Books
Scotland’s answer to Simon Schama will be lauching her new book to coincide with her landmark ten part television series
will be signing copies of his eaerly awaited new novel WARLOCK
the actor and singer (Soldier, Soldier and Badger) will be reading
EVENTS AT BORDERS
MONDAY 9TH APRIL 7PM
DAVID GEMMELL
author of the classic of heroic fantasy Legend
is here to launch his new novel
TUESDAY IOTH APRIL 7PM
RAVENHEART
FIONA WATSON
SCOTLAND: A HISTORY
In Search of Scotland
FRIDAY 13TH APRIL 12 NOON EXCLUSIVE SCOTTISH APPEARANCE
WlLBUR SMITH
FRIDAY 20TH APRIL 7PM
STUART DAVID
Ex-Belle and Sebastian bassist and author of Nalda Said will be
readin from his new black comed THE PEACOCK MANIFESTO
TUESDAY 24TH APRIL 7PM
JEROME FLYNN
from siritual teacher Andrew Cohen's new book EMBRACING HEAVEN AND EARTH
WEDNESDAY 25TH APRIL 7PM GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL
JAMES ELLROY
author at LA. Confidential and will be discussing his new novel
MORO COOKERY 15 MAY, IRVINE WELSH 16 MAY, SEBASTIAN FAULKS 17 MAY, SCOTLAND ON A PLATE 23 MAY, SOPHIE GRIGSON 30 MAY, 11:9 LAUNCH 31 MAY, NICK HORNBY 7 MAY
BORDERS"
THE COLD SIX THOUSAND
Ticket price £2 available from Borders
LOOK OUT FOR
98 BUCHANAN STREET, GLASGOW GI 38A
8am to I Ipm, Monday to Saturday,
www. bordersstores.com/stores/283
TEL: 014] 222 7700 OPENING HOURS:
IOam to 9pm Sunday
96 THE LIST 29 Mar~12 Apr 2001
COLth MEMOIP
ARTHUR MATHEWS
Well-Remembered Days ltxlac'mian E‘CQQ
\"i/hiie ou'd be hard-pushed to pick out Arthu' Mathews in the street or at Mass, chances are that you've had a grand old laugh at his \'.Oll\ on the It‘lly. Nestling quietly but confidently ‘.'.lilTllT his CV are The likes cf Father Tea. Big T'ax/i and Bess Ele iHr‘ees is in there too. but he's probably visited the confessional for that one, and the giggle-box is opened up on a regular basis ‘.'.'lill this il(‘ll(.)ll(tl
niemOir of Eom O'Ceallaigh.
A fervent defender of Catholic fundamentals and hell-bent on railing against the debased Ines lea by ()l'Cllll’dl‘y folk in the last 100 years. O'Ceallaigh recalls the 20th century on a Ted Crilly level of well intentioned naivety underpinned by ingrained lll§}()ll‘,. He is particularly scathing of the Frank McCourt school of recollection: 'The weather was certainly much better than McCalirt remembers it and the people of that era were generally a lovely bronxed colour as a result of working out in the fields under the hot Sun."
From there he expresses sympathy for Hitler. desire to approach the Popemobile and ask for a choc ice. and disdain at the pornographic literature being published in Ireland during the 1990s: “It even gets worse. with , . . lurid erotic fantaSises about the (admittedly very attractivel Sinn Fein leader Gerry
Adams."
Mathews concocts hilarious visions of clerical lunacy
This is all damn hilarious stuff and brings to mind the early literary nonsense of Woody Allen. and even harks back to the humourist scribblings at Groucho Marx. SJ. Perelman and the like. Try to seek meaning in Wet/-Rememtmrer/ Days. and yeti'll find yOurself lost in a mire of misrepresentatioii; flick through this debut in search of pure entertainment and you‘ll be astonished by both the quality and quantity of Arthur Mathews ViSion of lunacy. (Brian Donaldsoni
MUSIC/POLITICS MATTHEW COLLIN
This Is Serbia Calling (Serpents Tail €9.99) 0...
'I'II IS IS ’ SERBIA
i:Ai.i.iiiii
The turmoil over the last ten years in the shattered state of Yugoslavia has become so familiar that the upheaval is now an accepted part of daily news.
Collin's book is partly a history and analysis of the events that turned a once-prosperous area of Southern Europe into a ravaged battlefield. But moreover it is a personal, intimate account of the yoang people who ran a Belgrade radio station called 892.
892 was an QaSIS of protest on the City's airwaves. and was run by some of the few young people who remained after hundreds of thousands left the country to flee the tumult
of Slobodan Milosevic's debilitating regime.
To the uninitiated. much of the detail about the political enVironment is a little overwhelming but once you‘re in. this is a Vibrant and touching account of a group's struggle and triumph over a corrupt political system.
(Mark Robertson)
TRAVELOGUE
MARK SUNDEEN Car Camping (Canongate £77.99) 0...
The mere thought of yet another Kerouac-style wander arOund the wide open spaces of the USA. complete with aimless search for Significant experience. is enough to strike twitches into the fecal muscles of discriminating readers. Happily, Mark Sundeen's road-trip through the Western states turns out to be hugely compelling and far from pointless. The book's pace is leisurer and the narration deadpan. but his observations are keen and insrghtful, his wit as dry as the Moiave Desert. Through the vivid characters he encounters en route. Sundeen pokes gentle fun at Middle America's
search for spiritual direction and the comniercialisatirin of nature. And he is graCious enough to mock his own naive desire to be completely Himself. and his youthful commitment to live in The Right Now.
(Allan Radcliffe)
EPIC ADVLNT l JHIZ TOM HOLLAND The Bone Hunter (Little. Brown S‘. t 0.9% .0
Tom Holland promises us a 'gripping adventure' yet. at least for the first half of his tale, the narrative proves to be far from thrilling. The love story of Captain Dawkins. an English scientist. and Lillian Prescott. an American heiress. is entwuied with the tale of rival palaentological professors Cape and Marsh. who are pitted against each other in a race IOr fossfl finds in the Wild Wes .
Part One of the novel. set amid New York SOCIety. is obs‘Ciired by Latin and Greek terminology and seems unable to free itself suffiCiently to develop a true Spirit of adventure. Once transposed to the wildness of the West in Part Two. the story gets livelier, but 200 pages
groundwork to reach the