BOOKS | Reviews BOOKS | Reviews
COMIC JOHN LEWIS, ANDREW AYDIN & NATE POWELL March (Book One) (Top Shelf) ●●●●●
March has made comics history. It’s the first graphic novel to be written by a US Congressman, Democrat John Lewis, and it’s the first to be endorsed by a US President, Bill Clinton. Co-written with his communications chef Andrew Aydin, March is an autobiographical account of Lewis’ life, with the first of three 120- page volumes covering his youth as an Alabama farm boy in the 1950s and his contribution to the civil rights movement. Lewis’ involvement in lunch-counter sit- ins paved the way for participation in the famous march on Washington DC led by his mentor, Dr Martin Luther King.
Lewis’ life is a great story, and he and his aide (who have never written for comics before) do it justice in print. They clearly have a strong grasp of storytelling, and they’re well-served by artist collaborator Nate Powell, whose black and white illustrations really bring the story to life. When it’s finished, March is going to be a significant achievement, not just in comics but also in documenting and dramatising an important slice of American history. (Miles Fielder)
HISTORICAL THRILLER JULIET CONLIN The Fractured Man (Cargo) ●●●●●
DARK HUMOUR JOHN NIVEN Straight White Male (William Heinemann) ●●●●●
CRIME FICTION CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE Flesh Wounds (Little, Brown) ●●●●● CHICK LIT ANNE-MARIE CASEY An Englishwoman in New York (John Murray) ●●●●●
Psychoanalyst Elliot Taverley aspires to groundbreaking results in graphology. When a stranger with an unusual condition appears at his office, Elliot believes he will be the catalyst for his breakthrough. But when Elliot starts treating the stranger, his work begins to consume him. His obsession jeopardises his own mental condition and soon he is unable to prevent his troubled past from unravelling.
The prose is deliciously dark and
hypnotic. Despite being an ambitious debut, Conlin has managed to create a psychological thriller fused with the spine-tingling atmosphere of a ghost story. She lures the reader into the troubled protagonist’s past, divulging secrets crumb by crumb, until their patience is finally rewarded with an electrifying conclusion.
In thriller novels in particular, timing is everything, and Conlin achieves that rare balance of creating lasting suspense without tiring the reader into skipping to the end. An addictive thriller that will make you begrudge anyone who tries to make you focus on anything else other than finishing just one more chapter. Karyn Dougan)
52 THE LIST 11 Jul–22 Aug 2013
Having viciously assaulted the music and TV industries in previous novels, Niven turns to his own trade in Straight White Male. Celebrity author Kennedy Marr has decamped to LA and spends his time in a drunken, womanising haze, writing Hollywood screenplays. Life has slid off the rails though and to pay a tax bill he accepts a teaching post back in England, at the same university where his ex-wife works. The opening half of the book is a hilariously debauched account of the lovably despicable Marr, who drags his lifestyle across the Atlantic with him for the second half. The plot may verge on the preposterous, but there’s a clever subtext examining the commercial and literary worlds of fiction. The prose is quick, with a distant narrative voice controlling the multiple characters with such assurance that it becomes a character in itself. Niven balances comedic set pieces with emotive drama and as Marr begins to plummet to rock bottom, he’s left to deal with consequences that prove no one can have it all. For pure entertainment, it’s a triumph. (Kevin Scott) Jasmine Sharp, the aspiring actress- turned-private investigator who first appeared in Where the Bodies are Buried, returns for a third outing in Brookmyre’s latest delve into Glasgow’s criminal underworld. When top gangster Stevie Fullarton is shot dead, his former comrade- in-crime Glen Fallan is the prime suspect. Fallan has become a guardian angel to Sharp since admitting to killing her gangster father before she was born. She quickly determines that Fallan is being set up but doesn’t know why or by whom. Meanwhile DS Catherine McLeod not only has to find out who killed Fullarton, but also why her investigation is being hindered by the upper echelons of the police force. This is darker than Brookmyre’s previous novels, although his trademark pitch-black humour is still present. The wanton violence has consequences – usually devastating – and innocent bystanders bear the brunt of it. It is a well-paced thriller with a satisfyingly complex plot and a vivid cast of larger-than-life characters. (Shirley Whiteside)
When Lucy Lovett’s husband loses his city job and they move to Manhattan, she has to face up to some challenges: the law of the school gate, fitting in with the other yummy mummies, finding the best coffee in the borough, and dealing with switching to drugstore hair dye. It’s terribly hard work for this
Englishwoman in New York, especially since along her ‘journey’ she befriends three brittle American bitches. There’s glamorously psychotic script-writer Julia, penthouse passive- aggressive Christy and endearing bohemian Robyn who shags other people’s husbands on yoga mats – you go girl! Reading this book is like visiting Gwyneth Paltrow’s website GOOP if it were riddled with viruses. It is a series of fragmented, fatuous blog posts masquerading as a novel: how to snag a rich husband and gain a converted barn in the Hamptons; how to cope when you can’t conceive at 45 – tried Horse Therapy? While there are some relatable moments, ultimately this Englishwoman is as inauthentic as her ‘fun fur’ gilet. (Ruth Johnston)