Jump to content

The "I am currently reading" thread


discodown

Recommended Posts

Alasdair Gray's 1982 Janine, which I'm thoroughly enjoying.

 

From the back cover:

 

This already dated novel is set inside the head of an ageing, divorced alcoholic insomniac supervisor of security installations who is tippling in the bedroom of a small Scottish hotel. Though full of depressing memories and propaganda for the Conservative Party is mainly a sadomasochistic fetishistic fantasy. Even the arrival of God in the later chapters fails to elevate the tone. Every stylistic excess and moral defect which the critics conspired to ignore in the author's first books, Lanark and Unlikely Stories, Mostly, is to be found here in concentrated form.

 

I think that kind of blurb either appeals to you or makes you think the author is an incurable idiot :D It appeals to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A chilling debut novel by Carol Topolski called Monster Love. The narrative is told from a different person's perspective in each chapter which centres around a couple, so wrapped up in themselves that when the woman finds herself pregnant the arrival of the baby totally ruins their relationship and its dymanic, to the extent that their selfishness leads to the neglect and eventual death of their daughter.

 

I've only read the first chapter, narrated by the couple's neightbour who herself feels complicit in the girl's death as she didn't contact the authorities sooner, which could have saved the girl's life.

 

None of the above is spoiling the novel, as it's all in the blurb on the back:

 

'I've kicked myself that I didn't do anything about it then. I've often thought, what if I had? Would she be alive now?' - Charlotte, neighbour. 'I wonder at how gullible I was...because when I asked them if I could see Samantha, just for the record, she said she was playing at the rec with her friends and I just went Oh, OK' - Kaye, social worker. 'You see it all the time in videos and that, but until you're in the room with them you don't really know what it means' - Sharon, juror. No one in the neighbourhood has seen the Gutteridges' little girl Samantha for months. But Brendan and Sherilyn look happier that ever, so nothing is wrong. Is it? For the Gutteridges, Samantha was just a thing that threatened to worm its way into their perfect love. For everyone else, her story is the stuff of tabloid headlines. But this time it's not in a newspaper, it's happening right next door.

 

I can sense of few sleepless nights coming on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.