between banalrty and grrtty excrternent as she gurdes Cas from the herghts of scheming career grrl towards her predrctable end Parks' skrll rs to take a page-turnrng route whrch Surprises wrth bursts of hard- borled, fashron-conscrous observatrons that trckle wrtlt therr rronrc ruxtaposrtron and spot-on aCCUraCy. And even when the obvrous happens, that too rs a surprrse (Thom Drbdrm
CUBAN CRIME José Latour Outcast (HarperCollins £9.99)
"warranting-VI- hawk.
Elrot Sterl rs the unlrkelrest of heroes. When thrs retrrrng mrddIe-aged Englrsh teacher rs vrsrted In Havana by an elderly frrend of hrs recently departed American father, he rs offered a one- way trcket out of Cuba’s poverty. From there, Elrot’s lrfe rs turned upsrde down as betrayal turns to revenge and a confrontatron wrth hrs US herrtage. Thrs rs seasoned Cuban thrrller wrrter
lose LatOur‘s frrst OUIlrlg rn the English language and us an absolute treat Already touted by masters of the genre Martrn Cruz Smrth and Lawrence Block, thrs erI leave you wonderrng where Latour has been all your lrfe SOCraI commentary rs slrckly mrxed wrth a compulsrve plot and bouts of spicy sex and alarmrng vrolence. It all adds up to an unputdownable South Amerrcan pulp frctron that grves those Yank hacks more than a run for therr money (Paul Dale)
WHITBREAD WINNER John Burnside The Asylum Dance (Cape £8)
Wrth thrs, hrs seventh collectron, John Burnsrde has produced a masterprece of contemporary poetry, where hrs broken style and Iyrrcal rmagery rollercoast you to a sometrmes very dark place Draggrng you rnto a descrrptrve well of rdeas and contexts, the staggered layout grves yOu trme to take rn each lrne, ready for the beamrng denouement whrch almost never comes. Instead you’re left, open
to the possrbrlrtres he has created, krck-
startrng y0ur rmagrnatron.
Takrng everyday places and events, a barren freld or an empty harbour, we are shown a glrmpse of the energy potentral stored rn each scene. Wrrtten almost as rf set to muSrc, the emotrve and beautrful portrarts challenge you, slowly leadrng you rn and out of a suggested otherworld, what could be there or what you may have Just mrssed. The Asylum Dance, wrnner of the Whrtbread Award For Poetry, rs defrnrtely a classrc waltz. (Aly Burt)
STAR RATINGS
Unmrssable
Very good
Worth a shot
Below average You've been warned
book
events
THURSDAY 1
Edinburgh 1129 \Valel'slonc‘s. I28 Princes Street. 226 2666. (rpm. I‘ree. Launch ol‘ new
fiction imprint I I:‘)'s latest series ol‘ titles attended by authors 'I‘om Bryan. Linda Cracknell. Raymond Soltysek. David Cameron. Shug IIanIan and Martin Shannon.
Out Loud Athletic Arms. Angle Park 'I‘errace. 337 3822. 7.30pm. £1 donation. Monthly open mic night of poetry. prose and song run by the Phoenix Writers‘ (iroup. Performers and readers welcome. For more information contact wordswoutloud.org.uk.
Glasgow
Maurice Cotterell Borders Books. 283 Buchanan Street. 222 77()(). 7pm. Free. Maurice Cotterell unveils the secrets of the Incas and the treasure-filled tombs of the lost sun kings in his new book The
Last 'limrl) ()IAI’iI‘iii'r)i'lrii (Ila/aching The Secrets ()f’l'lu' I’i'rui'ian Pyramids) (Headline “8.99).
Dundee
Five Poets Live Dundee Contemporary Arts. I52 Nethergate. ()I 382 606220. 7pm. liree. Robert Crawford. John (ilenday. Tracey Herd. Kathleen Jamie and Don Paterson read from their work.
THURSDAY 8
Glasgow
The Changing Flora Of Glasgow ()ttakar’s Bookstore. L'nit (i. Buchanan (ialleries. Buchanan Street. 353 l5()(). (i.3()+8pm. Free. Launch ol‘ botanical expert Prol‘Jim Dickson's The Changing l-‘lara a/‘(ilaxgau' (lfrhan And Rural I’lanls Through The Centuries) (Edinburgh l'niversity Press £30).
WEDNESDAY 14
Edinburgh
Edinburgh Children’s Book Group James Thin. (ieorge Street. 225 4495. 6.30pm. Free. Popular children's author Jeremy Strong reads from The Hundred Mile An Hour Dug (Puffin £3.99). Adults and older children welcome.
BOOKS
EVENTS AT BORDERS
AUTHOR EVENTS
MAURICE COTTERELL
Discover the secrets of the Incas and the treasure tilled tombs of the lost sun-kings.
THE LOST TOMB OF VIROCOCHA
CREATE YOUR OWN WEBSITE WEDNESDAY 2151 FEBRUARY 7pm
Join Bruce Durie tor straightforward information on how to get started building your own website.
GROUPS AT BORDERS
CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAMME
Classes every Monday and Wednesday 5.30pm & 7.30pm
POETRY WRITING GROUP Thursday 8th February & Thursday 15th February 7.30pm PATRICK MOORE ASTRONOMY
GROU P
Astronomy ambition - big plans for extremely large telescopes Thursday Ist February 7pm
LANGUAGE CAFES
SPANISH LANGUAGE CAFE WITH MONICA BEDREGAL Monday 5th February 7pm-9pm
GERMAN LANGUAGE CAFE WITH GOETHE INSTITUT GLASGOW Monday I2th February 7pm-9pm
FRENCH LANGUAGE CLASS WITH ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE GLASGOW Monday 26th February 7pm-9pm
SCIENCE FICTION/ FANTASY QUIZ
Wednesday 28th February 6.45pm
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY DISCUSSION GROUP
Wednesday 28th February 7.30pm CHILDREN'S
STORYTIME EVERY SATURDAY I IAM
BORDERS"
98 BUCHANAN STREET, GLASGOW GI 3BA TEL: 01411 222 7700
OPENING HOURS:
8am to I Ipm, Monday to Saturday, IOam to 9pm Sunday
www. bordersstores.com/stores/283
‘. l5 Fez; 290‘: THE LIST 107