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SOCIAL DRAMA JAMES FREY Bright Shiny Morning (John Murray) .00
Contrary to the promise of its title, Bright Shiny Morning will not lighten up your day. The thought of reading it will not fill you with delight, nor with longing to live the lives of those between its covers. None of which means this book is bad, as James Frey has a very good ear for dialogue and has written an intriguing novel peopled by characters whose presence lingers once reading has ceased. Rather, it's because the book is unendingly sad. There are happy moments and sunny days, but these are interludes in the quotidian misery of the downbeat and wretched. Set in modern-day Los Angeles, the novel meanders through the lives of its characters, intercut with historical and factual detail about the city, though whether the author has a reliable voice is another matter; you may recall the stir caused by Frey’s memoir, A Million Little Pieces, which had him ejected from Oprah’s Book Club when his claims to be an alcoholic,
drug addict and criminal were shown to be faked.
Sweet, in-love couple, Dylan and Maddie, run away to the city and cheerin set about creating a life until he is horrifically beaten and kidnapped. Meanwhile, Esperanza’s enormous thighs all but thwart her search for love. Old Man Joe shelters in dumpsters and fails in his role as protector of fellow vagrants. Amberton has it all - fame, fortune, acclaim and a beautiful wife - but must conceal his homosexuality, making do with escorts. As a testament to fortitude and an indictment of a city, it is absorbing. Mirthful, it is not. (Kate Gould)
CRIME NOVEL
KATE ATKINSON When Will There Be Good News? (Doubleday) eeee
‘A coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen.‘ So says tongue-in-cheek Jackson Brodie. Kate Atkinson's ex-army. ex- police. sort-of private investigator in a third fictional outing, neatly encapsulating the appeal of this delightful and consummate piece of crime writing. Coincidences. crossovers and conundrums lace this multi-layered plot.
16 THE LIST 7—14 Aug 2008
KAT i: ANSWER"
weaving together half a dozen storylines and leaving the reader gasping at both Atkinson‘s skill and the bizarre way of the world.
Brodie is in a train
crash and saved by Reggie. 16-year-old nanny for Joanne Hunter. the only survivor of an unspeakable crime years before, the perpetrator of which has just been released from prison and just so happens to be on that train. Joanne goes missing and Reggie. Brodie and former squeeze Chief Inspector Louise Munroe get dragged into a situation that manages to be both utterly believable and completely insane at the same time.
Unconventional and thrilling crime fiction at its best.
(Doug Johnstone)
ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY
MARK BORKOWSKI The Fame Formula (Sidgwick & Jackson) 0...
Behind every great celebrity is a brilliant publicist. It’s this remarkable breed which is examined by Mark Borkowski. an experienced PR man himself, as he takes us back through the modern history of fame and sheds light on the faceless gurus who steer unruly clients and shape public perception. Going back to the early days of Hollywood. an industry born from the grimy world of burlesque and vaudeville, we‘re presented with samples of Cunning plots. from freak circus tricks to coping with sex scandals.
Packed full of fascinating anecdotes and eccentric characters. The Fame Formula is a healthy mixture of entertainment and well- researched. well-written history. Although some sections run into drier territory. Borkowski soon whips up the pace with a glimpse of the golden leashes used on modern celebrities and wannabes. concluding with an actual formula for fame. (Sian Bevan)
MUSIC ANALYSIS BILL DRUMMOND 17
(Beautiful Books) 0...
When Bill Drummond started a choir called The 17, the audience became its members. performing his text—
based scores. then having the result played back to them once before being deleted forever. Screw documentation, Nick Hornby and 80s revivals, Drummond seems to suggest in this restless meditation on a life-long love affair. Music has reached a dead end. and should be kept as pure as that Beatles record that so switched him on as a
little boy.
This latest volume of Drummond's musings moves from The 17 to No Music Day and beyond. lmpassioned. persuasive. egocentric. vulnerable and contrary. he seems scared to stand still lest nostalgia or age get the better of him. Forget that he founded Zoo records. managed Echo and the Bunnymen, took The KLF to number one and burnt a million quid: Drummond is on a mission. desperately seeking a brand new sound to save him. Amen to that.
(Neil Cooper)
Comics
FUTURISTIC TALE ROBBIE MORRISON, JOHN BURNS & SIMON FRASER Nikolai Dante: Sword of the Tsar
(Rebellion) eee
Set in a time after a mythical future Russian revolution. adventurer and rogue Nikolai Dante is one of the most feared men in the land. and that's just by all the women he inevitably ends up Charming into bed. On the way. there are inventive baddies to be fought. including Dante’s dominatrix half- sister Lqu and a race of animal men, while there‘s a host of impressive locations to cut a swathe through with his 'cyberorganic'
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Mark Steel What’s Going On? The comedian relives his midlife crisis, focusing on his disillusionment with his political convictions. without losing his comic touch. Simon and Schuster.
Dlrk Begarde & John Coldstream Ever, Dirk After the success of his 2004 biography of the actor. John Coldstream has collected Sir Dirk‘s personal letters into this illuminating volume. Orion. Penelope Fitzgerald So I Have Thought Of You The collected letters of the acclaimed writer, with a warm preface by A S Byatt. HarperCol/ins. Chelsea Handler Are You There Vodka? It’s Me. Chelsea The E! reality star and comedienne presents a series of off-the-wall essays. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. William Leith Bits of Me Are Falling Apart A tragicomic study of ageing and lost moments. Bloomsbury.
sword and weaponry. The series. which has run in Britcomic ZOOOAD since 1997, is epic to the degree of being a little tricky to jump into midway: this is the seventh collection. Yet, its originally brief, six-page installments mean the strip is also grippineg packed with a wealth of great ideas. like a risque boy‘s own adventure. while the artistic styles of Dante's visual creator Simon Fraser and painterly veteran John Burns are a sheer joy. (David Pollock)