- Paperback: 160 pages
- Publisher: Serif (Aug 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1897959125
- ISBN-13: 978-1897959121
- Product Dimensions: 19.7 x 12.6 x 1.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,591,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
Brilliantly acerbic pulp pastiche from the author of The Inflatable Volunteer
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Beerlight, the city of all our futures, is not a safe place. Crime - occasionally sophisticated, normally violent, always hilarious in its unintended effects - is the motor of the city's economy. Weaponry, rather than fast cars or designer clothes, is the ultimate status symbol. The cast of hoodlums includes burglar extraordinaire Billy Panacea, Kicker Charlie the casino owner, conman-cum-lawyer Harpoon Specter, Henry Blince the donut-obsessed Chief of Police, Getty Hundred Ram the unwitting bank-robber and other fun-loving felons who hang out at the Delayed Reaction Bar on Valentine Street. The narrator is only referred to as 'the clown' by his fellow criminals, and like all wise jesters, he holds a mirror up to our own world . . .
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cops and robbers…,
By
This review is from: Crime Studio (Paperback)
The Crime Studio – Steve Aylett’s debut book – is a hilariously warped look at a US city where crime runs rampant. Contrary to the publishers description, I would hesitate to call this a novel – there’s certainly nothing resembling any overarching plot or character development here – rather this is a collection of 27 very short stories set in the same locale and featuring the odd recurring character. In Beerlight almost every character seems to be a crook, and the few that aren’t are either corrupt or inept police and lawyers. Each chapter tells a tale of a different misadventure amongst the criminal fraternity, where invariably something goes wrong with hilarious results. Aylett’s prose style is a heady mix of highly compressed inventiveness and bizarre similies (with just a dash of barely restrained street-mime hatred) and the whole thing reads as if Mark Leyner had taken to writing crime fiction. As with Leyner Aylett’s rich writing can become rather wearing after a while, so the fact that this is a very brief book is no bad thing. Recommended.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome dude (I'm from California),
By A Customer
This review is from: Crime Studio (Paperback)
This book was brilliant. The prose and the stories are very cool and I suggest this to everyone. Ayletts characters are incredibly original and the world they live in is hilarious. Buy it. Dude.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surreal, crime-noir stories,
By Paul Lappen - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Crime Studio (Paperback)
This is a group of interconnected short stories that introduce the denizens of a town called Beerlight. 'Tis a very strange place.Tony Endless had gotten a job working for a local pest exterminator. On his first job, he took out the firearms carried by everyone in Beerlight and wiped out the dog, cat and aquarium in the house, not realizing that they were ot the pests in question. Word got around town, and now Tony has a business breaking into houses at night, quietly removing pets that the owners want gone, and, just as quietly, giving them to owners that do want them. Ben Stalkeye and chance don't go together very well. The strangest and most unlikely things would happen, only on the condition that he didn't want them to happen. This presented problems for his criminal career. Joe Solitary loved the feeling that came from being the subject of false accusation and did everything possible to be arrested and jailed for crimes in which he was not involved at all. He would go to the police station all the time and confess to anything and everything. In a place where paranoia is a part of daily life, Carl Overchoke had gone back for seconds and thirds. One day, he is told that "they" are on to him. Carl is an average guy who suddenly feels very important. He starts acting more self-assured, almost like a big shot, seeing spies everywhere, and eventually does gain the notice of the police. Jesse downtime didn't know how to rob anyone, so he experimented with smaller and smaller thefts. He tore the stalk from an apple at the local deli. He broke into the state zoo at night to steal an ant, then return it to the authorities. He would bump into people on the street, acquiring dozens of their atoms without suspicion. After his release, his thievery was refined to such a point that it occurred only in his mind(...)
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Crime Studio,
By Lea - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Crime Studio (Paperback)
I'm not sure what I can say about this book -- it's weird and funny, with quotable lines on every page, and I wanted to read it again the second I finished it. In fact, I might just do that . . .
This is a collection of interrelated stories about the citizens of Beerlight, where apparently everyone is a criminal -- although criminal aptitude varies, of course. There is a running theme of . . . I want to say joy . . . in these stories. As often as not, these burglars and con artists have become what they are due to an appreciation of the absurd, or a desire for hilarity -- I found the combination of mayhem and glee to be irresistible. Oddly enough, the writing reminds me very much of Catch-22, with surreal situations, wonderful wordplay, and the occasional shot to the heart. I would highly recommend this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT,
By Donald Armfield - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Crime Studio (Paperback)
A Great book, enjoyed every page.
Laugh out loud, bank robbing, gang affiliations, or being locked in the slammer... Aylett hits it on the head with his surrealism in a Tarantino way. |
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