behave the way they do and what it all means.’ Wonder what would happen if a bloke wrote a similar book but, you know, the other way round? There would be merry hell. I reckon. Hodder Mob/us.
JK Rowling Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince Quite popular with the young 'uns. we hear. Bloomsbury.
Pablo Neruda Fully Empowered Lisa Simpson's number one poet is remembered in his centenary with this republication of his own favourite selection of verse. Souvenir Press.
Miranda Glover Masterpiece A debut novel set in the modern art world about how women can be empowered rather than undermined by success and recognition. Bantam Press.
George Pendle Strange Angel Subtitled: ‘The otherworldly life of rocket scientist John Whiteside Parsons (1914—1952).' Clearly a story that deserves to be told. And Ray Bradbury agrees. He loves it. Weldenfe/d & Nico/son.
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