Bruce Beckham's Blog, page 5
November 14, 2015
For author read stalker
There is a great debate raging on the Goodreads author forums about whether authors should respond to reviewers.
As you may know, Goodreads policy is that authors should NOT contact reviewers (I think this is a strong recommendation, rather than a sackable offence).
The majority of authors agree with the policy – take the bouquets and brickbats with equal grace (and keep your mouth shut).
Personally, I read ALL reviews of my books, and think deeply about them. I don’t respond – and I do feel a little guilty about this. (So if you have taken the trouble to a) read my work and b) write a review – thank you, thank you, thank you!)
I saw some research (for all products, not just books) – it suggested that potential buyers look at the overall score or number of reviews to make sure the item is generally ‘okay’ – then they read the 1-star reviews to check out if the problems might relate to them.
I’m happy to have some 1-star reviews because most of them complain that I write in the present tense. This is not everyone’s cup of tea. If you have such a phobia, my 1-star reviews help you avoid this abomination. (And, in turn, improve my batting average.)
But it appears some authors harry their reviewers. Nothing less than 5 stars is acceptable. They demand an explanation – and a retraction.
Have they read ‘How to Win Friends & Influence People’?
As you may know, Goodreads policy is that authors should NOT contact reviewers (I think this is a strong recommendation, rather than a sackable offence).
The majority of authors agree with the policy – take the bouquets and brickbats with equal grace (and keep your mouth shut).
Personally, I read ALL reviews of my books, and think deeply about them. I don’t respond – and I do feel a little guilty about this. (So if you have taken the trouble to a) read my work and b) write a review – thank you, thank you, thank you!)
I saw some research (for all products, not just books) – it suggested that potential buyers look at the overall score or number of reviews to make sure the item is generally ‘okay’ – then they read the 1-star reviews to check out if the problems might relate to them.
I’m happy to have some 1-star reviews because most of them complain that I write in the present tense. This is not everyone’s cup of tea. If you have such a phobia, my 1-star reviews help you avoid this abomination. (And, in turn, improve my batting average.)
But it appears some authors harry their reviewers. Nothing less than 5 stars is acceptable. They demand an explanation – and a retraction.
Have they read ‘How to Win Friends & Influence People’?
October 21, 2015
14,495 one-star ratings & counting... time to give up reading?
Yes, there really is a Goodreads profile* with 14,495 ratings... and all 1-star!
This curious state of affairs was spotted by a vigilant author who was disturbed to receive a 1-star rating when all of her others were much higher.
I have to admit, this would probably have passed me by. I get quite a few 1-star ratings, especially from readers who object to the present tense!
And, actually, there is a certain masochistic frisson in reading a hostile review.
Of course, it’s a great honour when a reader takes the trouble to write a glowing tribute – it’s what keeps you going when you get stuck with 20,000 words still to go, or find a gaping plot-hole with no apparent way of filling it. Positive reviews provide momentum.
But critical reviews provide direction. Following a couple of stinkers, I completely rewrote the first Skelgill novel. I thought the reviewers had a fair point. (And now it gets much better reviews on average.)
And at a lesser level, minor complaints and gripes help to smooth the rough edges. As a result, although my characters cuss and canoodle when the moment is right, virtually none of this happens in public, where it might cause offence.
As for the prolific (and anonymous) 1-star rater on Goodreads, there has been speculation that this can’t possibly be a real person – it must be a robot that is up to some online trickery.
But maybe it really is just another masochistic aspect of literature, this time on behalf of a reader?
* read more on this thread – you can find the phantom profile with a bit of sleuthing: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
This curious state of affairs was spotted by a vigilant author who was disturbed to receive a 1-star rating when all of her others were much higher.
I have to admit, this would probably have passed me by. I get quite a few 1-star ratings, especially from readers who object to the present tense!
And, actually, there is a certain masochistic frisson in reading a hostile review.
Of course, it’s a great honour when a reader takes the trouble to write a glowing tribute – it’s what keeps you going when you get stuck with 20,000 words still to go, or find a gaping plot-hole with no apparent way of filling it. Positive reviews provide momentum.
But critical reviews provide direction. Following a couple of stinkers, I completely rewrote the first Skelgill novel. I thought the reviewers had a fair point. (And now it gets much better reviews on average.)
And at a lesser level, minor complaints and gripes help to smooth the rough edges. As a result, although my characters cuss and canoodle when the moment is right, virtually none of this happens in public, where it might cause offence.
As for the prolific (and anonymous) 1-star rater on Goodreads, there has been speculation that this can’t possibly be a real person – it must be a robot that is up to some online trickery.
But maybe it really is just another masochistic aspect of literature, this time on behalf of a reader?
* read more on this thread – you can find the phantom profile with a bit of sleuthing: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
September 9, 2015
Le singe est dans l’arbre. (A review of ‘The Long Midnight Of Barney Thompson’)
English stand-up comic Eddie Izzard has a routine in which he bemoans the uselessness of high-school French.
As if to prove his point, he buys a monkey and sets sail for Calais. (There is also a cat – and a mouse – but I am paraphrasing for the sake of brevity.)
Some time later we find him loitering in a forest, leaning against the trunk of an old cork oak.
In due course a surly French peasant wanders by smoking a Gauloise. Izzard greets him:
- Bonjour, Monsieur
- ‘jour.
- Il fait beau, n’est pas? (Nice weather.)
- Oui.
- Je suis Anglais. (I’m English.)
- Oui?
- Je viens ici en vacances. (I’m on holiday.)
- Oui?
- etc. etc.
After a lengthy preamble, Izzard contrives to bring the conversation around to the tree and at last – many years after learning the redundant phrase – he is able gleefully to state, “le singe est dans l’arbre.” (The monkey is in the tree.)
Of course, I knew this story wasn’t real (you can’t buy a monkey in Britain, you couldn’t take it on a cross-channel ferry, the monkey would bite you and run away etc.) – but that didn’t matter. I was able to suspend disbelief, and enjoy the tale for its ironic humour and much-anticipated punchline.
And so to The Long Midnight Of Barney Thomson.
If you can adopt the same ‘stand-up’ frame of mind, you can enjoy this novel.
If, however, you can’t – or don’t want to – suspend disbelief, you will find yourself continually hauling a frown off your brow.
Set in Glasgow, the plot is quite amusing if (intentionally?) clichéd, and the characters distinct and endearing.
The style may grate. The author generally dispenses with personal pronouns and conjunctions. Begins many sentences with a transitive verb. Cuts through the waffle. Writes in short bursts.
The book itself is also short – more of a novella at around 63,000 words – but perhaps well suited to become a screenplay. (And I look forward to watching Robert Carlyle’s directorial debut – entitled ‘The Legend of Barney Thompson’.)
The blurb suggests macabre horror – but the comedy overwhelms any sense of shock or revulsion – at times it’s pure dead slapstick.
The jokes, however, can become tiresome. I felt at times trapped at a dinner party opposite the guest who thinks he should point out every play-on-words and innuendo that springs to mind (that you also thought of, but felt it would be immature to mention).
Overall – well, I made it to the end – so I would say I enjoyed the brief journey, despite the bumpy ride. I swithered between 3 and 4 stars – it’s probably a three-and-a-half but I’d rather round up than down.
As if to prove his point, he buys a monkey and sets sail for Calais. (There is also a cat – and a mouse – but I am paraphrasing for the sake of brevity.)
Some time later we find him loitering in a forest, leaning against the trunk of an old cork oak.
In due course a surly French peasant wanders by smoking a Gauloise. Izzard greets him:
- Bonjour, Monsieur
- ‘jour.
- Il fait beau, n’est pas? (Nice weather.)
- Oui.
- Je suis Anglais. (I’m English.)
- Oui?
- Je viens ici en vacances. (I’m on holiday.)
- Oui?
- etc. etc.
After a lengthy preamble, Izzard contrives to bring the conversation around to the tree and at last – many years after learning the redundant phrase – he is able gleefully to state, “le singe est dans l’arbre.” (The monkey is in the tree.)
Of course, I knew this story wasn’t real (you can’t buy a monkey in Britain, you couldn’t take it on a cross-channel ferry, the monkey would bite you and run away etc.) – but that didn’t matter. I was able to suspend disbelief, and enjoy the tale for its ironic humour and much-anticipated punchline.
And so to The Long Midnight Of Barney Thomson.
If you can adopt the same ‘stand-up’ frame of mind, you can enjoy this novel.
If, however, you can’t – or don’t want to – suspend disbelief, you will find yourself continually hauling a frown off your brow.
Set in Glasgow, the plot is quite amusing if (intentionally?) clichéd, and the characters distinct and endearing.
The style may grate. The author generally dispenses with personal pronouns and conjunctions. Begins many sentences with a transitive verb. Cuts through the waffle. Writes in short bursts.
The book itself is also short – more of a novella at around 63,000 words – but perhaps well suited to become a screenplay. (And I look forward to watching Robert Carlyle’s directorial debut – entitled ‘The Legend of Barney Thompson’.)
The blurb suggests macabre horror – but the comedy overwhelms any sense of shock or revulsion – at times it’s pure dead slapstick.
The jokes, however, can become tiresome. I felt at times trapped at a dinner party opposite the guest who thinks he should point out every play-on-words and innuendo that springs to mind (that you also thought of, but felt it would be immature to mention).
Overall – well, I made it to the end – so I would say I enjoyed the brief journey, despite the bumpy ride. I swithered between 3 and 4 stars – it’s probably a three-and-a-half but I’d rather round up than down.
July 28, 2015
Drinking in pubic
Ah – typos!
Like literary no-see-ums they lull you into a false sense of security – no matter how many rounds of eagle-eyed editing – and then, just when you think you’re safe… ow! – they were lurking all along.
A career in copywriting has proved to me their invisibility. When you read though a piece of text, you can’t help being carried along by its meaning. Your brain gets the message and isn’t too fussy about the messenger. (Did you spot the missing ‘r’ back there?)
Some professional proof-checkers read backwards just to avoid this pitfall.
But it can’t be much fun – and it only really helps with spelling mistakes. When I omitted ‘r’ from ‘through’ above, I doubt a backwards-checker, not following the gist, would spot the error. Though, after all, is a perfectly good word.
Which makes Amazon’s system for finding these flaws all the more impressive.
Just this morning I received an email to ask, did I intend to write, “drinking in the public bar” rather than the published version, “drinking in the pubic bar”?
Given that this particular phrase referred to a group of underage schoolboys enjoying an illicit visit to a hostelry, I did waver for a moment. But only a moment!
Like literary no-see-ums they lull you into a false sense of security – no matter how many rounds of eagle-eyed editing – and then, just when you think you’re safe… ow! – they were lurking all along.
A career in copywriting has proved to me their invisibility. When you read though a piece of text, you can’t help being carried along by its meaning. Your brain gets the message and isn’t too fussy about the messenger. (Did you spot the missing ‘r’ back there?)
Some professional proof-checkers read backwards just to avoid this pitfall.
But it can’t be much fun – and it only really helps with spelling mistakes. When I omitted ‘r’ from ‘through’ above, I doubt a backwards-checker, not following the gist, would spot the error. Though, after all, is a perfectly good word.
Which makes Amazon’s system for finding these flaws all the more impressive.
Just this morning I received an email to ask, did I intend to write, “drinking in the public bar” rather than the published version, “drinking in the pubic bar”?
Given that this particular phrase referred to a group of underage schoolboys enjoying an illicit visit to a hostelry, I did waver for a moment. But only a moment!
June 18, 2015
Does it spoil a whodunit if you solve the crime before the sleuth?
I am normally hopeless at deducing the person ‘whodunit’.
So much so, that I don’t even try any more.
I am content to wait – indeed, to relax – until Poirot, or his equivalent, is ready to gather the family around the fireside and deliver his pronouncement.
But in the past couple of weeks I made a concerted effort to change this state of affairs. I chose ‘After the Funeral’, by Agatha Christie.
I kept assiduous notes, marking down against each suspect anything that might relate to motive, opportunity, lack of alibi and suspicious behaviour. I collected 102 pieces of evidence!
And – eureka! Three-quarters of the way through the book, it came to me.
(Curiously, the apparent culprit was not on my list of suspects!)
This put me on tenterhooks for the remainder of the novel.
Having invested a ton of effort – and more than a pinch of professional pride – I did not want to be wrong.
And what does Ms. Christie do? She throws in a couple of curved balls right at the death. She had me doubting my judgement.
So it was quite a relief when Monsieur Poirot put me out of my misery. (I did get it right – though for the life of me I could not work out the motive!)
The upside? Satisfaction.
The downside? Anxiety.
On balance? I’m undecided! It created a challenge – but I’m not sure I could muster the discipline to do it every time.
Finally, it left me with even greater admiration for Agatha. Though her writing in this novel is as endearingly clunky as ever, the mystery she contrives is as endearingly masterful as ever.
So much so, that I don’t even try any more.
I am content to wait – indeed, to relax – until Poirot, or his equivalent, is ready to gather the family around the fireside and deliver his pronouncement.
But in the past couple of weeks I made a concerted effort to change this state of affairs. I chose ‘After the Funeral’, by Agatha Christie.
I kept assiduous notes, marking down against each suspect anything that might relate to motive, opportunity, lack of alibi and suspicious behaviour. I collected 102 pieces of evidence!
And – eureka! Three-quarters of the way through the book, it came to me.
(Curiously, the apparent culprit was not on my list of suspects!)
This put me on tenterhooks for the remainder of the novel.
Having invested a ton of effort – and more than a pinch of professional pride – I did not want to be wrong.
And what does Ms. Christie do? She throws in a couple of curved balls right at the death. She had me doubting my judgement.
So it was quite a relief when Monsieur Poirot put me out of my misery. (I did get it right – though for the life of me I could not work out the motive!)
The upside? Satisfaction.
The downside? Anxiety.
On balance? I’m undecided! It created a challenge – but I’m not sure I could muster the discipline to do it every time.
Finally, it left me with even greater admiration for Agatha. Though her writing in this novel is as endearingly clunky as ever, the mystery she contrives is as endearingly masterful as ever.
May 9, 2015
Reviews exposé
Have you ever wondered how newly published novels start life with incredible ratings on Amazon?
The explanation is that there are companies who, for a FEE PAID BY THE AUTHOR, will generate hundreds of reviews.
Here are some examples, by the same ‘sham’ reviewer who is rattling out 7-8 per month (I have kept the reviewer's name and book titles anonymous):
April 30 2015 – A GREAT BOOK BY A GREAT WRITER – 5 STARS
Look forward to reading more of his books. Action and intrigue from start to finish.
April 28 2015 – GREAT BOOK, GREAT WRITER – 5 STARS
Love the book & his writing. Look forward to the next one.
April 24 2015 – LOVED THE BOOK – 5 STARS
Look forward to reading the rest in the series. Plenty of action and adventure to satisfy anyone who enjoys a good thriller.
April 18 2015 – WELL WORTH READING – 5 STARS
I enjoyed reading this book & look forward to reading more of his writings.
April 10 2015 – BEST BOOK IN THE SERIES – 5 STARS
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The story was different to what is usually in the series.
April 6 2015 – RECOMMENDED GOOD READING – 5 STARS
Another great book that was hard to put down. Roll on the next book in the series.
March 29 2015 – ANOTHER GREAT READ – 5 STARS
Another great read. Look forward to the next book.
Are your sides splitting yet?
The trouble is, these reviews are ACTUALLY ON AMAZON, along with countless others like them.
Sadly, it undermines the whole system of Amazon ratings – how can you tell at a glance that a title has not been artificially boosted?
Thank goodness for Goodreads!
The explanation is that there are companies who, for a FEE PAID BY THE AUTHOR, will generate hundreds of reviews.
Here are some examples, by the same ‘sham’ reviewer who is rattling out 7-8 per month (I have kept the reviewer's name and book titles anonymous):
April 30 2015 – A GREAT BOOK BY A GREAT WRITER – 5 STARS
Look forward to reading more of his books. Action and intrigue from start to finish.
April 28 2015 – GREAT BOOK, GREAT WRITER – 5 STARS
Love the book & his writing. Look forward to the next one.
April 24 2015 – LOVED THE BOOK – 5 STARS
Look forward to reading the rest in the series. Plenty of action and adventure to satisfy anyone who enjoys a good thriller.
April 18 2015 – WELL WORTH READING – 5 STARS
I enjoyed reading this book & look forward to reading more of his writings.
April 10 2015 – BEST BOOK IN THE SERIES – 5 STARS
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The story was different to what is usually in the series.
April 6 2015 – RECOMMENDED GOOD READING – 5 STARS
Another great book that was hard to put down. Roll on the next book in the series.
March 29 2015 – ANOTHER GREAT READ – 5 STARS
Another great read. Look forward to the next book.
Are your sides splitting yet?
The trouble is, these reviews are ACTUALLY ON AMAZON, along with countless others like them.
Sadly, it undermines the whole system of Amazon ratings – how can you tell at a glance that a title has not been artificially boosted?
Thank goodness for Goodreads!
March 30, 2015
Update your Kindle books
I recently made some major changes to my first Inspector Skelgill novel, Murder in Adland.
I tried to buy the new edition - to update my Kindle - however the Amazon system kept telling me I already owned it!
It all sounds crazy - but of course Amazon are much smarter than this - although it took a reader to kindly point out to me what to do.
Here are the steps:
- log in to your Amazon account
- click on the tab that says 'Your Account' - over towards the top right
- this opens a drop-down menu
- on this menu click on 'Manage Your Content & Devices'
- this opens a new page with 3 tabs - it should already be showing 'Your Content'
- scroll down your list of e-books
- opposite 'Murder in Adland' there should be an alert telling you an update is available
- click on this and after a while it should replace the old edition on your Kindle
There is no charge for this - and the same process applies for all those books that have updates waiting.
Handy to know, I thought.
I tried to buy the new edition - to update my Kindle - however the Amazon system kept telling me I already owned it!
It all sounds crazy - but of course Amazon are much smarter than this - although it took a reader to kindly point out to me what to do.
Here are the steps:
- log in to your Amazon account
- click on the tab that says 'Your Account' - over towards the top right
- this opens a drop-down menu
- on this menu click on 'Manage Your Content & Devices'
- this opens a new page with 3 tabs - it should already be showing 'Your Content'
- scroll down your list of e-books
- opposite 'Murder in Adland' there should be an alert telling you an update is available
- click on this and after a while it should replace the old edition on your Kindle
There is no charge for this - and the same process applies for all those books that have updates waiting.
Handy to know, I thought.
March 3, 2015
Writing Better
Having studied first biology and then business, the extent that I have learned to write creatively owes much to 25 years in advertising.
As a copywriter I have discovered lots of useful tips – did you know, for instance, that 4 times as many people read the body copy of an ad if it has a benefit in its headline?
Or how about this. Modern English is basically a duplicated amalgam of Anglo-Saxon and Latin. In advertising copy, it is the short, punchy Saxon words that sell. (Why say, “Obtain this complimentary beverage” when “Get a free drink” uses 60% fewer characters?)
To write good ads you simply avoid clichés, platitudes and hyperbole. Just stick to the facts. And, of course, say “You” not “We”.
So my current reading – Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print – has come as a bit of a shock.
Authorial voice. Beats. Exposition. Interior monologue. Narrative distance. Omniscience. Speaker attribution. Viewpoint. Yikes!
Ought I be doing these things? Am I doing these things? (Am I overdoing these things?)
The answer appears to be ‘Yes’ to all three.
That I am getting something right I can only put down to the power of reading. That there is much to learn is at once daunting and inspiring.
Still, if Stephen King’s criticisms of the likes of Stephanie Meyer (Twilight), Erle Stanley Gardener (Perry Mason) and James Patterson (Alex Cross) are anything to go by, maybe I should just keep bashing away with the advertising method?
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009...
As a copywriter I have discovered lots of useful tips – did you know, for instance, that 4 times as many people read the body copy of an ad if it has a benefit in its headline?
Or how about this. Modern English is basically a duplicated amalgam of Anglo-Saxon and Latin. In advertising copy, it is the short, punchy Saxon words that sell. (Why say, “Obtain this complimentary beverage” when “Get a free drink” uses 60% fewer characters?)
To write good ads you simply avoid clichés, platitudes and hyperbole. Just stick to the facts. And, of course, say “You” not “We”.
So my current reading – Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print – has come as a bit of a shock.
Authorial voice. Beats. Exposition. Interior monologue. Narrative distance. Omniscience. Speaker attribution. Viewpoint. Yikes!
Ought I be doing these things? Am I doing these things? (Am I overdoing these things?)
The answer appears to be ‘Yes’ to all three.
That I am getting something right I can only put down to the power of reading. That there is much to learn is at once daunting and inspiring.
Still, if Stephen King’s criticisms of the likes of Stephanie Meyer (Twilight), Erle Stanley Gardener (Perry Mason) and James Patterson (Alex Cross) are anything to go by, maybe I should just keep bashing away with the advertising method?
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009...
January 26, 2015
What a difference a decade makes
About eight years ago I won a short-story competition. At the time I was having a non-fiction book published (about Marketing). I was beginning to believe, 'I can do this writing malarkey.'
My short story was a crime mystery. It was published in an anthology. Meanwhile, rattling in my ‘rejected’ closet was the fully fleshed skeleton of a full-length whodunit, written some five years earlier. When Kindle came along I thought, ‘What the heck’, and – ignoring my agent’s advice not to give up the day job – published it myself.
Generous readers (mainly) ignored my undeveloped novel-writing skills, and said they liked the characters, the setting and the plot. Others (usefully) pointed out some of its (my) shortcomings. However, the consensus was, ‘Are there any more?’ So, a good decade after writing the first, I started upon a series. Number five is currently in progress.
While I was giving away #1 free, I didn’t mind too much that it left something to be desired. But as the popularity of the series has grown, folk have started buying it. So, for two weeks this January, I disappeared from family life and re-wrote the book: same characters, same plot – just a different writer. (Don’t we renew our body cells every 10 years?)
Fingers crossed that it is much improved (I guess the ratings will eventually tell me this). The biggest shock was the final word-count – 20,000 fewer than the original. Perhaps in my naivety I had been trying too hard?
Remarkably, other things had changed, too. Email has replaced fax machines, and data can be received on the move. DNA analysis is making redundant “the little grey cells” (although not in my books). And Wembley Stadium’s twin towers are gone! How will England ever win the World Cup again without them?
My short story was a crime mystery. It was published in an anthology. Meanwhile, rattling in my ‘rejected’ closet was the fully fleshed skeleton of a full-length whodunit, written some five years earlier. When Kindle came along I thought, ‘What the heck’, and – ignoring my agent’s advice not to give up the day job – published it myself.
Generous readers (mainly) ignored my undeveloped novel-writing skills, and said they liked the characters, the setting and the plot. Others (usefully) pointed out some of its (my) shortcomings. However, the consensus was, ‘Are there any more?’ So, a good decade after writing the first, I started upon a series. Number five is currently in progress.
While I was giving away #1 free, I didn’t mind too much that it left something to be desired. But as the popularity of the series has grown, folk have started buying it. So, for two weeks this January, I disappeared from family life and re-wrote the book: same characters, same plot – just a different writer. (Don’t we renew our body cells every 10 years?)
Fingers crossed that it is much improved (I guess the ratings will eventually tell me this). The biggest shock was the final word-count – 20,000 fewer than the original. Perhaps in my naivety I had been trying too hard?
Remarkably, other things had changed, too. Email has replaced fax machines, and data can be received on the move. DNA analysis is making redundant “the little grey cells” (although not in my books). And Wembley Stadium’s twin towers are gone! How will England ever win the World Cup again without them?
December 27, 2014
Here lies Billy
I have just finished reading Billy Liar, and I must say, it is one of the funniest books I have read in a long while.
There is no epic story. It is merely a fantasy-packed day in the life of its hero, Billy Fisher. However, the style and the subject are elegantly crafted together.
And there is enough of a cliffhanger to keep you wanting to know: will Billy go to London (and leave his troubles and his two-and-a-half fiancees behind) or will he stay to face the music?
The narrative is written in the first person (that being Billy), and the author captures with exquisite clarity the complex mind of the compulsive but non-malicious (and thus endearing) dissembler of the truth.
As Billy's web of falsehoods begins to unravel, and more lies are required to fill the gaping holes in his chronicle, the more hilarious the novel becomes.
Set in a fictitious northern English town in the late 1950s, the novel paints a vivid and faithful picture of working class life, values and aspirations of the era - a paradoxically authentic backcloth against which Billy's extensive cast of fibs is played out.
A wee gem.
There is no epic story. It is merely a fantasy-packed day in the life of its hero, Billy Fisher. However, the style and the subject are elegantly crafted together.
And there is enough of a cliffhanger to keep you wanting to know: will Billy go to London (and leave his troubles and his two-and-a-half fiancees behind) or will he stay to face the music?
The narrative is written in the first person (that being Billy), and the author captures with exquisite clarity the complex mind of the compulsive but non-malicious (and thus endearing) dissembler of the truth.
As Billy's web of falsehoods begins to unravel, and more lies are required to fill the gaping holes in his chronicle, the more hilarious the novel becomes.
Set in a fictitious northern English town in the late 1950s, the novel paints a vivid and faithful picture of working class life, values and aspirations of the era - a paradoxically authentic backcloth against which Billy's extensive cast of fibs is played out.
A wee gem.
