Kate Gould

Paul Magrs - The Bride that Time Forgot

27 Oct 2010

(Headline Review) The Bride that Time Forgot is a curious book. It’s part tale of a cosy little town, part time travel (via pinking shears and a watercolour), part vampire hunt, part spoof, and part touching tale of undying friendship among the…

Emma Donoghue - Room

24 Aug 2010

(Picador) Inspired by the notorious Fritzl family case, Room is the story of a young boy and his mother, both held captive in a fortified shed. Their kidnapper, Old Nick, frequently rapes Jack’s mother while he hides in the wardrobe where he sleeps…

Zaiba Malik

Attempting to dispel a few myths about Islam

13 Aug 2010

Zaiba Malik’s experience of her Muslim faith has been one of humility, humour, exploration, and horror. It has taken her from the comedy and anxieties of a childhood in Bradford to imprisonment in Bangladesh for ‘anti-state activities’, while filming a…

Angus Peter Campbell's Archie and the North Wind

Enchanting in parts, but not a wholly compelling or intriguing tale

12 Aug 2010

To temper the harsh winters and escape an unhappy marriage and dreary life on a Scottish island, Archie leaves to find and cover the hole where the North Wind blows. Working as a crewman, he heads north, accompanied by a Russian composer nicknamed Brawn…

Alberto Manguel will discuss All Men Are Liars

And why we should step back from the over-reliable narrator

6 Aug 2010

Alberto Manguel’s latest book, All Men Are Liars, is ‘a tribute to falsehood’ in which no one is a reliable source; not the enigmatic figure whose death is being investigated, not those who knew him, nor Manguel himself. It’s a concept that challenges…

Lin Anderson - The Reborn

29 Jul 2010

(Hodder) A baby sliced from the womb in a fairground hall of mirrors; Jeff Coulter, a charming psychopath luring girls into a pact of sex and murder while he creates baby dolls from his prison cell for bereaved parents; dark, disturbing rituals; the…

Radio Hoohah preview

Double act go on a twisted adventure around the airwaves

27 Jul 2010

Dubbed a ‘French and Saunders for the Facebook generation’, Octavia Mackenzie and Ashley McGuire are known in Fringe circles for their surreal spin on the everyday, from death to ‘the absurdity of Britain’s class system’ (find ‘Kensington Rhyming Slang…

Asher Treleaven - Secret Door

A comically theatrical romp against blokishness

26 Jul 2010

Via ‘the sweet filth of John Waters, the dark, strange wrongness of David Lynch’, and a near-encounter with the secret theatre for madmen, Asher Treleaven grapples with the question, ‘what maketh the man?’ This is the core of his ‘anarchic romp through…

Filthy English by Peter Silverton

Comprehensive history of swearing lacks humour

17 Sep 2009

Swearing is a universal phenomenon. The delivery, meaning, intent and pitch may vary – some might mouth a silent ‘fiddlesticks’ while others erupt with a string of expletives so incomprehensible it’s difficult to discern the exact meaning – but we all…

Eric's Tales of the Sea

Moving, humbling, and comic

26 Aug 2009

Breathtaking, poignant, suspenseful, and hilarious, Eric's tales are enthralling, told by a gifted storyteller who will draw you into the murky depths of his world. Self-deprecating and never boastful, he gives an account of the bravery of his fellow…

Eleanor Catton - The Rehearsal

24 Aug 2009

(Granta) Eleanor Catton’s debut novel is a labyrinthine tale of a high school sex scandal, exploring the ways in which it becomes part of the pupils’ lives and is purloined by students at the nearby drama school who use it for their end of term play.

Bec Hill

The banter and inventiveness of a burgeoning comic talent

24 Aug 2009

Bec Hill is great fun. Her energetic romp through the world of superheroes - the necessary requirements, pitfalls, and her own attempts to be one - is fun more than funny, but she certainly can entertain with the banter and inventiveness of a burgeoning…

Simon Donald and Maff Brown

The funniness of the sketches quickly faded

24 Aug 2009

If shouting 'you've got AIDS' at latecomers, listening to a wide boy plumber-to-the-stars ramble, and helping a diligent market researcher complete a survey by Geordie teenagers sounds like fun, you'll probably enjoy this show. Some people laughed…

Dixie's Tupperware Party

A hilarious and naughty time is had by all

20 Aug 2009

Dixie Longate is fabulous. With enormous beehive hair, gingham get-up, more plastic storage solutions than you could use in a lifetime, patter so glib she could sell every piece, and a sultry Southern drawl, hers is the risqué take on the cosy world of…

Helen Arney

Charming, witty and warm with great one-liners

19 Aug 2009

81/2 Songs About Love (And Other Myths) is a hilarious parade of stalking, dysfunctional relationships, Jean-Paul Sartre, washed-up accordions, over-eager dates, and death by disastrous marriage proposal, set to piano, ukulele and a pimped glockenspiel.

TeakShow

More absurd than funny

19 Aug 2009

Shrieking, bulging eyes, hummus throwing, pelvic thrusts, lounging on the mantelpiece, and twists on familiar scenes give this show a surreal air. The exaggeration is overdone, though, to the point that some sketches are more absurd than funny, losing…

I’ll Always Think of You that Way

Fresh, zany and surprising

19 Aug 2009

Rehab, depression, attempted suicide, departed husbands and death aren’t immediately comic material, but the adventures of silver-spoon idiot Savannah, and Alison, her fat, steadfast, depressed friend are very funny. It could do without the explanations…

Adam Hills

An energetic musing on modern life

18 Aug 2009

Adam Hills does a good line in ranting. From the trials of male ageing, Paralympics in-jokes and offensive sign language to the bonding power of Jon Bon Jovi, his show is an energetic musing on modern life. The only flaw is his audience participation…

David Bainbridge

Debunking the myths surrounding teenagers

7 Aug 2009

Vilified, hated, dismissed, feared and ridiculed, with a reputation blackened beyond damage limitation by even the deftest of spin doctors. Teenagers may be the least fashionable or genial of causes to champion, but that is exactly what David Bainbridge…

Eleanor Catton

Exploring the personality-shaping notions of adolescence

7 Aug 2009

Eleanor Catton’s The Rehearsal is a study of and search for reality. Following a group of teenage girls as they attempt to navigate adolescence with its attendant agonies and anxieties, it delves into the labyrinthine and precarious relationship between…

Adrian McKinty: Fifty Grand

9 Jul 2009

Seeking to avenge the death of a father she hardly knew, cop Mercado flees unrelentingly bleak Cuba for the celebrity-filled Colorado ski resort where he was killed in a hit-and-run, his demise covered up with a pay-off to the sheriff. With a luxurious…

Giles Foden: Turbulence

28 May 2009

Giles Foden’s novel opens with the fantastical vision of icebergs being towed from Antarctica to Saudi Arabia for the purpose of watering the Sheikh’s desert. Taking in sea lions trained to detect mines, frissons and debate, the horror and waste of war…

Darin Strauss - More Than It Hurts You

5 Feb 2009

SOCIAL DRAMA If you’re in the mood for a brisk, entertaining read, More Than It Hurts You isn’t it. If your interests lie in the inner workings of individuals and relationships, however, this is an in-depth study of exactly that. Josh, Dori, and…

Lemn Sissay - Listener

16 Oct 2008

POETRY COLLECTION Lemn Sissay’s latest poetry collection is not exciting fare. The main problem is that it simply lacks freshness with little that is striking or exceptional, largely because he borrows so heavily from idiom, cliché, and adage. There…

Annie Proulx - Fine Just the Way It Is

4 Sep 2008

Fine Just the Way It Is marks Annie Proulx's return to Wyoming, the setting of two previous collections of short stories. The cast is, at once, familiar and fantastic. The devil refurbishes hell, adding to the décor centuries of portraits by mortals…