An appealingly eccentric and insouciant look at contemporary
London, its new money and moribund Cockney culture, from the author
of Interior (1989), etc. Tim Curtiz is an American journalist based
in London, "a poor man's Gore Vidal" who's acquired enough
celebrity through his Manhattan magazine columns to appear in
American Eagle's credit card commercials along with Bernie, an
elderly but ebullient Cockney actor. Another old Cockney in Tim's
life is William "Simba" Cochrane - a destitute pensioner briefly
famous in his youth for killing a marauding lion in Africa with his
penknife. This humble servant of a vanished empire becomes more
than a story for Tim, as does the lion (England's preeminent
heraldic beast). Lions bestride Tim's consciousness - lions rampant
(the London Zoo's Chaka will tie off the subplot) and lions
couchant (Landseer's famous sculptures in Trafalgar Square). They
cohabit oddly with Gemma, Tim's beloved small daughter; Victoria,
the sexy adwoman handling the American Eagle account; and
Victoria's ex-boyfriend Miles, a hotshot currency dealer whose fall
from grace into a Cockney underworld Cartwright describes with
relish (and with a friendly nod to Tom Wolfe's Bonfire). What you
get, then, is a bumpy but enjoyable ride, moving between the zippy
subplot featuring Miles, and Tim's desultory travels around town,
as he sniffs out the connections between London's imperial past and
polyglot present, weighs old cultural traditions (the Christmas
pantomime) against weird new imports (Thai kick-boxing), and
concludes that the "real London," if it exists at all, bas nothing
to do with the fraudulent images peddled by American Eagle, in
collaboration with that crafty old trouper Bernie. Despite that nod
to Wolfe, this is not an attempt at a British Bonfire but a mix of
straight-ahead narrative, free association, and cultural commentary
- as idiosyncratic as the twitch of a lion's whiskers. (Kirkus
Reviews)
'The satirical English novel of the decade' Observer From the
moment an unemployed City broker is devoured by an escapee from the
Zoo, we are embarked upon a dazzling journey through '90s London. A
city peopled by a rich and varied cast of characters with
intriguingly different backgrounds: from the City, to journalism,
the criminal underworld, advertising, music hall and the East
End... while lurking in the background is nemesis, in the shape of
a hungry lion. 'Does for London what Bonfire of the Vanities did
for New York.' The Sunday Times
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
