----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Sullivan" <
DJ-Anonyme@webtv.net>
> "Rules out Jonathan Coe's "What A Carve Up", though,
since it's 'dark
> and sinister' yet paradoxically not 'harshly gritty
enough'."
>
> Al, I've had that book (well, a retitled US edition)
in my bookcase for
> a long time, but I've never gotten to it. Do you
recommend it?
Unreservedly, Mark. It was the book of the year for me the
year it came out
(was that really ten years ago?). By a mile. It's a sort of
neo-Gothic farce about a guy commissioned to write the
biography of an aristocratic British family. Large parts of
the book are written in superb imitation of an old British
horror-comedy movie. And the political observations are
hilarious. I have heard it criticised for being over-the-top,
and one or two characters have the occasional cartoonish
moment, but then again, I can't think of too many subtle
farces.
Al
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 19 May 2004 EDT