André „ussolier said here that it's the "best book of the
Mangel trilogy. Very dark but very melancholic in an odd
way." The Guardian gave it an excellent review:
<
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1721936,00.html>
I've just read this last instalment in fellow Rara Avian
Charlie Williams's Mangel trilogy, which takes place in
Mangel, England, where everyone (or almost) speaks in a very
distinctive slangy local dialect.
Narrator Royston Blake is just out of the psychiatric
hospital, having spent three or four years recovering from an
accidental OD on mind-altering drugs. He's been dragooned
into taking a job as front of house customer flow manager for
a strange new creation--a shopping mall. It's a step down
from head doorman at Hopper's, but since Hopper's as we knew
it no longer exists, Blakey doesn't have much choice,
especially as he wants to settle down and raise the son he's
never seen. The father-son theme is very important in this
book, as Blakey strives to fufil his role as a good father
and struggles with painful memories of his own father.
Amazingly, the Mangel "old guard" have elected Blakey their
saviour. It is he who will rid Mangel of the outsiders who
have come in and started introducing unwanted change to the
town. The shopping mall isn't the only thing; fast food
restaurants serving fries--not chips--are also moving in and
taking over. Another bunch also want Blakey to help them with
their plans for the mall. He's being pulled in three
directions and something's got to give.
Blakey starts out strangely pacifistic. Where once he would
have beaten anyone who looked sideways at him, he now
initially lets it go. Brain damage or maturity? Only time
will tell. Although if you've read Deadfolk or Fags and
Lager, you'll probably suspect that once he's back in Mangel,
it won't be long before Royston is his old self again.
This is a fast-moving story whose narrator speaks in a very
convincing, one-of-a-kind voice. A lot of people are killed,
some very casually, but the skilful use of humour keeps the
violence on surreal plane.
The one part I didn't really like was a kind of supernatural,
dreamlike scene near the end. I'm not big on supernatural
stuff and I found it jarred with the rest, which although
surreal, is more down to earth.
Thematic links to my other posts today: the title ties it to
Wim Wenders, who made a film called Kings of the Road (Im
Lauf der Zeit), and the saviour motif ties it to Pop.
1280.
Karin
RARA-AVIS home page: http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rara-avis-l/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email
to:
rara-avis-l-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 20 Aug 2006 EDT