Reviews
COMIC TALES WOODY ALLEN Mere Anarchy (Eburyl 0...
Back in the day, the artist formerly known as Allan Konigsberg appeared hell-bent on making one classic comedy movie after another. He also seemed to find time to knock up a trio of books with silly stories, philosophically daft musings and surrealistic vignettes successfully designed to make the reader double up in hilarity-fuelled agony. Getting Even, Without Feathers and Side Effects continue to stand the test of time as little epics which managed to distil the huge concerns in the films and stretch the wit until it truly burned. Perhaps in the light of a continued critical and commercial downturn, Woody has opted to hark back to those glory days when he could do very little wrong. In some kind of cruel hindsight, Mere Anarchy would probably be viewed as the least effective of this unofficial quartet, but that doesn’t mean it fails on any level. It’s funny, vibrant, zany and, in its own absurdist way, quite moving. Only the most avid Allen-hater (of which there are quite a few, I suppose) could baulk at smiling over titles such as ‘Calisthenics, Poison Ivy, Final Cut’, ‘Attention Geniuses: Cash Only’ and ‘Sam, You Made
the Pants Too Fragrant’.
A mix of original pieces and others which have brightened the day of New Yorker subscribers, Mere Anarchy fizzes with a literate comedic sensibility as he ranges across such diverse topics as kidnapping, levitation, sex (obviously) and death (naturally). Now, if only we could get him to make another great movie. (Brian Donaldson)
MYSTERY THRILLFR JASON STARR The Follower (Orion) 0
JASON
STARR
A story about a stalker is hardly a novel idea. and Brooklyn-born and bred Jason Starr's unimaginative treatment of the phenomenon brings absolutely nothing new to it. Set in a Manhattan populated with jocular and bimbotic college graduates. The Follower involves a manage a trOis between newa employed Katie. frat- pack boyfriend Andy. and the dweeb Peter. who has something more than a crush on the working girl.
Events unfold in a tediously predictable manner. leading with little tension or susrxense to a foregone conclusion. while Starr's evocation of young lives in the big City is pedestrian and his characterisations
perfunctory. Even stalker
Peter's backstory is a cliched spin on the Oedipus complex. An
enlightening examination of an obsessed individuals coveting of a stranger might not be expected from this kind of trashy fiction. but Starr fails even to deliver anything in the way of pulpy thrills.
(Miles Fielder)
POPUIAR SCIENCE MARY ROACH Six Feet Over (Canongate) 000
Did you know that sea urchins were the key to understanding the process of sperm/egg fertilisation? Before microscopes came along. the theories of reproduction that reigned now seem ludicrous. In this entertaining history of science. Mary Roach proVIdes rational explanations to seemineg mysterious phenomena in her search for conclusive scientific evidence about the afterlife.
Starting out as a hopeful sceptic. she works through reincarnation. the soul.
ectoplasm. mediums and other ghostly goings-on. dipping into case studies. anecdotes and seances along the way. Just as she is won over by the eccentrics she meets. the reader is swayed by her affable style and clear mode of presentation. Although the effort to inject life into the subject of death is often grating. and while some of the findings are obvious and 3vidence inconclusive. there are great facts to pick up along the way and drop into dinner party chat. Especially about sea urchins. (Suzanne Black)
SOCIAL ANALYSIS NICHOLAS GUYATT
Have a Nice Doomsday (Ebury) .0.
In this bizarre and quite frankly worrying book. Nicholas Guyatt journeys to the United States Bible Belt to find out why 50 million Americans believe that
game”: “I l "in 1'
Mile! tr"
NICHOLAS WYATT
the apocalypse will take place in their own lifetimes. Guyatt's main goal is to interview apocalyptic (rather than apoplectic) Christians. some of whom are making large sums by selling doomsday books/videos/parapher- nalia to the general public. Others are making friends with staffers at the White House.
Guyatt has none of the polemic zeal of Michael Moore. faithfully transcribing tracts of the interviews. and refraining from hysterical laughter: this is quite a feat when some guy is telling you that the head of the EU may turn out to be the Antichrist. Although this approach is noble-minded. the lack of a strong authorial voice does sometimes mean that the book struggles to tie together its calm sense. crazy prophecy and histOrical titbits. It also. predictably, provides information rather than an answer.
(Hannah Adcock)
CHICKLIT
RAJAA ALSANEA Girls Of Riyadh
(Fig Tree) 000
If ever a book could carry an accusation of being designed to inspire contention. Girls of Riyadh might well be it. A tale of four young and fashionable middle- class Saudi girls who
live under the strictures of Islamic tradition, yet who are inspired by the Western culture they discuss on their message board. it was banned outright around the Middle East. A trade in black market copies has naturally followed. It's not that Rajaa Alsanea. a 25-year-old daughter of Saudi doctors new resident in Chicago. reveals anything about groups of female friends that the likes of Candace Bushnell hasn’t already explored. but the novel's setting is an education in itself. It opens a window on a youth Culture that the West never gets to see. telling stories of arranged marriages. adultery and youthful rebellion. While it might be relatively tame and probably least revelatory to those it portrays. it's an intriguing curiosity amidst the crowded chicklit market. (David Pollock)
ALSO PUBLISHED 5 DEBUT NOVELS
Xlnran Miss Chopsticks From the author of non-fiction hit Sky Bun'a/ comes a novel about three peasant girls trying their utmost to get to grips with life in the big city. Chatto & Windus. John Carbone Last of the Good Guys A new Mafia thriller series set in 19705 New York kicks off with a ruthless uncle involving his teenage nephew in a dark netherworld of drug dealing. Headline Review
Cerldwen Davey Blood Kin This debut from a young South African author features a chef, an artist and a barber all being kidnapped in a convoluted plot to overthrow one powerful man. Atlantic. Bengt Ohlsson Gregorius Winner of Sweden '3 version of the Booker, this fiction centres around an ageing widower who is convinced that he will never find love again. How wrong he is. PortobeI/o.
Monica Pradhan The Hindi-Bindi Club A novel about three young girls who have left India to make it in America and face a new life of conflict and contradiction. Bloomsbury.
)—19 Jul 2007 THE LIST 27