MUSIC MEMOIR LUKE HAINES Bad Vibes (Heinemann) 00000
BAD VIBES
‘I am a cruel and pious man,’ mourns Luke Haines. History hasn't had much time for the 90s-vintage indie iconoclast, instead celebrating the more palatable same-but- different likes of Jarvis Cocker. Yet those whose memories stretch back to the Select- fuelled early days of Britpop will know the sometime Auteurs,
ALSO PUBLISHED
5 HEALTH BOOKS
Bruce Byron Fat Bloke Slims Actor from The Bill and hubbie of Dr Tanya spills the beans on how he shed the pounds. Penguin. Joe Fournlor a Jordan Paramor Red Carpet Workout Fronted by celebrity sporting trainer Fournier, this is a short-term blast which will help you for ‘the big moment'. whatever that may be. Headline.
Boo Wilson Swindled A history of food cheats covering scams revolving around poison sweets and counterfeit coffee. John Murray. Gillian McKoiflI Boot Camp Diet Probably the most terrifying woman in Britain gives us a few holds barred kick up the colonics with some scare tactics to cure the most committed fast food junkie. Penguin. David Zinczonko Eat This, Not That It's the “no diet weight loss' masterplan which has gone down a storm in the States. Pan Roda/e.
34 7H5 LIST 8—22 Jan 2009
Black Box Recorder and Baader-Meinhof frontman as an eloquent, cynical and incisively amusing songwriter and personality. This is his story of that period. and it deserves to open up a whole new career. Extraneous biographical details of Haines’ life are ignored here as he examines the years 1992—97 through anecdote, tirade and sharp- memoried summation of his career ups and downs and decreasing mental state. There are cameos from Metallica. Oasis, Blur and 908 indie icon Lawrence from Denim, while every page contains at least one great story, blinding turn of phrase or sharply-observed comment. An indispensible parallel history of the 1990s in music, and a great advert for Haines as a writer. (David Pollock)
MYSTERY DRAMA TOBIAS HILL The Hidden (Faber) «no
i “Tl
H DDEN
‘4
TOBIAS HILL
Uncovering the mystery of Tobias Hill's new Greek-set novel is as slow and meticulous as the archaeological dig at its centre. Hill revels in detail: historical descriptions of mysterious Sparta. moments from a memory best forgotten, and idiosyncrasies of deceitful characters. Ben Mercer is an Oxford student with a quarter life crisis and a wrecked marriage. His quest to find (or lose) himself, leads to an ancient Spartan graveside and a group of archaeologists who want to hide more than they uncover.
Hill creates a caustic atmosphere through Ben's unravelling sense of self, and familiar scenarios of the outsider among friends are
furnished without cliche. It’s the capacity for surprise and originality which draws the reader’s attention and implores them to dig deeper. Unlike a newly discovered relic, however, the pieces are more satisfying than the whole, and its flawed conclusion partly undermines what is a fascinating journey before it.
(Emma Lennox)
THRILLER NOVELLA RAKAMI
Audition
(Bloomsbury) 0”
{6559.1 "
Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike‘s cult favourite has all but eclipsed the psycho- sexual-thriller novel by Ryu Murakami on which the 1999 movie is based. The simple prose of Murakami's slim volume (here translated by the author's regular, Ralph McCarthy) can't compete with Miike's horribly vivid and extremely disturbing images, which will have left an indelible imprint on the mind‘s eye of anyone who has seen them. It tells of a
widower looking to
remarry who sets up a series of fake film auditions with actresses, and gets a lot more than he bargained for when he meets young ice maiden Yamasaki. Part of the problem here is that Miike took Murakami's chilling cautionary tale, and pushes it right over the , edge creating a far more twisted nightmare. Thus, the book‘s sadomasochistic
climax doesn't go
nearly as far as the film and, by comparison, now reads as watered— down. One for those (presumably few) J- horror fans who haven’t E seen the movie. (Miles Fielder)
SOCIAL MEMOIR
VIRGINIE DESPENTES
King Kong Theory (Serpent's Tail) 0”.
If ever there was an antidote to the pointless posturing of the Pussycat Dolls, it’s the work of Virginie Despentes. While they embody everything that is wrong about being female in the 21 st century, this controversial French author, probably best known for her rape-revenge novel turned film Baise-Moi, sets her sights on saving us all from the demeaning, idiotic ‘icons’ we’re sold on a daily basis, and she does it here in a thought- provoking and cleverly written way. King Kong Theory, her latest modern feminist missive/searing social commentary, is both deeply personal and a universally relevant read, telling sobering tales of rape, prostitution and the porn industry from the author’s own experience, with references to everyone from Virginia Woolf, Simone De Beauvoir and Camille Paglia to Courtney Love and over 40 years of feminist literature and media
propaganda.
‘As a girl I am more King Kong than Kate Moss’, Despentes exclaims in her bold opening gambit, sparks flying off her punchily written prose, as she gives us an entirely unique take on the world. It’s loud, raw and almost brutally direct, yet stylistically the writing is accomplished and sophisticated; perpetually fiery, yes, but never hysterical or overly-preachy. Perhaps most importantly, Despentes makes insightful, intelligent, witty and pioneering comments in a language that is accessible to everyone. ‘I come from the world of punk rock and I am proud of not fitting in’, she asserts in the book’s brave and utterly convincing conclusion. Long live the
misfit. (Camilla Pia)
WAR REPORTAGE
i JAMES HIDER The Spiders of Allah l (Doubleday) oooo
This first book by James
Hider, Middle Eastern Bureau Chief for The Times, is essential stuff
l for anyone concerned
with the dangerous
condition of the region
in the 2lst century — and that should be just about everybody. However, not for the reasons outlined on the dust jacket: Hider‘s
i framing of his
experiences. principally in Iraq, in the atheistic context of the God
MSBIHZWRIIKIQYN
De/usion reads like a hastily conceived afterthought; in essence, this book is simply a work of solid. captivating, gutsy war reportage.
Like any good foreign correspondent, Hider has a nose for a terrifying scrape. and writes with grim humour and sober authority even as the
sheer madness of ' religious bloodletting
peaks around him.
‘ When you discover that
a goat wearing
underpants becomes a
life or death matter in
. modern Iraq, you ' shouldn't need anyone
to spell out that blind, extreme faith is a
hopelessly weird and poisonous force. (Malcolm Jack)