Sweeney Todd, or The String of Pearls by James Malcolm Rymer/Thomas Peckett Prest Review
20/06/2011 § Leave a comment
The earliest version of this famous story bears witness to the mysterious disappearance of Lieutenant Thornhill, the details of which only his faithful dog seems privy to. The mutt proceeds to obstinately skulks around a certain barber shop on Fleet street, which lies in close proximity to the famous Lovett’s Pie shop. Its mysterious persistence leads interested parties to unravel a unique story of murder, treasure and love. Sweeney Todd is darkly humorous, with a quintessentially British eccentricity and matter-of-fact divulgence of gloriously gruesome discoveries. The deliciously bizarre plot and wit as sharp as Sweeney’s barber blades make the original version an undervalued gem.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver Review
12/06/2011 § Leave a comment
Eva recounts the events leading up to her son Kevin massacring several peers and one teacher in his school Gym via unanswered letters to her absent husband. The plot is openly aligned to the contemporary Columbine epidemic whilst retaining a uniqueness and originality. This is not historical fiction but a persistently unsettling exploration of society’s taboos. Shriver balances the reader’s submissive correspondence with a suspect narrator with the unapologetically unanswerable Nature vs. Nurture debate. The story suspends the reader on tenterhooks despite bearing a largely foregone conclusion and compels its audience to squirm with discomfort as effectively as Kevin himself.
Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist Review
12/06/2011 § Leave a comment
A victimised weakling, Oskar is a Swedish schoolboy who wishes he had the courage to wreak bloody revenge on his teenage tormentors. Enter Eli, the cold and dirty urchin with whom Oskar forms an unlikely and binding friendship. This book is not an average horror story but don’t be fooled into believing that you will not be horrified. Hardly a tale of tender friendship against the odds, this story transports the reader to a bleak and unenviable existence where clever narrative devices and complex characterisation develop sympathy for the unnatural and abhorrent. The plot is suspenseful, terrifying and thought provoking.
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield Review
11/06/2011 § Leave a comment
Xeo is the sole Spartan survivor of the bloody battle of the Thermopylae, held captive so his defeaters may learn how 300 men kept the Persian hoards at bay, only to be vanquished by betrayal. Reading Pressfield, it’s easy to understand why producers of 300 considered basing their picture on Gates of Fire. The factual basis of the ultimate underdog story is expertly utilised to envelop readers in an alien world, where war and death were a way of life. Intimately researched, with a narrative as relentlessly engaging as its subjects, Gates of Fire is a gloriously rampant gore fest.
Stylist Magazine Feature
09/06/2011 § Leave a comment
Fancy taking a look at my reviews in print? Click the link and check out p8 and p61.
They include Eleven, Mr Fox, Medium Raw and the new Thomas Tantrum album.
Eleven by Mark Watson Review
07/06/2011 § Leave a comment
*As featured in Stylist Magazine*
Xavier is a radio DJ who triggers a chain of consequences that reach out across the city as invisibly yet decisively as the radio waves he broadcasts. As events build momentum Watson settles into a narrative that is at once droll and devastating, littered with insightful analogies. Having been aligned with David Nicholls’ One Day, Eleven had a lot to live up to. But it’s true that those who enjoyed the former should engage with the latter. Despite providing less suppress-a-giggle-on-the-tube comedy, Watson finds his strength within a multitude of relatable characters and thought provoking circumstances.
Mr Fox by Helen Oyeyemi Review
07/06/2011 § Leave a comment
*As featured in Stylist Magazine*
Mr Fox is cheating on his wife, with his imaginary friend. Mr Fox is also a serial killer; his heroines never make it out of a story alive. Oyeyemi punctuates the narrative with her protagonist’s own gruesome fairy tales to great effect; blurring the line between what you suppose is fact and hope to be fiction. Don’t be fooled by the inadequate blurb and misleading cover art, Oyeyemi has a sharp wit and isn’t afraid to use it. Mr Fox is a black comedy that draws you into a hilariously horrifying world, where your imagination can literally run away with you.
Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain Review
07/06/2011 § Leave a comment
*As featured in Stylist Magazine*
Following on from the highly successful and controversial biography Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw peppers choice episodes from Bourdain’s past with observational analysis of the food world in the present. Characteristically pessimistic advice for wannabe chefs is sandwiched between accounts of illegal secret banquets and boozing with the Gadaffis on a Caribbean Yacht. The writing style is hysterical: sardonic musings on a food industry in financial crisis are related in the style of an x-rated Eeyore. Those anticipating a diluted sequel, fear not. Humour drier than a Sauvignon Blanc is blended with derisive insightfulness to give this biography a real bite.
Night Waking by Sarah Moss Review
30/05/2011 § Leave a comment
Anna is a mother on a remote island struggling to manage her marriage, workload and two young children when she discovers a baby’s skeleton in her garden. She proceeds to neglect all domestic duties in favour of investigating the child’s untimely demise. The narrative is bleak and repetitive, and the subplot of the island’s historically high infant mortality rate is mediocre. It could be said to effectively mirror the trials of daily life with children and an unsupportive husband. But whether anyone would want to experience that over 375 dreary pages, which culminate in an anticlimactic ending, is another matter.
Like my reviews?
28/05/2011 § Leave a comment
Look out for my next 3 book reviews (and 1 music one) in Stylist Magazine issue 81, out 8th June.
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