Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Having watched the David Fincher movie some years ago I decided to read Chuck Palahniuk’s debut novel. Although I was already familiar with the basic plot twists as represented within the movie I still found that the novel follows a fairly baffling narrative trajectory. It is dark, bitter and impossibly twisted.

 

Palahniuk’s style is minimalist in his approach. By his own admission he prefers verbs to adjectives. He reads like Charles Bukowski on speed. At times it felt as though he had possibly written a conventional first draft and then edited it with a chainsaw, paring it back to the barest minimum of words that would still convey the essence of the piece. For me this works in parts, but it does not make for a comfortable read. I felt that I needed all my concentration just to stay with it.

 

The novel is written as a succession of random scenes from a violent nightmare world which spirals inexorably towards an almost apocalyptic conclusion. I found Palahniuk’s fascination with the macabre and repulsive to be in turn both relentless and deeply unsettling.

 

Is it absorbing? Yes.

 

Is it disturbing? Yes.

 

Is it enjoyable? For me, no; not in any sense. It simply grips you by the throat and demands that you keep reading until you reach the end.

 

Can I sleep now?

The Big Blind by Louise Wener

Louise Wener’s second novel is a real departure from her debut outing. In “The Big Blind” she creates a believable and realistic protagonist in Audrey Ungar, a thirty-something maths tutor with slight OCD tendencies, who discovers that she shares her absent father’s obsession with poker. With the help of an obese and reclusive card sharp called Big Louie she sets out on a quest to track down and confront her missing father.

Wener has a finely honed comedic eye (and ear) and her characters crackle with life. As a reader you feel a real sense of identification with the cast, and her characterisations are witty without descending into caricature. Big Louie is really well written, and Wener creates a fine balance between his manic compulsions and the sense of menace that starts to surround Audrey.

The plotting of this book is stronger than her debut novel, and she also managed to make me cry at the final denouement.

I have never been a card player, and therefore have never truly understood the fascination with poker. However Wener succeeds in making the game sound mesmeric, even to a complete novice like me. Now, I just need to go and practice my mechanic’s deal.

Curtis Brown Creative - 1

I have been fortunate enough to secure a place on The Curtis Brown Creative Six-month Novel Writing Course, co-tutored by Louise Wener and Anna Davis. I thought that it would be a good discipline to try and post a regular blog as the course progresses to share my feelings about the experience.

I would stress at the outset that this endeavour might yet prove to be fraught with difficulties. Writing any form of blog whilst working within a group setting immediately raises a few issues about openness and honesty. I therefore have to state that this will be an entirely personal view of my experiences and I will do my utmost to be positive and respectful throughout.

The course includes fifteen authors writing across a wide range of genres and each at different stages within the writing process. Some have largely completed their current works-in-progress whilst others are just setting out on the journey. The thing that struck me about the group as a whole was the shared sense of passion about the writing process, and the professionalism that each author appeared to bring to the table [apart from the table itself, which is currently missing from the Curtis Brown boardroom!].

For me it was quite a daunting first evening as we went round the group, each conducting a very brief pitch of our novels. So many strong ideas. So clearly presented. My carefully rehearsed pitch went completely awry. Lesson number one – better preparation.

Even at this early stage there seems to be a real sense of camaraderie amongst the group. The second session included a critique of the opening chapters from the unlucky three members who were selected for this dubious privilege. However I was delighted that the feedback around the group to Brad, Amy and Anna was so positive. The criticisms when due were presented in a supportive and constructive fashion. It made me feel slightly less nervous about presenting my own opening chapter.

Last night’s session was a visit by ex-CBC student Sarah Sykes accompanied by her CB agent Gordon Wise. Gordon had sold Sarah’s debut novel “Plagueland” to Hodder and Stoughton and it will be published in the autumn. I thought that it was a stroke of genius to have the first visiting session being an ex-student who had recently gone through so many of the struggles that we are all currently grappling with as fledgling writers. I found Sarah inspirational, practical and realistic. Gordon was also an excellent speaker and he gave an eloquent account of hearing Sarah’s first reading and being captivated by her novel. Rufus also did a great job of chairing the evening and teasing out some great stories from the two guests.

So overall my first impressions of the course have been overwhelmingly positive. Both Louise and Anna seem well-prepared and enthusiastic, and I am looking forward to my first tutorial with Louise in a few weeks’ time.  I will aim to post a further blog after that tutorial to see whether I still feel as positive and inspired!

Killing Floor by Lee Child

I have been reading a number of debut novels recently. Having never read any of Lee Childs’ Jack Reacher novels I thought I would start with his debut, “Killing Floor”. I really enjoyed the book, which stormed along at a tremendous pace, introducing the reader to Jack Reacher, ex-military investigator and action hero.

Child writes in short, sharp clipped sentences. A staccato style, but one which aptly suits Reacher. The resultant effect is suitably hard-boiled; taut and sparse, like a modern-day Mickey Spillane (with Reacher cast as Mike Hammer).

Whilst the plotting was carefully constructed I felt that the plot relied on a number of coincidences which didn’t quite ring true, but then again the veil of reality needs so often needs to be suspended in novels of this type. A word of warning; the book is very violent at times, and to my mind the body-count is somewhat gratuitous. The overly graphic descriptions (often involving fingers plunging into eye-sockets) seem to be to the detriment of the novel; for me sometimes less can be more.

Lee Child is actually the pen-name of Coventry-born Jim Grant.  Given Grant’s background and career progression he has done a remarkable job of re-inventing himself as a hard-boiled exponent of pulp fiction, in the most positive and least pejorative expression of the genre. In the seventeen years between 1997 and 2014 he has written a remarkable nineteen novels, which is a phenomenal work-rate. I look forward to reading a few more of his novels to see how he develops the character of Reacher.

"Left and Leaving" by Jo Verity

“Left and Leaving” is Jo Verity’s fifth novel and to my mind it’s her best yet. It is beautifully written in an almost conversational style which feels entirely appropriate to the story. I normally prefer sparser prose, yet this seemed to have a natural rhythm and flow, with perceptive observations of how people react to life events.

Her two main protagonists, Gil and Vivian, are sharply drawn and the voices she creates for them are realistic and natural. At times I felt more of a voyeur than a reader, which I think is a testament to Verity’s skill as a writer.

I was fortunate enough to have Jo as a guest reader on the Arvon course that I attended back in 2012, co-tutored by the inspirational Stephen May and the enthusiastic Lizzie Enfield. Jo read us the early chapters of “Left and Leaving”, which was her work-in-progress at that stage (although my memory tells me that she might have added a new opening chapter since that reading). She reads her work well and the characters of Gil and Vivian stayed with me over the last two years to the point that reading the novel felt almost like catching up with old friends.

Verity quickly establishes a believable set of dilemmas for her main characters and cleverly avoids shifting the focus too far away from them, using her supporting characters to craft a nuanced background to the main narrative. I particularly liked the character of Vivian’s father, Philip Carey; irascible, irritating yet perfectly delineated.

Without revealing any spoilers the ending was as unexpected as it was refreshing; again displaying a lightness of touch that I could appreciate with recognition of the great restraint that it must have taken not to over-write. Overall I found the novel to be both rewarding and inspiring and I would recommend it unreservedly.

Goodnight Steve McQueen by Louise Wener

I have been reading a number of first novels recently and decided to read Louise Wener’s debut, “Goodnight, Steve McQueen” even though it dates back to 2002. I am so glad that I did; I think I enjoyed it more than any other novel I’ve read over the past year.

The quality of the writing is outstanding, and Wener skilfully creates a really entertaining set of characters with distinctive voices. She writes in the first person through the eyes of Danny McQueen, a 29 year old who has spent his life dreaming of rock stardom. He is given an ultimatum by his long-suffering girlfriend; make something of his life by the end of the year or find a new girlfriend.

The novel has been compared to Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity” and to my mind that’s a reasonable parallel. Wener has a similar ear for both for dialogue and for comedy, and I read the book in virtually a single sitting with a huge grin on my face.

I particularly liked Wener’s minor characters, such as Danny’s bandmate Vince and his obsessions with Kevin Rowland and finding the perfect transitional shoe. Matty the drummer is another beautifully observed portrait, painfully accurate and stopping just short of caricature.

In reading various reviews of the book I was astonished by the amount of bile and bitterness aimed at Wener, which on the strength of this debut seems completely unfair. Even the endorsement section at the front of the paperback edition starts with a quote from The Scotsman “She can actually write”, which is pretty demeaning. If anyone wants proof of the power of her writing they should read “What’s wrong with being a mother?” a piece that she wrote for The Guardian in 2006 which moved me to tears.

The Dinner by Anna Davis

I have been reading a number of debut novels recently. Although “The Dinner” was originally published back in 1999 I found Anna Davis’s debut to be an acerbic treat. The events of the novel take place during the course [or courses] of one suburban dinner-party, which slowly and spectacularly descends into a surreal nightmare reminiscent of a Hieronymus Bosch painting.

The four couples at the dinner party each have a host of dark secrets which slowly surface, as they try to deal with an unbalanced and unexpected ninth guest whose unsettling presence triggers the unravelling of their respective lives.

I was impressed by the way that Davis handles her cast and creates sufficient differentiation between the characters to enable the reader to mentally hold them without confusing the couples and their personalities. Davis’s writing is at times as precise as a surgeon’s blade, and she creates painfully accurate portraits of her unlikeable cast with their competitive point-scoring and manipulative strategies.

As I was reading I kept sensing a number of resonances. The first was Mike Leigh’s 1977 play “Abigail’s Party” with the wonderful Alison Steadman. This painful study of middle-class manners kept echoing through my head as Davis slowly unfolded her plot. The other resonance was an obscure Danish film called “Babette’s Feast” written and directed by Gabriel Axel from a story by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen). The vivid descriptions of the food that Davis creates reminded me of the banquet sequence in the movie, particularly in the clever use of colour imagery.

Davis has created a cast of unlovable characters, and one of my problems with the early part of the novel was the lack of empathy that I felt towards any of the main nine characters. However I think it is a testament to her skill as a writer that by the end of the novel I felt far more sympathy with each of the characters; they may still have been horrible people, yet I found myself hoping for some sense of redemption for each of them.

The tightly focused time-frame of the book creates a wonderfully compressed sense of tension, which Davis alleviates with some deft flashbacks to balance the metronomic chronology.

As a debut novel this is an extraordinarily accomplished piece of work. However if I were the author I would have been incensed by the publishers including a quote on the book jacket from Attitude Magazine: “A stunning off-the-shoulder debut in suicide red”, which seems to me to be a spoiler of monumental proportions.