Josef Herman: Warsaw, Brussels, Glasgow, London, 1938-1944
Josef Herman's early, cathartic work should not be missed
Red Army Faction Blues
Red Army Faction Blues persuasively blends fact and fiction in its account of Germany's turbulent times from the '60s to the '80s, writes Paul Simon
Josef Herman: Warsaw, Brussels, Glasgow, London, 1938-1944
Josef Herman's early, cathartic work should not be missed
Hemispheres
by Stephen Baker (Atlantic Books, £12.99)
Sunday 29 August 2010
Printable
EmailSet against the backdrop of a scarred, impoverished and deindustrialised Teesside, this debut novel is definitely not for the faint-hearted.
Uncompromising throughout, it is a relentlessly dark read, filled as it is with tortured characters trying to booze and fight their way out of despair.
The central story revolves around the return of local hard man Yan. Having disappeared during the Falklands conflict, nothing has been heard of him since. But it looks as if he's only come back to die, his body now shot through with cancer.
His son Danny has hardly been having an easy time of it. Haunted by the disappearance of his father and always a bit of outcast in this brutal world, he's now beset by marital difficulties which only look set to grow when he resolves to spend time with Yan.
Other than a love of birdwatching they don't seem to have much in common. But as the book progresses Danny begins to reconnect with his dad in a way no-one thought possible.
A sad, disturbing and beautifully written book that doesn't offer any easy answers.
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