IMMERSION JOURNALISM NORAH VINCENT
Voluntary Madness (Chatto & Wiridus) m
‘Immersion journalist’ Norah Vincent's experience living undercover as a bloke for 18 months yielded a best-seller, Self-Made Man, but also triggered her depressive collapse and a frightening spell in a mental ward. She vowed to return and, for her next book, investigate from the inside the ‘indifferent system' of American psychiatric care, a system that takes people in on uncertain grounds, confiscates their free will and treats them with so little compassion that even if they weren’t crazy in the first place, they are when they come out.
Voluntary Madness sees her sectioned (albeit briefly) at three different facilities - a public hospital, a private clinic and an alternative care centre - in a journey that gradually shifts the author’s focus. Her own process of psychological self- understanding and recovery begins to at first run parallel, then at last intertwine with her research. Vincent’s a skilled, witty and honest observer, particularly of her fellow patients, but she’s so mixed up by being both watcher and watched that, ultimately, she manages to draw a definitive picture of neither herself nor the system surrounding her. She exposes the roots of her own trauma - which stem from childhood sexual abuse — bluntly and candidly, but fails to reveal enough of what drives her to submerge herself in disguises. And her conclusion that recovery is a matter of personal responsibility above all is a rational but unremarkable endnote to what is a dark tale in need of a brighter spark of revelation.
(Malcolm Jack)
MYTHICAl. HIS TORY CHRIS LAVERS The Natural History of Unicorns
(Grarita) O”
Guess what? Unicorns never eXIsted. And if you can bounce back from this early blow, Chris Lavers' exploration of the unicorn myth actually makes for a strangely charming read. In arguing that although the soft white creature of our dreams isn't real. some of its character traits can be found in existing species. Lavers creates an unusual scholarly hybrid. At once sociological, zoological. geographical and self- critical. this history makes for a hazy work of non-fiction.
As interested in the history of natural history scholarship as the beast itself. Lavers journeys through the unicorn's changing status as icon and symbol. as well as introducing the explorers and scientists who sought its existence. Dense in parts. the theory-heavy text is lifted only by the author's
Wicked sense of humour and self-deprecating jokes, while the glaring historical (liscreparicies Elfl(l lll() ()(lil zirir)(;(l()t(2 about 19th century khaki-wearing toffs remain welcome peculiarities. A natural history that ultimately leaves you chasing your tail. (Rosalie Doubal)
TAMILY DRAMA PETER MURPHY
John the Revelator (Faber) 0000
That old chestnut. the dysfunctional family saga told from the point of view of a watchful youngster, is energetically revived here by debutant Peter Murphy. The titular character is John DeVIne. a shy adolescent who dreams of escape from his small-town existence and the oppressive attentions of his Bible- bashing mother Lily. Glamour eventually arrives in the form of new kid in town, Jamey Corboy. with the boys' burgeoning friendship a
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30 THE LIST 22 Jan—5 Feb 2009
welcome distraction from the sadness of their home lives.
With his first novel, Irish journalist Murphy has created that elusive. precious thing. beloved of readers and publishers alike: a real page‘turner. The writing is clean and spare, devoid of tricksy turns of phrase and syntactic affectatioris. but every so often the reader will be brought up short by a particularly insightful observation or arresting image. The keenly perceptive portrayal of a family in crisis is an enviable debut that marks Murphy out as a real talent to watch. (Allan Radcliffe)
COMICS/SUPl HHL'RO MARK WAID, ZEB WELLS
& VARIOUS
The Amazing Spider- Man 583
(Marvel) 0.0
It's been in all the papers, President Barack Obama makes a guest appearance in Spider-Man. lt's yet more proof of how succmctly Obama has tapped into the zeitgeist and is as much of a Cultural icon as he is a political spokesman.
It's an interesting and unique event in comics but what about the story itself? Well, first a word of warning: the much- publicised appearance is only a Six-page back-up story (written by Zeb Wells) as two Obamas
turn up at the Presidential Inauguration and SpiderMan steps in to help sort out the confusion. It's cheesy but entertaining enough and its novelty value alone makes it worth a read as a curious pop art artefact.
However. the main meat of the ssue is taken up With Spider Man's ongoing trials and tribulations (from writer Mark Wald) and a fairly pedestrian story about Peter Parker's relationship With Betty Brant. (Henry Northniore)
PSYCHODRAMA KITTY SEWELL
Bloodprint (Simon 8. Schuster) 0.
Kitty Sewell's second novel is decked out in the same suspense- fuelled livery as Ice Trap. her internationally successful debut. The often melodramatic storyline crams in tropical hurricanes. Eastern European gangsters. brutal sexual Violence. a mystical Cuban religion and a
long lost child Add it. this Wild mix a slialli iv. llarinibal (Llarice like relationship betWeen l)f3"(;ll()l()(]lf;l Madeleine l rank and an |lllj)ll.‘;’)lllf(l psychopathic iiiiiiilerer. and B/oodrir/nt's sinister tone becomes abundantlyclear. lhi: novel offers fast floWiiii; and accessible escapisin, oscillating Willi surprisingly lucid ease between the lush huiiiid l lorida coast 1’) the damp, Georgian inajesty of Bath. However, any sense of tension that would make it conipulsively readabli: is uncererniiniously extinguished by its stilted dialogue, hackneyed language and unending use of thunderstorms to reflect the cliaractc-rs' einotional turbulence.
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DeSpite Sewell's concerted and corriplex effort to create a genUiriely gripping psychological drama. Bloodprint ultimately fails to thrill, delivering a climax that's la/ily revealed and jarririgly oblique. lYasmiri Sulaimaril
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