Review of Pimp Your Vocab by Lucy Tobin

Tobin, L., Pimp Your Vocab: A Terrifying Dictionary for Adults, Portico

Zonino cuz! JSYK I have this really book book that I jacked when you were bi-podding with that dullard arm candy who is obv. skett. It’s quality irritainment IMHO. Hush your gums though. Feel me?

If, unlike me, you understood any of that then you are one of the enlightened few who are clearly street and the world is yours my son, and everything in it.

Fortunately for the rest of us, Lucy Tobin’s brilliantly funny (and also quite informative) dictionary should go some way towards clearing the fog that clouds our brains as soon as we see text speak.

Pimp Your Vocab is exhaustively researched; clearly a great deal of work was required for Tobin to source the root of all the words, acronyms and phrases that appear in it.

My personal favourite is ‘irritainment’, which refers to any kind of entertainment that is addictive but trashy. Tobin suggests The Jeremy Kyle Show as the perfect example of this.

What you have here is a fun introduction to ‘kidult’ speak that would be the perfect stocking filler or silly gift for a Grandparent who wants to embarrass their Grandchildren.

Jog on…

Review of Beijing Coma by Ma Jian

Jian, M., Beijing Coma, Vintage

When reading a novel about historic events, especially one concerning the events in and around Tiananmen Square in May and June of 1989, it is often difficult to know when history stops and fiction starts.

When you consider this, as well as the gravity of what happened over 20 years ago in Beijing, it is clear that Ma Jian took on a huge project when he decided to write this book.

But has he succeeded?

On the whole, yes. Dai Wei, the key character, finds himself just on the periphery of the entire student movement in the square - never making the key decisions, nor respected enough to be truly influential, but equally never far away from the key events.

This sets a perfect tone for the novel as we see the major shifts in power within the movement in the square and its often chaotic organisation, as well as the more intimate moments that no doubt existed during the demonstrations.

I found that quite often I couldn't put the book down, but when I did, it was sometimes in frustration - especially in the first 40 pages or so. The early part of the novel was very slow and in some ways quite poorly written.

It felt as though Ma Jian was trying to hastily shoe-horn in as much history and background as possible in those first few pages, and most of it was told by just a few characters who arguably could never have known about all the horrific stories that they tell.

I felt that this brought into question the reality of the beginning of the novel to an extent. Had the author stuck to the later principle of an intimate setting - the characters slightly cut-off from everything that was going on around them - those first few pages would have been more effective.

I continued reading only because of my interest in the topic and because I had read some cracking reviews. But I am glad I did because the rest of the novel is worthy of the praise it has garnered.

It's dramatic, it's beautiful and it's harrowing. As you become more and more involved in the novel you find yourself swept away by the excitement and the fear that the many characters feel. You are sometimes outraged, and the tension is unbearable knowing with hindsight what ultimately transpires.

But the true strength of the novel is not in the passages based around the square in the late 1980s - that comes instead from the gentle blending of the past and present. Each episode that occurs after the demostrations, is not always done over in detail, or even comes to a conclusion. Ma Jian delicately melds together Dai Wei's thoughts and memories with the action that is happening around him.

In this way, Dai Wei came to life through his comatose state and became a truly believeable character. His boredom, anxiety and excitement give the novel its human feel and kept me glued to the page until the dramatic climax.

Be patient, it is worth it.

Review of Stairway to Hell by Charlie Williams

Williams, C. Stairway to Hell, Serpent’s Tail

Given his previous novels’ penchant for invoking comparison to Tarantino blockbusters and Irvine Welsh bestsellers, and a plot line revolving around Jimmy Page’s soul-shifting experiments in the 1970s, it would not be too surprising if Charlie Williams’ new book ‘Stairway to Hell’ turned out to be a bit mind-boggling.

In fact, Williams races his readers through a fast-paced plot line and only reverts to the bizarre as a dramtic aside. As a result, the intrigue of this book lies mainly with its convincing observations of life around the sleazy Blue Cairo club and the characters that frequent it rather its esoteric concept – although its originality certainly makes it stand out.

It’s funny too. The wit is often subtle, and those with an interest in music will no doubt appreciate certain puns more than those who don’t, but the events that unfold are often laugh-out-loud funny.

In just one night, Rik Suntan is attacked by a beer bottle while on stage, sees his best chance at the big time kicked into touch, is locked out of his flat by his girlfriend and shot in the chest by a midget in a pork pie hat.

This is just the beginning however, as Rik soon finds out that he is the reincarnation of David Bowie as well…

The depiction of the protagonist’s occasionally wavering pursuit of super-stardom is incredibly entertaining. If you deplore political correctness, love music, or just have a sense of humour, you will enjoy this book.