The layout of this blog doesn’t look quite right,I think the most recent review should be first but as I haven’t used that set up previously I’ll just carry on with the slightly skewed way!
22.Emily Barr-The Sisterhood
I’ve read all of Emily Barr’s books and always enjoy them greatly and read them in a couple of days.Her books always deal with secrets from the past being gradually revealed and in any book I find dipping into the past and the characters’ backgrounds gripping. ‘The Sisterhood’revolves around a young French woman who discovers her English Mother gave birth to a daughter many years before and being bored and restless decides to travel to London to meet her.Helen’s story runs parallel to that of Elizabeth,the focus for Helen’s clinging affections.
Although I didn’t particularly warm to the character of Elizabeth,largely because she is portrayed as such a victim throughout,(she discovers her long-term partner is gay in the first few pages of the book and later struggles with an unexpected pregnancy)I found the character of Helen compelling.She is in turn manipulative,woefully naive and unstable,all of which serves to make her fascinating as events take an increasingly dramatic turn.
Whilst all of Emily Barr’s books follow a similar structure and generally involve the characters taking a trip or migrating,she skillfully builds tension without being melodramatic and ‘The Sisterhood’stands as one of her best novels so far.
23.Jacqueline Wilson-Jacky Daydream
I had been looking forward to reading Jacqueline Wilson’s book detailing her childhood for months so eagerly purchased the paperback edition on its release.It was with some reluctance that I then admitted to myself that I didn’t enjoy the book allt hat much.The problem,albeit an obvious one is that despite being an autobiography the book is clearly aimed at children,meaning many of the observations within it are superficial and jovial,when the more compelling aspects of the story,like Jackqueline’s difficult relationship with her difficult and angry Father and the financial struggles of the family in post-war Britain are left in the shade.The upbeat and persevering tone,whilst often evident in autobiography doesn’t come across as genuine and the questions about characters from Wilson’s books at the end of each chapter trivialises things further.
Although I greatly enjoyed the sections where Jacqueline discusses her love for books and writing stories I felt the book lacked any real insight into her childhood and failed to evoke any real sense of the era,a real shame considering she is such a sparky and warm writing in the rest of her work.
24.Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace-Are You Dave Gorman?
A book I purchased in a 3 for £1 sale in a charity shop and started reading in the same day whilst at a loose end, ‘Are You Dave Gorman?’chronicles the development of a drunken bet into a worldwide search for brethren.As this book has been in print for several years now anyone who is a comedy fan is likely to be aware of the search of its authors and their subsequent TV show.
‘Are You Dave Gorman?’certainly has its merits,largely in the insanity of its premise and the dedication of Dave to win the bet and meet as many people with his name as possible.There are certainly very amusing and surreal anecdotes to be found,but after a while the process gets a little familiar and repetitive,and although all of this did happen it’s difficult to understand why two people would dedicate so much time to such a project,which suggests that perhaps they had far too much time on their hands.
25.Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin-Dedication
From the authors’ of ‘The Nanny Diaries’, ”Dedication’ is the story of a woman who remains obsessed by her high school boyfriend who left her suddenly the day before their prom and has since become a huge singer-songwriter who draws much of his inspiration from her personal life during their teenage years.So far a rather lame and unoriginal summary but I was drawn to this book because a)I love reading anything vaguely involving musicians,and b)the sleeve claims it pays a tribute to growing up in the ’80s,something I definitely thought I’d appreciate.The book fails on both counts however as it written so poorly it’s a shock it was ever published at all.I haven’t read either of the previous efforts of these writers but on the strength of this I don’t intend to.The characters never amount to anything more than sketches on the page and the whole thing reads more like an episode of a lame high school sitcom than anything else.
26.John Niven-Kill Your Friends
This book is written by a former A&R man and I was drawn to it on two accounts,1)the front cover which features a cassette tape and b)the back cover featuring a quote from My James Dean Bradfield.Yes,these two factors were enough for me to shell out £10.99 at Borders,lay your pity at the feet of the book addicts.Clearly the marketing department did their job effectively anyway.The book revolves around an A&R guy at a lucrative record label during the Britpop boom.
I’m not the kind of person who claims to be shocked easily,desensitised as I am to screen violence and shock tactics used in literature.This book,however is a rampage through the mind of an immoral psychopath and as a result his observations are both wickedly amusing and wickedly horrifying.I won’t reprint any of them here but the grotesque images the writer conjures will stay with you long after having digested this book.On amazon the journalist James Brown describes ‘Kill Your Friends’as “the indie ‘American Psycho’”a conclusion I reached independently thanks to the protagonist’s fascination with wealth and power as well as his utter disdain for the rest of humanity and his blood thirst and homicidal tendencies.
Although towards the end the events of the narrative become rather too exagerated and self parodying for my liking this book is a wonderfully scathing assault on the indie music industry,gleefully ridiculing the posturing of artists and esecutives alike.Anyone with my affection for the Britpop era will adore the references to long forgotten indie bands like Unltrasound and this book is worthwhile for the unrelenting onslaught of its blistering prose.
Tags: Books, Danny Wallace, Dave Gorman, Emily Barr, Emma Mclaughlin, Jacqueline Wilson, John Niven, Nicola Kraus
