All entries for Tuesday 22 August 2006

Wormy

The worms can carry me to heaven - Alan Warner

Although I really did enjoy this book it really does have some pretty major flaws. A number of the propositions just seem quite preposterous, the narrator is generally pretty unpleasant and the writing is a bit sloppy in places (although excellent in others).

Essentially a successful but very middle aged bloke/lothario discovers he is HIV+ and decides therefore to tell the story of his life to a homeless refugee whom he invites to stay in his home (as partial compensation for having to listen).

The tales are interesting but uneven and the whole thing builds to a really quite bizarre conclusion. Still, really rather enjoyable. I found the Spanish setting pretty convincing (but then I only have limited knowledge of the area) and the narrative does trip along nicely.

A bit of a departure for Warner – not set in NW Scotland or Edinburgh but no worse for this. Would say that doesn't quite match the achievements of Morvern Callar or The Sopranos (both of which are highly recommended) but still worth a punt.

: 22 Aug 2006 07:23 |  Tags: Book Review |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem