list.co.uk/books
(cid:59)(cid:49)(cid:55)(cid:2)(cid:35)(cid:52)(cid:39)(cid:2) (cid:48)(cid:49)(cid:54)(cid:42)(cid:43)(cid:48)(cid:41) Robert Wringham
It was both the best and worst thing I ever worked on. Stewart Lee
COMEDY HISTORY ROBERT WRINGHAM You Are Nothing (gofasterstripe.com) ●●●●●
Normally, a book’s epigraph either gives us a sense of the diverse elements to its story or hints at something brilliant inside. With ‘Thee fyrst and onlie hystorie of Cluub Zarathustra’, Robert Wringham has opted to make the comedy outfit sound absolutely rubbish. Damning mid-90s quotes from a couple of reviews are salved marginally by Stewart Lee’s declaration that his participation in the Dadaist cabaret troupe led by Simon Munnery was ‘the ultimate wasted opportunity’. The roll call of Zarathustrians is highly impressive (Kevin Eldon, Julian Barratt, Graham Linehan, Sally
Books REVIEWS
SOCIAL DRAMA MICHAEL PALIN The Truth (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) ●●●●● It’s hard to read Michael Palin’s second novel The Truth, without the author’s voice creeping into your head. The calm, slightly amused but earnest tone that accompanies his many travel series is maintained throughout this book too. And though it’s not exactly a ripping yarn, there’s plenty to like in this tale of
globalisation, corporate greed and environmental ethics. Keith Mabbut is 56 years old and a failed environmental
journalist who, out of the blue, is asked to write a book about a notoriously elusive green campaigner called Hamish Melville. It’s made clear from the beginning that the project will turn Mabbut’s ailing career around, but as revelations about Melville oscillate from the saintly to the sinister, ‘the truth’ eludes Mabbut until the very last pages. Python fans beware: there are very few bellylaughs or
guffaws to be had here. Instead, Palin spins a web of duplicity that forces Mabbut to sharpen his dulled journalistic skills and whittle away to uncover the real story. It’s worthy but not heavy-handed, meting out criticism to exploitative multinationals and questioning the trade-off between industrial growth and conservationism. But, while Mabbut is a likeable main character, he’s just a bit too dull. The pace of the story is also held back by some stilted dialogue and a few unnecessary sub-plots. Still, Palin’s talent for painting rich geographical details is impressive. He brings The Truth’s many settings to life in an accessible and unexotic way. And though the story is slow to pick up momentum, it gently crescendos into the happy, satisfying ending we’re promised at the start. (Yasmin Sulaiman)
MYSTERY DRAMA ROBERT WILLIAMS How the Trouble Started (Faber) ●●●●●
Boy next door, monster or both? Robert Williams returns to the theme of childhood for the follow-up to his award-winning debut Luke and Jon, and this compelling story of fractured families and kids that don’t fit is told with the light, unfussy flair that we’ve come to expect from the Manchester-based author. Donald Bailey is a deeply disturbed 16-year-old,
haunted by the past and ‘the trouble’ which resulted in the death of a toddler. Characters grapple with silent fury, and are tormented by guilt. We’re inside Donald’s head from the off, immediately absorbed by the fears that fill his mind as he’s forced to face
Phillips and Johnny Vegas all appeared at some point) and Wringham works hard to put the story into its full 90s comedy context. But often he dips into the bleeding obvious. And given his early confession here, it’s unclear whether a better book might have been written by someone who actually saw Cluub Zarathustra in action. (Brian Donaldson)
the consequences that propel him towards yet more tragedy.
By skilfully avoiding the temptation to over-play the huge questions posed by this novel about innocence, morality, parenting and society, Williams’ subtle stylistic approach results in an engrossing read that resonates and moves rather than scandalises. (Camilla Pia)
CRIME FICTION CATHI UNSWORTH Weirdo (Serpent’s Tail) ●●●●●
David Peace calls Cathi Unsworth, ‘the first lady of noir fiction’, and this fourth novel is a decent piece of evidence to back him up, at least in terms of the British writing scene. Set in rural Norfolk and split between events of 1983 and a cold case investigation 20 years later, Weirdo looks at the intense, hormonally-charged crime of teen-on-teen murder, exposing into the bargain the unhealthy and claustrophobic atmosphere of smalltown Britain and its attitude to outsiders.
Sean Ward is a private detective hired to look into an infamous case that saw teenager Corinne
SOCIAL DRAMA BEN LERNER Leaving the Atocha Station (Granta) ●●●●●
Adam is an American poet studying in Madrid where he’s supposed to be writing something brilliant. He isn’t because he spends his time stoned, drunk or spaced-out on tranquillisers. Tales based on drug-use were once shocking, but they aren’t now. To create even a ripple in drug- based literature, it has to be something fresh and extraordinary. Lerner’s tale is neither.
I kept waiting to like/dislike/feel anything at all about the narrator, but the closest I got was finding him irritating and whiny. As a parody of the self-obsessed writer yearning to find meaning
convicted for the brutal murder of a classmate, in a case that shocked the town of Ernemouth. He gradually uncovers a mess of corruption, cover-ups and criminality in a story that’s expertly plotted. Complex, compelling and wonderfully evoked, this is a fine slice of rural British noir writing. (Doug Johnstone) in anything at all, it’s occasionally funny, but I don’t think Lerner intends his depiction to be parodic. The internal monologues that make up the book could work if Adam had something interesting to say or a great story to tell, but he doesn’t. The overall effect is like being stuck, sober, with a rambling stoner. (Kate Gould)
21 Jun–19 Jul 2012 THE LIST 53