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‘I PANICKED AND BROKE MY NOSE BY PUNCHING MYSELF'

Marcel Theroux steps out of television gocumentaries and into the ring for his latest novel. Doug Johnstone dons the gloves to spar with Louis’ big brother.

t‘s not eas_\ being .\lareel 'l'herotu. lla\ing li\ed l'ot' )L‘;li's in the shado\\ ol his lamous dad. author l’aul. he then had to watch \shile his )ounger sibling l.ouis ga/umped him to a te|e\ision eareer. It doesn't help that .\lareel spends his da_\s as an author and documental’) lilmmaker as \\ ell. ol' eourse. ‘l \\ as working in 'l‘\' ahead} \xhen l.ouis had this meleorie sueeess.‘ ehuekles .\lareel al'labl}. 'l “as a bit pee\ ed. I'd been slogging in the salt mines for )ears. and here he \\as making \xilh blood} .\liehael .\loore. But I'm pleased l‘or him no“ and looking l‘or\\ard to his new stul‘t‘. lint I am in a total bind. l’olloxsing m} dad into \sriting and m} brother into tele\ision; l'\ e been a bit bo\ed in. ha\en't l'." l‘ar from being bo\ed in. \lareel 'l‘herous e\eels in both his ehosen eareers. produeing \sork instantl} tllslillt‘l lil‘tllll ltl\ litlltlll) lies lllh :lL'ClillltlL‘tl “(ill/l ill (I Mil/oil dm‘umenlar) on Russia appeared on .\lore4 earlier this )ear. uhile his third no\el. .‘l IHUH' In I/It' llt'tll'l. has arri\ ed. 'l‘herouvs pre\ious t\\o award— \\inning no\els had been light-hearted and t'airl) autobiographieal. but .t [Now In 1114' llt'tll'l is a departure. .-\bout a _\oung \sidou \\ ho follows her husband's killer into the murk} \xorld ot‘ prolessional bo\ing. it's a stor_\ ol re\enge \ersus redemption. a thriller of sorts. fit a thought-prmoking work to boot. "l‘he seed \\ as planted \\ hen I started training at this gun _\ears ago. I got interested and started going to malehes. and l l’ound out about this gun \shieh is tinot'tieiall} ealled Losers l.td. \Vithin bo\ing. there is a trade for people. genuine lighters. \\ ho pad out the undereard and generall} lose. It‘s a eareer within

32 THE LIST '1 .

bosing that is more dependable than trying to be a ehamp. beeatIse )ou get man} more lights as a

journeyman loser. I l‘ound that quite heroie beeatIse

there's no glamour attaehed to it.‘

l)ais_\. 'l'herou\'s angr_\ \xido“ eharaeter. enters this world seeking re\enge on the man \\ ho killed her husband. but her lttothes ehange as she starts managing a 3oung protege. It‘s a brilliantl} plotted stor} with a range ol‘ e\traordinar_\ eharaelers. uhieh manages to lip along at a rate of knots. )et also be quite deepl) proliound about the nature of loss and retribution. ‘Somehow hatred is so insul‘l'ieient to esplain the bad things that happen to its. l)ais_\‘s had this terrible loss. then she meets these gins \\ ho are prot'essional losers. and she learns something about him to handle loss through them. 'l'hat's the deeper gears ol' the stor) \shieh seems neat in retrospeet. but I didn't plan it that \sa_\.'

It's elear that 'l‘heroux is t‘aseinated by this morth ainbigtious \\ol‘ltl. and his depietions ol' the eharaeters and seenarios leap from the page. But jtlst how far did he go in researehing the subjeet matter'.’ ‘I aetuall} broke in} nose last _\ear.' he laughs. ‘I was supposed to be light sparring and. embarrassingI). I think I ma} ha\e broken it b_\' punching lll_\ selt‘. l panieked \\ hen someone ad\aneed on me.’

It's just as \xell the writing and t‘ilmmak‘ing is \sorking out. beeatise a eareer as a professional boxer doesn't appear to be on the cards.

A Blow to the Heart is published by Faber on Thu 6 Jul.

VENTS

* Jasper Fforde Ever wondered why Goldilocks was really in the bears' house that day? The Fourth Bear answers that question. Check out his website (iasperftordecom): it‘s a blast. Seems to have a bit of a thing about Swindon. Borders Books. Glasgow, Mon 77 Jul.

* City Stories This List event as part of the City of Literature bonanza brings together architect Malcolm Fraser and author Zo'e Strachan to discuss their favourite writings about the cityscape. National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, Wed 79 Jul.

* Robin Hardy He made the cult 70$ epic The Wicker Man and for that alone. he has a place in people's hearts. Now he’s back with Cowboys for Christ. a similarly-themed tale of alternative faith and rumpy pumpy. Ottakar’s, Glasgow. Thu 20 Jul.

* Marcel Theroux Having foraged in the shadows of his brother and father, Marcel is making more than a name for himself now with superb documentaries and evocative novels. See preview, left. Faber. * Greg Palast The man his pals liken to Bill Hicks with a press pass, and who his detractors reckon should be burnt at the stake. tells it like it is. George Bush will not be putting Armed Madhouse on his Christmas list. See review. Allen Lane.

* Pierre Mel-0t More simple comparisons now, with this chap, who has been very much likened to Michel Houellebecq. Mammals takes a sometime too-close peek at the stumble and fall of an underachieving wreck. See review. Canongate. * Superman There’s some film or other coming out soon, so hardly a surprise that the comics world is going ballistic. Grant Morrison and Brian Azzarello are among those getting involved. See reviews. Various.