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Reviews
(}()l l l (,’H l) .JUUHNAI ISM CHARLIE BROOKER Dawn of the Dumb (l aber) .0...
Listening to a verbose man rant on and on about the things that irritate him can be a relentless and exhausting chore at times. Put that down in print and those same demented opinions can appear more crafted and viscerally effective with a bit of distancing. Charlie Brooker is one such animal. When BBC4's Screen Wipe terrorises the telly, you are often reaching for every button on your remote which turns things down, but in Dawn of the Dumb, his occasionally irrational fears and madcap lapses in common courtesy
become blisteringly funny.
I dare anyone (other than the victims of his pointed abuse) not to snort out loud at the things he has to say about Justin Timberlake (‘a jumped-up bitch’), Banksy (‘his work looks
l-AMll Y SAGA ELINA HIRVONEN When I Forgot (Portobello) .0.
The first novel by young Norwegian filmmaker and iouinalist Elina Hirvonen is a slim but well-formed volume. At 180 pages it's a day's read. although many of the evocative Situations Hirvonen coniures wrll remain in the mind for a lot longer. Seen from the perspective of a young Helsinki girl named Anna. this is an affecting story abOut mental illness and its often shattering effect on families.
Anna's brother Joona has been unstable since he was young. and
institutionalised since he tried to burn down the family home and started drinking household cleaner. Putting off Visiting him as long as possible. Anna pines for happier times. although her father's inability to understand his son is the most frightening aspect of the story Meanwhile, Anna's seemineg stable American boyfriend Ian slowly reveals his family's similar troubles. and this delicate. almost twee tale offers only a cold sort of comfort. (Daxid Pollock)
COL l l PHD :l‘iS’SNfi‘Stfsou What I Do
(Picador) 0...
I've mostly avoided Jon Ronson in the past. mainly because of an
irrational fear of his ultra-
liberal-looking potato- head. and Witnessing an early Simpering appearance of his on late-night Channel 4. So this book was a
dazzlingly clever to idiots‘), Lisa I'Anson (‘the most patronising person on earth?‘), Chris Moyles (‘only the second most gormless and insufferable prick on Radio 1‘), Shane McGowan (‘whose face resembles a puff pastry model of the moon') and Nicky Campbell (‘ever so slightly creepy’). Oh, and not forgetting his thoughts on Jamie Oliver (‘Sir FIappy-Tongued Bumface‘), Rebecca Loos (‘the woodpecker-faced Posh- botherer'), Jilly Goolden (‘plum-gobbed ghost- train skeleton'), Sandi Thom (‘the musical Antichrist’) and David Dickinson (‘vaguely resembles a retired Thai ladyboy’). These really are just for starters. There’s all the TV programmes he blitzkriegs along the way with splenetic fury and bruising kneejerks. Charlie Brooker is easy to love in print, but not someone you’d want to be caught sharing a sofa with while The Apprentice is on. (Brian Donaldson)
What. I Do
revelation to me. revealing him to be a hilarious and perceptive columnist and an investigative Journalist of real talent. l‘M/iat / [)o starts With a collection of his guiiky columns on everyday (Ilil/‘lllOSS. which read like an extended episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm With Ronson contravening social rules. exposing his pettiness and generally being completeli. riditZulous.
After that come longer pieces which outshine LOuis Theroux. vath Ronso i accurately observrng the madness of Deal Or No Deal and
an Alaskan town ttalled North Pole. where it’s lliffltlH‘, Christmas [)a\, everyday then finally Honson does a powerful and serious expose of tile UK (:redit industry and the motivational gurus behind it. A man of many talents. it transpires, despite that soft putty face.
il)oug .Johnstone.
SPURT l’llUTCX‘iHAl’lli/ REUTERS
Sport in the 21st Century
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Ibrahim Amln The Monster Hunter 's Handbook Subtitled The Ultimate Guide to Saying Mankind from Vampires. /()ltibl€‘.8. Hellhounds and Other Mythical Beasts" this includes a lop Trumps on the weapons which might come in handy should you encounter said creatures. Bloomsbury.
Ricky Tomllnson CHOOISI My Arse Still feeding off his Jim Royle persona. the Scouse wag recalls the boozy legends of Oliver Reed and Richard Burton alongsrde tales of modern day drunken escapades. Little. Brown.
Kate Parker What the Doctor Smokes A coriipilation of outrageous advertising claims through the ages. Subtitled: ‘Outrageous Advertising Claims Through the Ages.‘ New HUI/(llld.
Will Smith How to Be Cool The foppish Marillion/Bergerac» obsessed stand- up advises us how to aVOId being a socral outcast on everything from fashion to films. John Murray.
Borat Sagdiyev Borat: Touristic Guiding: to Minor Nation of US and A/Glori'ous Nation of Kazakhstan You know the sketch by now. Boxtree.
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’/ .‘ .'.".. ' THE LIST 27