Adrian Turpin
Manne about Town
Hugo Wilcken’s haunting existential thriller is not so much one reflection as a hall of mirrors, at times dazzling, often a little dizzying. This is a book that flirts openly with its influences, from Kafka and Hitchcock to Paul Auster to 1950s noir.
It is likely to frustrate readers who like their puzzles solvable and their characters conventional, as well as those who prefer philosophical musings kept to a minimum. Others will revel in the exact same qualities. (You probably know which team
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'The trouble seems to be that we are not asked to read this author, reading being a thing of the past. We are asked to decode him.'
From the archive, Derek Mahon peruses the early short fiction of Thomas Pynchon.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/rock-n-roll-is-here-to-stay
'There are at least two dozen members of the House of Commons today whose names I cannot read without laughing because I know what poseurs and place-seekers they are.'
From the archive, Christopher Hitchens on the Oxford Union.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/mother-of-unions
Chuffed to be on the Curiosity Pill 2020 round-up for my @Lit_Review piece on swimming, which I cannot wait to get back to after 10+ months away https://literaryreview.co.uk/different-strokes https://twitter.com/RNGCrit/status/1351922254687383553