The Late Hector Kipling
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Review
"David Thewlis has written an extraordinarily good novel that is not only brilliant in its own right but which stands proudly beside his work as an actor, no mean boast. He is the epitome of the true Renaissance man. A hero of mine." -- Billy Connolly
Observer
'wonderful entertainment...a funny and successful satire of the contemporary art world...written with a black and cynical honesty.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this because I've always liked Thewlis's acting and I have an interest in the London Art scene. I had no idea that I was picking up such a work of genius. Debut or not, this is a masterpiece. Will Self must dream of getting this good. Such ballsy and honest writing addressing all the big subjects beautifully: Life, Death, and Art. All from the point of view of this strangely lovable, dysfunctional, selfish, immature wretch of a man. The plot is great, but it's the writing that really drives it. Hector's voice is unforgettable and painfully of-the-moment. What a portrait of the pretentious, solipsistic, empty-hearted gets that society's avant-garde is birthing. Hilarious climax, too. Don't delay! Buy! Read!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Deeply scurrilous, wickedly funny and ultimately horrifying - this is a novel with attitude. It concerns the Emin and Hirst school of art, productive of works more conceptual than painterly. Hector has had some minor success and is creating a self-portrait for a prestigious gallery showing as the novel opens. He has a wonderful girlfriend, Eleni, and often goes back to Blackpool to see his Mum and Dad. But there's something missing from his life. What he finds most interesting is death (his first successful drawing was of his Auntie Pat's dead budgie). He wonders how death, someone else's death, might contribute to his artistic sensibilities. Hector would like somebody to die, somebody close enough for him to care about - and that, of course, makes him feel terrible.
When things start to go wrong, involving a foppish stalker, a large ugly settee, and a sadistic female American poet, Hector becomes locked in a spiral of disaster that leads to the breakdown of his relationships with everyone, and to a huge hole in the floor of the Tate Gallery. Hector is splendid in a rather horrifying way. He is the epitome of the self-absorbed artist, but he is also very self-knowing, so the reader quickly becomes complicit in his outrageous thought-patterns, if not in his equally outrageous behaviour.
This very funny novel is full of bile and spleen on the subject of the modern art scene. David Thewlis is better known as an actor and was seen relatively recently playing identical twin brothers in the BBC series The Street.
When things start to go wrong, involving a foppish stalker, a large ugly settee, and a sadistic female American poet, Hector becomes locked in a spiral of disaster that leads to the breakdown of his relationships with everyone, and to a huge hole in the floor of the Tate Gallery. Hector is splendid in a rather horrifying way. He is the epitome of the self-absorbed artist, but he is also very self-knowing, so the reader quickly becomes complicit in his outrageous thought-patterns, if not in his equally outrageous behaviour.
This very funny novel is full of bile and spleen on the subject of the modern art scene. David Thewlis is better known as an actor and was seen relatively recently playing identical twin brothers in the BBC series The Street.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having enjoyed David Thewlis's role in Mike Leigh's Naked I bought the book on the strength of that.
Wondering if I was falling into the trap of reading something by a 'celebrity' somebody I 'know' rather than a 'proper' author.
However, celebrity or not, the work stands on it's own, I like the way it's written and to my mind D. Thewlis is a 'proper' author.
If you've had any brush with the art world at all you're going to love this, either way it'll make you laugh and appeal to your self destructive side. Enjoy!
Wondering if I was falling into the trap of reading something by a 'celebrity' somebody I 'know' rather than a 'proper' author.
However, celebrity or not, the work stands on it's own, I like the way it's written and to my mind D. Thewlis is a 'proper' author.
If you've had any brush with the art world at all you're going to love this, either way it'll make you laugh and appeal to your self destructive side. Enjoy!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
a black comedy that stuns you
Like other readers I bought this on the promise of it being written by David Thewlis. The dark hunour that is throughout the book had me laughing out loud whilst on a train. Read more
Published on 2 April 2010 by Ms. T. J. Thomas
An Appealing or Appalling Hero?
One prominent print review casts the protagonist of this debut novel from British actor Thewliss as an "appealing" hero. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2009 by A. Ross
Fantastic Read
One of the best, if not THE best book I've read in years, had me laughing out loud on the tube (which can be quite embarrassing). Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2008 by A. Kennedy
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