Waterstone’s Edinburgh
THU
7
OCT 7.30 PM
FRI
8
OCT 12.30 PM
FRI
8
OCT 5.00 PM
FRI
8
OCT 7.00 PM
MON
11
OCT 7.00 PM
THU
14
OCT 12.30 PM
TUE
19
OCT 7.00 PM
WED
20
OCT 7.00 PM
‘ o . a ‘ O ‘ 0 oo-
QUEEN’S HALL T.M. DEVINE
Is There A Scottish Nation.>
WEST END FRANCOIS PIENAAR
EAST END VIC REEVES
EAST END ANNE MARLOWE
EAST END IOCHEM HEMMLEB
WEST END JANCIS ROBINSON
EAST END NEW WRITING SCOTLAND LAUNCH
EAST END PETER F. HAMILTON
\N’A'I‘ERS'I‘ON E'S
83 Geor e Street, Edinburgh tel: 013 225 3436
West End, 128 Princes Street, Edinburgh tel: 0131 226 2666
East End, 13-14 Princes Street, Edinburgh tel: 0131 556 3034/5
BOOKS REVIEWS continued
deliberately shaded with ambiguity and self-referentiality, it's an odd, audacious combination of ltalo Calvino's rarefied formal experimentation and Stephen King's brooding malevolence.
Gilbert Adair is a flamboyantly erudite writer given tojewelling his text with show-offy puns and esoteric references, but he also knows how to cast long shadows of suspense. He certainly thinks he's very, very clever. and he's absolutely right. If you care to indulge his self-indulgence, you will find a cunning, chilling piece of work that lurks in the memory. (HM)
ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY
Ethel 8: Ernest
Raymond Briggs (Jonathan Cape £8.99) a A
RAYMOND BRIG (18
Ethel & Ernest : A TRUE STORY m;
e‘ T‘ V T
Raymond Briggs has been on the receiving end of plaudits from TV schedulers who insist on regular Christmas screenings of The Snowman to illustrated bookjudges who handed out the gongs to Ethel & Ernest. There's no denying Briggs's ability to tap into childhood myths, nor the touching sentiment of Ethel 8: Ernest, a biography about the author's late parents.
However, Briggs's skills as a cartoonist/illustrator leave much to be desired — his pictures and words fail to scale any recognisable heights. Compare his work with the classic artists in the kids' illustrated books field to see how overrated he really is.
If you want to experiencejust how unique the illustrated fiction medium can be, go to the real thing: the supposedly 'adolescent' comic books or their more mature graphic novel form from Art Spiegelman's Maus, Alan Moore's The Watchmen or Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. (MF)
REVIEWERS THIS ISSUE:
Catherine Bromley, Thom Dibdin, Miles Fielder, Kirsty Knaggs, Dawn Kofie. Hannah McGiIl, Mark Robertson, Graeme Virtue
STAR RATINGS it a k i 4 Outstanding it it it a Recommended an x ' I Worth a try it * 50-50 a Poor
102 “'15 LIST 7—21 Oct 1999
books
EVENTS
THURSDAY 7
Glasgow
Survivor's Poetry Scotland Gallery Of Modern Art, Queen Street, 229 1996. 9am—6pm. Free. Public performances of poems inspired by the Gallery’s collection. Part of National Poetry Day. How To Stop Time - Heroin From A-Z Waterstone’s, 153—157 Sauchiehall Street, 332 9105. 7pm. £1 (ticket redeemable against price of book). Ann Marlowe’s autobiography (Virago £12) chronicles her upbringing in suburban New Jersey, her years as a Harvard student, management consultant and rock journalist through to her first experiments with heroin ending in addiction and total immersion in the world of drugs.
Edinburgh
National Poetry Day Scottish Poetry Library. 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 2.30pm. Free. The Scottish Poetry Library mark National Poetry Day with a promenade poetry reading. Building In Light Netherbow Arts Centre, 43—45 High Street, 556 9579. 7.30pm. £4 (£2.50). An evening of poetry with some of Scotland’s leading and emerging poets. Part of National Poetry
ay. The Scottish Nation: 1700-2000 Assembly Rooms, 54 George Street, 220 4349. 7.30pm. £4 (£2). Scottish historian, Professor Tom Devine, chairs a debate on his book The Scottish Nation: 170(F2000 (Allen Lane £25). His latest work is a political, social, economic and cultural history of modern Scotland since 1660.
FRIDAY 8 Glasgow
Patrick Jones The Arches, 30 Midland Street, 221 4001. 8.30pm. £4 (£3). Spoken word from this Welsh performance poet who sets music to his radical poetry. And he’s Nicky Wire’s brother, you know. Part of F uncT '99.
Edinburgh
Francois Pienaar Waterstone’s, 128 Princes Street, 226 2666. 12.30pm. Free. Captain of the South African 1995 World Cup winning team and coach of Saracens, signs copies of his autobiography Rainbow Warrior (HarperCollins £16.99).
Vic Reeves Walerstone’s, 13—14 Princes Street, 556 3034. 5pm. Free. Signing session by the star ofShooting Stars and We Reeves’Big Night Out whose new collection of paintings, drawings and literary ramblings Sun Boiled Onions (Michael Joseph £12.99) gives further insight into his mad and eclectic vision of the world.
SATURDAY 9 Glasgow Even Better Crack Club Lansdowne Church Hall, 420 Great Western Road. lOam—noon. £1. Storytelling for all the family. Contemporary Fiction Discussion Group Borders Books, 283 Buchanan Street, 222 7700. 12.30pm. Free. The group discuss Memoirs 0f/1 Geisha by Arthur Golden. Vic Reeves Waterstone’s, 153—157 Sauchiehall Street, 332 9105. 1pm. £1 (ticket redeemable against price of book). See Fri 8. Stuart Scott Borders Books, 283 Buchanan Street, 222 7700. 2pm. Free. Scott’s book describes the heroic World War II exploits of 105 Squadron Mosquito from first-hand accounts with previously unpublished photographs. Motormouths CCA at McLellan Galleries, 270 Sauchiehall Street, 332 7521. 7.30pm. £7 (£5). Performance poetry from three of the most original poets around. Stacy Makishi is a performance artist/poet from Hawaii who mixes animation, video, poetry and music in her work. Roger Robinson was a