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THE BEST BOOKS, COMICS & EVENTS
‘I WANTED TO DEPICT THE DARKER SIDE OF OUR NATURE'
Reality and dreams
Alice Thompson is renowned for her fascination with unpredictable and unsettling prose. Her remarkable fourth novel, The Falconer, is no exception, as Camilla Pia discovers
\ei"\ i'e|a\edrsounding .I\|ice 'I‘hompxon has
inst returned to her lidinhurgh home alter a
short \ta_\ in (den .\rtne_\. the rural retreat that pt'o\ided the main inspiration tor her eerie latest hook. She is eager to e\plain what it is ahout the auumpheric location \he linds so appealing.
'I go up there to \xrite mostl_\.' \he e\p|ain\. ~'l‘he heaut_\ ol the (ilen “as in} starting point and alter reading more ahont it I started to see the place as \onieuherc \\ith a real histor) ol pain that threu into question it\ romantic side. So I named to depict it that \\a_\; as a source oi consolation and heant} htit also \omenhere quite sinister. to represent the darker \ltic‘ Hi Htll' llttllll‘c‘.‘
l‘hompxon achie\c\ this hrillianth in [he l‘tl/(‘rlllr'l'. Her main protagonist Iris liennant tra\el\ to the Highlands to “ink tor a memher ol~ the Scottish .u‘ixtocrac} in the hope ol' discmering \xh) her sixter Daphne committed suicide there a _\ear prefioudy \gain\t a hackdrop ol~ impending \xar. the line het\\een imagination and realit} hecomes hlurred as Iris lindx hersell al'lected h_\ the m_\\teriou\ characters \he encounters and the strange goingvon in this creep} _\et enchanting tale.
It comes as no surprise to hear that although l‘hompxon hegan \\i‘iting aged \i\. churning otit countless cartoons and \toriex ahout a l'emale hank rohher. inspiration soon came l'rom \uch literar} legends as his Murdoch. \luriel Spark. .‘\ngela (‘arter and .l(i Ballard. and \xhile she had a hriel l‘ling \xith pop lame in the I‘lStlx as the ke_\hoardi\t in The \\'oodentop\. fiction has a|\\a_\\ heen her lirst |o\ e.
30 THE LIST
‘lt‘x much more nerx e—\\ racking to ha\e people read _\our \xork than to get up on stage.' she laughs. 'hut c\ en \xhen I “as in the hand I used to \crihhle aua} on the hack ol' the tour-hus and hel‘ore soundcheckx.‘
So \xhat made her nant to mile in the lirst place‘.’ 'I like the sense ol escape and creating a ne\\ uorld; it‘s reassuring \\ hen the \\Hl'lti outside is so chaotic.‘
She adds: ‘I am laxcinated h_\ the unconsciom and dreams and the logic \xithin them. \1} l'iction in a \\a_\ is tr_\ing to undermine the \\a_\ that \\e It} to repress our l‘eelingx ahout the uncertaint} and unpredictahilit} ol‘ Neath} lite and our curiosit} ahout it. It‘s an attempt to lind meaning.‘
Despite these seeming!) \oinhre amhitiotH. 'I‘hompxon'x el‘l'ortx are as entertaining as the} are academic. e\pert|} comhining compelling stor}tel|ing \xith a c|e\erl_\ constructed. elegant and metaphor- ridden \t_\le. ()ne ol' modern l'iction'x most unique \oices. :\|i Smith lainousl} descrihed her as the 'intellectual l'utnre ol‘ Britiin \\ riting'.
Interestingly \he is planning something a little dil‘l'erent lor her lorthcoming ol'l'eringx. '.\l} ne\t hook is set in l’ortohello hecanse in) last [no haxe heen \et in the countr_\\ide. I lox e Raynond ('handler and lime heen inspired h} him to do something a hit more gritt} and urhan. Bookx that ha\e \ta}ed with me throughout m_\ lite haxe heen one\ that challenge Ill} preconceptions so I aim to do that \\ ith mine.‘ She smiles. 'l \xant to keep people on their toes.‘
The Falconer is out now published by No Ravens Press.
* Local Heroes: The Art of the Graphic Novel Comics have grown up beyond recognition over the last four decades. This exhibition features the work of everyone from Art Spiegelman to Alan Moore and every creation from Batman to Hen Broon. Jings. National Library of Scotland. Edinburgh, Thu 10 Apr—Sun 1 Jun.
* Metaphrog Creators of baby-faced Louis and existentialist Martin Nitram, Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers discuss their approach to the graphic form and maybe take the chance to plug their next publication, Louis: Night Salad. And who could blame them? National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, Wed 23 Apr
* Peter Chapman In Jung/e Capitalists. the FT journo takes a critical look at the links between globalisation and fruit from the success of the banana in the 19th century to a CEO's suicide in the 19703. Waterstone '3, Edinburgh, Wed 16 Apr.
* Alloe Thompson The former keyboard player of The Woodentops brings The Falconer. See preview, left. Two Ravens Press.
# Joe Humphrey: Just how nasty is the world of sport? Very. according to this lrish writer's entertaining Foul Play. See review. page 31. Icon Books.
t Persepolle Marjane Satrapi's account of her life in Iran gets repackaged for the release of the animated feature based on this poignant graphic novel. See review. page 32. Vintage.
# The Education of Hopey Glass Yet another collection from the Hernandez brothers seminal Love & Rockets packed with richly developed characters and true pathos. See review, page 32. Fantagraphics.