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Brass
 
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Brass (Paperback)

by Helen Walsh (Author)
3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 296 pages
  • Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd; First Edition edition (29 Mar 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1841954845
  • ISBN-13: 978-1841954844
  • Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 13.5 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 416,653 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
"Helen Walsh's first novel, Brass...has the best--as in the most honestly and evocatively described...sex of any contemporary fictious sex I've read....You forget how rare it is to find a heroine who acts the predator and not the victim, who gets to make the jokes rather than feed the lines to the joker."

Product Description
Nineteen-year-old Millie O'Reilley is, clever, spiky and adored by men - yet utterly forlorn. Even though she has the devotion of her professor father, Jerry, and the respect of the hard-knocks in South Liverpool, Millie feels a sense of growing alienation. Increasingly disillusioned with her University course and fellow students, she seeks an escape in the underbelly of Liverpool's Cathedral area - home to crackheads, pimps, pushers and, most intriguing to Millie, whores. And when an encounter with a world weary prostitute turns into an after hours odyssey of drink fuelled self-abuse it, ultimately, leads Millie toward questioning who she is and what she wants to get out of life. Shockingly candid, brutally poetic, Helen Walsh has created a portrait of a city and a generation that offers a female perspective on the harsh truth of growing up in today's Britain. Brass is an unsettling but ultimately compassionate account of the possibilities of identity and the desirability of love.

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:    (0)
1 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Bold As, 28 Jul 2005
This review is from: Brass (Paperback)
An emotional coming-of-age story is not the kind of book I generally go for, so I was surprised at just how enjoyable Brass was to read. It's not the most original plot in many ways; without revealing anything too significant it is obvious from the off that the life of Millie is not as ideal as it seems. That's not a bad thing; it allows the author to concentrate more on the characters than the situations, and this is a very character lead book. Told alternately from the point of view of Millie, a student with a successful father and Jamie, her platonic older male friend, we see two sides of the same story, how in a friendship nothing is always as clear cut as it appears.

The language is bold, striking and above all realistic and natural. It's crude, but it does not feel forced; the use of Scouse slang works well, the situations and ideas are described vividly and propel the story along at a stunning pace. By the end of the novel you will have been shocked and amused, and you'll be wanting to read more, but you're at the back page by now. It's three am, and you've logged onto Amazon to see if there's anything else by the same author, but not yet. I have no doubt that there will be soon. A great debut novel.

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22 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Fresh New Voice, 20 Jun 2004
By Mr. Paul Kirby (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Helens brilliant portrayal of nihilistic urban living shows both a gritty insight yet a romantic allure to the heady narcotic world of prostitution and female sexuality and disaffection in contemporary Britain. Her sassy voice cuts right to the core of the readers cosy world and shakes it. You will find yourself wishing you were Millie, lost in a thumping House music bass, spinning in a kaliedoscope world of Scouse gangsters and Ecstasy. Walsh's writing is a refreshingly accurate reflection of what it's like growing up in an inner city. It's even cooler that she's gorgeous too! Wait. Stop. Think:

The main factor about writing is that, like the other arts, it can only ever be a reflection of an aspect of the creators' character. So, in Brass, we are offered an insight into the mind of a self reverential promiscuous drug taking girl (Millie aka Walsh) who is disillusioned with her semi affluent background. Frankly, it is astounding that this book made it into print without anyone pointing out the authors rampant conceit.

Revelling in 'experimental' sex (why does every new generation think they invented the sex act?), drug taking and 'cool' nihilistic posturing is an easy evasion of self and real emotion. Life and depth start where these stop. What we need is the challenge of being human, not forlorn middle class self pity.

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24 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Just this once I wish I was George Bush, 30 Jul 2004
By A Customer
Some months back I read an interview in The Guardian with Helen Walsh. And, although she didn't come across as a particulary likeable person her attitude towards female sexuality was strangely compelling. So, one Saturday I brought a copy of her debut novel and stole a few hours of solitude (in a Liverpool cafe) to sit and read.

I felt rather 'hip' really, with my black coffee, marlboro lights and this contentious piece of contemporary literature. The front cover just screamed, 'look at me-I am debauchery' and I was ready for it...I wanted to feel dirty and rock n' roll.

Instead...it left me angry, disappointed and actually,bloody astounded. How did something this awful wind up (not only) in my possession, but in print at all? When I finish a book I often find myself stroking the sleeve in a habitual display of affection. When I finished Brass it was tossed to one side with absolute abandon.It is the most uninteligent,shallow and loathesome work of fiction I have ever had the misfortune to read. It is a tacky piece of trash lit that belongs in the world of that glossy gossip magazine in your dentists waiting room.

If the cranky little Texan in the big chair wants to wage another war then I've got one for him-a war on the pseudo-intellectual and pretentious drivel, masquerading as 'gritty' and cutting edge in our nations bookstores. Oh, I forgot, he's probably safe...can he read?

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Shocking but accurate?
Having recently enjoyed Somewhere in England I rushed out to buy Brass.
This was an excellent read, shocking but addictive. Read more
Published 13 months ago by J. Robinson

5.0 out of 5 stars Savage
I thought I was unshockable.... but then I read 'Brass' and realised I am not, thank god.
Helen Walsh's novel is raw, savage and unputdownable. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Published 17 months ago by Pevers

1.0 out of 5 stars Middle Class out of towner slums it
Walshs book purports to chart the journey into self awareness of Millie O'Reilley a 19 year old middle class bisexual girl as she licks, sucks and snorts her way around several... Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2005 by kev123y

5.0 out of 5 stars breath taking!
I read this book in a translation, I'm not English-speaking.

The blood/pain/soul/body fluids Walsh putted in this piece of art is dripping from the pages and crawl under your... Read more

Published on 10 Jul 2005

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the ending I expected
I thouht that Brass was a thoroughly absorbing book. The characters, although extreme, where easy to empathise with on some levels. Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2005 by antipixi

1.0 out of 5 stars Brassed Off
Being a Northern girl (though not from Liverpool) I decided to give Helen Walsh's debut novel Brass a read. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2004 by Luanne

5.0 out of 5 stars Brutally poetic Soul Fiction
From the very first page this amazing novel grabs you by the throat and mainlines you into a hidden world of casual sex, come-and-go relationships and, underneath it all,... Read more
Published on 22 Jul 2004 by apietta

5.0 out of 5 stars Raw & Beautiful First Novel
I read Brass on a Saturday night with the rain pouring down outside my window. I was hooked from the very beginning. Read more
Published on 5 April 2004 by Johan Almqvist

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