flawed and hedonistic fictional creation of recent years. When this dissolute and promiscuous auctioneer comes upon a hidden collection of violent and highly disturbing erotic photographs he feels compelled to unearth more about the deceased owner who coveted them. What follows is a compulsive journey of discovery decadence and deviousness.
did withThe Cutting Roomand almost immediately lose momentum with their next outing.The Bullet Trickis proof that Welsh is no one-trick pony, and this highly entertaining (if, at times, baffling) novel will be gratefully received by those who like their fiction eccentric and unabashed--Welsh doesn't shy away from presenting us with the more extreme forms of human behaviour, sexual or otherwise.The protagonist here is a Glaswegian conjurer who has seen better days. Those who know their literature of the Gothic (and Louise Welsh is certainly of that number!) will no doubt spot that the author has christened her anti-hero William Wilson--the same name, in fact, as the luckless hero of the Edgar Allen Poe tale of sinister duality. Welsh's Wilson is desperate to escape from his crushing existence in Glasgow, and jumps at the chance to perform his conjuring tricks in the cabarets of Berlin. Leaving behind people who he most definitely wants out his life in this free and easy foreign city seems like the best move of his career. But Welsh implies that (like the Poe character with whom he shares his name), Wilson's real problems lie within himself, with the external danger he encounters a manifestation of the sickness in his own soul.If the above makesThe Bullet Tricksound like a depressing read, nothing could be further from the truth. This is exuberant stuff, floridly plotted and crammed full of the kind of over-the-top characters that we encounter far too little these days in most parochial fiction. It's also worth noting the Welsh's second novel could not be more different from its predecessor, and if she is going to come up with something quite distinct with every new book, that alone is going to mark her out from most of her contemporaries.--Barry Forshaw
did withThe Cutting Roomand almost immediately lose momentum with their next outing.The Bullet Trickis proof that Welsh is no one-trick pony, and this highly entertaining (if, at times, baffling) novel will be gratefully received by those who like their fiction eccentric and unabashed--Welsh doesn't shy away from presenting us with the more extreme forms of human behaviour, sexual or otherwise.The protagonist here is a Glaswegian conjurer who has seen better days. Those who know their literature of the Gothic (and Louise Welsh is certainly of that number!) will no doubt spot that the author has christened her anti-hero William Wilson--the same name, in fact, as the luckless hero of the Edgar Allen Poe tale of sinister duality. Welsh's Wilson is desperate to escape from his crushing existence in Glasgow, and jumps at the chance to perform his conjuring tricks in the cabarets of Berlin. Leaving behind people who he most definitely wants out his life in this free and easy foreign city seems like the best move of his career. But Welsh implies that (like the Poe character with whom he shares his name), Wilson's real problems lie within himself, with the external danger he encounters a manifestation of the sickness in his own soul.If the above makesThe Bullet Tricksound like a depressing read, nothing could be further from the truth. This is exuberant stuff, floridly plotted and crammed full of the kind of over-the-top characters that we encounter far too little these days in most parochial fiction. It's also worth noting the Welsh's second novel could not be more different from its predecessor, and if she is going to come up with something quite distinct with every new book, that alone is going to mark her out from most of her contemporaries.--Barry Forshaw
Advantages: Fascinating subject and era, well written Disadvantages: The picture on the dust cover might put you off
...Christopher Marlowe is a bit of a mystery. He was a famous playwright during the Elizabethan era whose works are today mostly overshadowed by those of Shakespeare. One reason for this is because Marlowe was murdered at the height of his career when he was not yet 30 years old. Although his infamous life has been the subject of several non-fictional studies, it seems that the only hard facts we have about his life are the fact that he was murdered, when and where his body was found, and the injuries that killed him. It was with this scant bit of background, that the award winning author of the psychological crime novel, The Cutting Room - LouiseWelsh was approached to write a novella. And so "Tamburlaine Must Die" was written and published.
Not a whole lot to go on, is it? And Welsh certainly had many options on how she could...
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Advantages: Beautiful prose, fascinating story Disadvantages: The end left something to be desired...
...Just so you know, this book isn't about motion picture film editing, as you might assume from the title. Mind you, there are some references to films here, but that's a very minor bit. What this book is about is crime, pornography, erotica, sex, and money with a mystery thrown in for good measure (by the way, due to the sex and violence, I'd say this is an R rated book).
Thing is, crime thrillers aren't my genre, but after reading LouiseWelsh's 2nd novel, Tamburlaine Must Die (reviewed here earlier), I had to take a look at her first book which gained such acclaim by winning the John Creasey Memorial Dagger award for best first mystery novel. Let me tell you what I found.
The story here is pretty complex but I'll try to simplify it for you. Rilke is an auctioneer for a small and struggling Glasgow auction house, which has been...
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Advantages: Words of Encouragement, Examples of actions you can take, relating stories Disadvantages: Chapter end affirmations, envansive, too perfect like sounding
...Apparently Louise L. Hay is one of the founders of many, of the self-help movement that has been around for generations, but only now taken real form. Louise uses healing techniques and positive philosophy, as guidance to many, who loose hope in themselfs, and everyday life. She has suffered much in her own time, and even was diagnosed with Cancer at a turning point in her life, which made her re-think her own presence and value in the world.
This book was referred to me by a stranger I met on a coach, whilst on a work journey. I only just recently purchased it, as I was undergoing personal reflection and improvement, and thought this book would be helpful at this stage in my life, to give me a guiding hand and broaden my horizons.
The book starts off with, exploring what the Author believes from experience, and gives you...
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08.10.2004
28.03.2008
