false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223645203m/119119.jpg 119119 4 <I>The Sweet Smell of Psychosis</I> (very loosely based on Alexander Mackendrick's searing '50s movie <I>Sweet Smell of Success</I>) is the kind of mordant fable that Will Self could toss off in his sleep. But although it doesn't stretch Self's considerable talents, it is still a wonderfully poisonous entertainment.<p> Richard Hermes is a tiny cog in the London media machine, a hack whose only distinction is a tenuous position at the edge of the most powerful clique in town. At its heart is the loathsome Bell, a sort of malevolent anti-Oprah whose media omnipresence has given him enormous power.<p> <blockquote>...one of Bell's most sycophantic acolytes had established--through certain arcane statistical computations--that there must, logically, be at least two hundred thousand people in Britain who did <I>nothing else</I> but listen to Bell's voice, watch Bell's face, or read his words, for every waking hour of their lives.</blockquote> Richard is drawn deeper into Bell's web in pursuit of the gorgeous Ursula Bentley, but he can't keep up with the clique's colossal appetite for controlled substances. He soon begins to slide into drug-addled madness, and Self once again demonstrates his uncanny ability to render altered states in perfectly crafted prose. In fact, much of the pleasure that <I>The Sweet Smell of Psychosis</I> has to offer comes not from the story of Richard's inevitable fall, but from Self's deft and playful way with words. Few writers in English are able to use such beautiful language to describe the most revolting things. Whether he's writing about an excruciating hangover or Bell's naked body ("each pap sporting a twistle of black, black hair",) Self's decadent language begs to be savored, even read out loud. Martin Rowson, the Hogarth to Self's Swift, provides some remarkable illustrations to accompany the text. Rowson's work (most recently showcased in his comic-book version of <I>The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman</I>) is grim and shadowy, but filled with detail and twisted humor. Together, he and Self have created an elegant <I>billet-aigre</I> to London's dark underbelly, a cautionary tale that takes pleasure in its own unpleasantness. <I>--Simon Leake</I> 293233 book 1996 The Sweet Smell of Psychosis total:116|5:21|4:39|3:37|2:18|1:1| 116 409 147 7 5 0 false false Sat May 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 11:09:37 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 14:07:54 -0700 2009
Written in collaboration with tip-top cartoonist Martin Rowson, who provided a dozen or so ghoulish drawings, this is one of the most interesting lit...more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Sun Jan 06 12:54:52 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 06 12:58:17 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Wed Jun 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 17 13:16:56 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 06:44:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Jul 13 05:32:18 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 05:33:23 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Aug 11 09:40:19 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 11 10:00:31 -0700 2007 more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue Jul 17 09:26:42 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 17 09:27:29 -0700 2007 2 0 false false Sat Mar 10 10:03:32 -0800 2007 Sat Mar 10 10:04:26 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Wed Dec 02 15:47:02 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 02 15:47:02 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Fri Nov 20 12:54:02 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 12:54:02 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 16 06:01:06 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 06:01:06 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Nov 16 03:05:40 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 03:05:40 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Oct 27 00:12:47 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 00:12:47 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Sep 16 04:09:45 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 04:09:45 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Sep 09 21:42:13 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 21:42:13 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Sep 06 08:24:39 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 08:24:39 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri Sep 04 18:43:01 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 18:43:01 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Aug 18 21:54:47 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 21:54:47 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Jul 08 08:50:05 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 08:50:05 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jun 29 01:16:38 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 01:16:38 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Jun 24 00:11:41 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 00:11:41 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=119119