by Hanif Kureishi
|
|
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Gerald, the protagonist of Child Star, the fifth novel from literary wunderkind and new puritan Matt Thorne, bears a few scars from his brush with celebrity. A not inconsiderable measure of his pain is provided by his obsession with scuzz rock geniuses Royal Trux. As a teenager Gerald starred in All Right Now!, a real-life TV docu-drama. By his early 20s however, fame was long gone. He was at the end of an eight-year relationship, working at a language school and living in an unorthodox shared house in Oval. (The praise heaped upon this south London district may lead some readers to wonder if, à la Fay Weldon, Thorne received sponsorship from Lambeth council.) Best friend Sally offered support and shared (platonically) a freshly purchased double bed while he attempted to confront the past and re-enter the dating game--aided initially by her cokehead housemate Darla. Now five years later and going steady with Sophie, he decides to write "a tale of my experience of being on television".
In an era when nobodies are celebrities and every celebrity is getting in touch with their inner nobody, Gerald could be exhibit A. His book, he says, will not be the "usual story": there are "no serious problems with drink or drugs". Celebs, he argues, "fail to realise that the bits they think we're interested in (the debauchery) are, in fact, often the least compelling". What he's going to tell us about is whether he loved his co-star Perdita (yes); what he was thinking about when he was on screen (will anyone fancy me?) and whether any of those relationships were real (some were, some weren't).
His narrative, which shuffles dextrously between his teens and his emotionally troubled 20s with a handful of interjections from the present day, does just that. The minutiae of his parents' collapsing marriage and of auditions, rivalry among the cast and the development of the show itself at the hands of dramaturge Nicholas Pennington (a kind-of Alan Clarke Svengali figure) are recounted in what can feel dangerously close to real time. Thorne, a convincing advocate and practitioner of less-is-more prose, occasionally steers a thin line between simplicity and all out dullness but his precision with character and an impish understanding of familial relationships, modern dating mores and 80s pop culture keep this novel fizzing. --Travis Elborough --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
INK
'Matt Thorne delivers a highly enjoyable fifth novel.'
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
I hope this doesn't sound horrible, but I always prefer my friends when they're single. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I hope this doesn't sound horrible, but I always prefer my friends when they're single. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
 |
68% buy the item featured on this page: Child Star |
 |
32% buy Cherry |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
 |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. |
