Books
Reviews
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GRANT MORRISON a. ANDY KUBERT
Batman 655 [hi 0..
Scottish writer Grant Morrison seems to be practically running DC these days. it’s all a far cry from when he jumped ship, taking over Marvel's X- Men back in 2001, having done some sterling work with DC’s premiere superhero team The JLA, though they wouldn't let him ‘drive the family car’, as he puts it, with his plans to take over Superman. Fast forward to 2006 and he’s got his own All Star Superman series, is one of the creative forces behind 52 (the most ambitious project DC has ever launched) and has just taken over writing duties on a Batman monthly: three of the biggest gigs in the world of comics. No one would have guessed that the author who brought us Zenith, The lnvisibles and reinvented Animal Man would be in such a key position at such a traditional institution as DC. And good on them for having the balls to back one of the most intelligent and
constantly invigorating writers in the medium.
So how is his first Batman issue? By Morrison’s usual standards, it’s fairly
conservative with solid writing but none of the leftfield leaps he's become so famous for. The twist here is that Morrison is concentrating on the Bruce Wayne character that has been neglected over the years, the protagonist leaving Batman behind and travelling to London to reacquaint himself with the lifestyle of an international playboy. The closing panels should have you hooked for the long run. (Henry Northmore)
CULTURAL ESSAY GREIL MARCUS The Shape of
Things to Come (Faberl .0
To take on cultural commentator Greil Marcus' study of America's flawed promise to itself (the now notably sticky question of universal libertyl is a contract not to be undertaken lightly. Firstly through the speeches of its founding fathers. later in the films Of David Lynch. and With the occaSional reference to Marcus favourite. Bob Dylan. The Shape
of Things to Come is a book of exhaustive footnotes and impossiny long sentences. Such is Marcus' reluctance to
14 THE LIST 17—24 Aug 2006
omit any related trivia. their aCCumulation serves the causality of his argument.
The author examines his subjects in such frustrating detail that. while his passion is infectious and absolute. newcomers to the entire works of Philip Roth or Dos Passes can feel overwhelmed or left out in the cold. Thus. for the initiated. Greil Marcus' observations are compelling and so thoroughly defended to be undeniable. but make for a begrudging acceptance of a
SW} ".led an: igierliai‘s self- cc,ngiatulator. truth ’Maik Edmundsoni
LITERARY DRAMA RON BUTLIN Belonging
ISerpents Tail) .0...
On the cover of this slim but extraordinarin powerful novel. Iain Banks. Irvine Welsh. Ian Rankin and Alan ‘r'Varnei all rave about Ron Butlin. and on this evidence it's clear why. Belong/rig is a remarkable book. a seemingly simple tale of wanderlust told in preCIse. sparing prose. yet With a devastating emotional impact to rival much weightier and more—lauded tomes.
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Jack McCall is a Scottish drifter, working as a winter handyman in an Alpine ski resert when one night he encounters a terrible accident. From there the action moves to Paris and on to a hippy commune in the Spanish wilderness with Butlin expertly bringing his landscapes alive with incredible vivacity. while also choreographing his small cast of characters as their lives descend into a terrible psychological heart of darkness which is as terrifying as it is compelling. Harrowingly honest on the subject of dysfunctional relationships and damaged SOUIS. this is a truly moving piece of work. (Doug Johnstone)
TRUE CRIME KENNETH WALTON
Fake: Forgery, Lies, and eBay
(Weidenfeld & Nicolsonl .0
Kenneth Walton is sorry: to his friends. parents. ex-girlfriends. and the people he conned into buying
forged paintings on eBay. ‘l've met my inner con man,‘ he says. ‘and I can never again pretend I don't know him.' This inner con man tells the story of Walton's venture into internet fraud in which he went from a middling lawyer to an ersatz art dealer. forging artists' Signatures and palming off junkshop paintings as masterpieces. He worked With other sellers. setting up take eBay IDs and making shill bids on each other's items to inflate prices. until he got caught selling a forgery for $135,858 and was arrested.
The book is entertaining enough — although it could do with being 100 pages shorter — but Walton is iust too apologetic. We all know stealing is wrong; an unrepentant fraudster's take on it could have been far more interesting, especially now he's presumably making a profit selling the story. (Katie Gould)
COMING OF AGE DRAMA BELINDA BURNS
The Dark Part of Me
(Atlantic) 00..
Apparently pitched somewhat awkwardly towards a certain category of erotic fiction buyer. this debut novel by Australian writer Belinda Burns is certainly more literate than its blurb suggests. In truth. however. it's perched between two stools. and may find itself too wordy for consumers of more racy material. yet too sensationalist for old- fashioned readers.
Set in a vividly- described Brisbane. the novel paints a convincing portrait of a rootless teenage girl
David Marvellck Beyond Glory Recalling the 19303 b0xing bouts between Max Schmelling and Joe Louis which came to symbolise the battle between Nazi Germany and the Allies. Bloomsbury. Berle surfing Wsibi'lity It‘s 1952 and an Ml5 outcast has stumbled upon a secret that will change the world. HarperCo/Iins. Charles McKean Battle for the North Subtitled: ‘The Tay and Forth Bridges and the 19th Century Railway Wars.’ Granta. Andrew Patrizio It Down Kemp (Eda) Anatomy Acts To accompany the City Art Centre exhibition of the same name. this explores the significance of anatomy in Scottish life over the last 500 years. Bidinn.
John Updlko Terrorist An alienated teenager finds solace in his religion in the debris of a squalid New Jersey upbringing. Hamish Hamilton.
named Rose. and her awakening to the world. Naturally for a teenager. this largely involves sex and th0ughts of it. but Burns relates Roses experiences (male and female) with perhaps more eroticism and regularity than most will remember from their younger years. She's too canny to portray everything as a bed of roses. and some readers might be titillated in places. but many passages feel just a little too exploitative to really engage with. (DaVid Pollock)