‘THEY'RE LIKE STAMP COLLECTORS MEETING UP TO COMPARE
, .. . .Y H. ‘
THE BEsT'Bboks,ic-oilics SEVENTS
PENNY BLACKS'
Lord of the swings
Throwing your keys into the middle of the room may be an outdated cliche but ‘wife swapping’ is here to stay. Ewan Morrison explains the rules to Brian Donaldson
arly on in Strung. messed-up protagonist David is tired via email from within his own office. This would be bad enough were it not sent in the l‘ont which David himself had created to somehow soften the blow for those at the end til at sacking. But surely that kind ol‘ thing wouldn't go on in the real world'.’ Well. yes it does. and it happened to the novel‘s author liwan Morrison. '11 seems ruthless and surreal but it happened to tne in New York] he recalls. ‘I was lired by an email sent by someone sitting three desks away. It was all Kalkaesque and hilarious.' Both words are an apt description ol‘ Strung (the rights ol‘ which have jttst been bought by Young Allum director David Mackenzie). the debut lull-length tale
which follows Morrison’s 2005 acclaimed book of
short stories. The Lust Book You Raul which led to him being dubbed a ‘Scottish purveyor of erudite l‘ilth.~ The novel is set among the swinging community of (ilasgow‘s West lind. centring on David and Alice. He is separated l‘rom his wile and daughter alter an inadvisable romp with a prostitute which has since led to crippling impotence. llis partner Alice is haunted by past abortions while struggling to get anywhere with her art career. As his obsession with swingers‘ websites escalates. they are plunged into the hill reality ol' this erotic netherworld.
According to Morrison (who. like any writer worth their salt. has certainly done his research) the numbers of l‘olk indulging in this game might astonish people. "I‘here are two websites that quote a ligure ol' 7()().()()() people who are swinging in the [K thouin it‘s hard to pin down who is just peeking.
30 THE LIST ‘1‘ In Ai'
who‘s trying. who‘s actually shagging. l have swinging friends in Glasgow and they say there’s maybe 500 couples who do this every weekend plus the tens ol' thousands who are dabbling and the many more who are jttst in it for virtual sex or flirting and then not showing up.‘
This sub-culture can be traced back to the Second World War when American soldiers allowed their best friends to service their wives in order to keep them
‘l'aithl'ul‘. while it really took oil in the decade ol'
sexual liberation and throwing your keys into the middle of the room. Not for nothing was it known as the swinging (ills. But why are people up to all sorts now‘.’ ‘I think they‘re tired or scared oi or bored with what they see as monogamy.’ Morrison reckons. "they are trying to inject some ol' the excitement they once felt about sex back into their lives btit also it‘s a social thing. A lot ol‘ swingers just go otit l‘or pix/a with other couples and go to the movies and maybe they ’ll go back to someonc‘s place and maybe they won’t.’
While the sex in the book is l‘rankly depicted it doesn't actually feel like a book about sex. It's more about people burdened by the heavy weights oi economics. history and (sexual) politics while Morrison himsell' views the processes ol‘ swinging as almost banal. ‘Swingcrs are part ol‘ a secret society. They‘re like stamp collectors meeting tip at the weekend to compare Penny Blacks.’
Swung is out now published by Jonathan Cape; Ewan Morrison is at Waterstone’s, Edinburgh, Thu 19 Apr.
>l< Paulo Coelho The acclaimed Brazilian writer ventures upon our shores to chat about his work in general and his 2006 publications. in particular. Best do your homework on The Witch of Portobe/lo and Like the Flowing River before popping along. SECC, Glasgow, Wed 18 Apr.
>£< AL Kennedy The multi- talented Dundonian is still doing her thing on the stand- up stages of the nation, but literary fans breathed a sigh of pleasure when her new book. Day, came out. Hear her talk about this story of a Second World War veteran struggling to cope with life on ciwy street. Waterstone's, Edinburgh, Thu 79 Apr.
>i< Ewan Morrison See preview, left. Jonathan Cape; Waterstone’s, Edinburgh, Thu 79 Apr.
>l< Janice Galloway It’s always a treat when Galloway brings out a new book. Unfortunately, we're still waiting for the next one, as here she is discussing her work from 2002‘s Clara back. Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Tue 24 Apr.
>i< Jonny Glynn A dark. dark tale of a man with one week to live and determined to make life hell for the rest of us on his way down. The Seven Days of Peter Crumb heralds a debut from a brave new voice. See review. page 31. Portobello.
=2: Bryan Talbot The legendary comics guy brings us Alice in Sunder/and, which rather wonderfully merges surrealism with the gritty reality of England’s north east. Jonathan Cape.
=l< Mlke Carey 8. Glenn Fabry These chaps give us a geeky but great adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. the sinister tale of a hidden bit of London. Titan.