THE LAST WHITE MAN

 

TITLE - THE LAST WHITE MAN 

WRITTEN BY - MOHSIN HAMID 

PUBLISHED BY - PENGUIN GENERAL UK/HAMISH HAMILTON

PUBLICATION DATE -11TH AUGUST 2022 

The opening chapter of Mohsin Hamid’s “The Last White Man”, as the lead character Anders wakes to find his skin having turned brown and the fear and anger which results, strongly evokes Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” in which the protagonist awakens to find himself transformed into a giant beetle. This is no bad thing, and I think “The Last White Man” can be taken as a modern, prescient updating of that story as Anders and the affected people fight for the acceptance of a society which he now thinks shuns and distrusts him. 

His coolly disinterested girlfriend, Oona, sees him as “utterly different” which initially distresses her; a telling moment occurs when their lovemaking feels almost like infidelity. Anders feels palpably threatened when out in public, hiding his appearance as best he can. Anders sees his work colleagues start to treat him differently in a way that is almost imperceptible, but real. Soon, events take an ugly turn as riots and lynching's occur. 

Mohsin Hamid uses a stylised, and, admittedly, sometimes infuriating writing style. Paragraphs are formed of usually one sentence, heavily punctuated; sometimes this results in punchy, rhythmic text, other times it can be tiring getting to the end of the paragraph. I haven’t read any of Hamid’s previous books so I don’t know if this is his “thing” or not, but once I had got used to the style it became easier to read. The style does not detract from what is a very well-written novel with many powerful moments, but it does demand close attention. 

“The Last White Man” is, at a basic level, a story of what white people would do if they suddenly became Black. This may sound heavy-handed and clunky, and in the hands of a less skilled novelist it would be, but Hamid has managed to transcend such an obvious literary device to create a timely work of genius that challenges how we view anyone who is different.

BUY ON BOOKSHOP

OH, YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS A DATE?!

TITLE -  OH, YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS A DATE?! 

WRITTEN BY - C. RUSSELL PRICE

PUBLISHED BY - NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY PRESS 

PUBLICATION DATE - 15TH JUNE 2022

Apocalypse poetry is “in”, and C. Russell Price’s “Oh, You Thought This Was A Date?!”, a hardcore yet quietly excellent collection of self-styled “Apocalypse Poems”, joins a growing End Times library. These verses are most definitely not for the fainthearted with themes of child abuse, suicide, self-harm, rape amongst more progressive ideas of gender and identity, from a gay voice that refuses to be silenced. 

Each section has a title, such as “Pretend A Pandemic” and “The Devil Has Been Busy Today”. The apocalypse, real and metaphorical, stalks and occasionally attacks these poems, each one complete with its own soundtrack to listen to whilst reading and a “Ritual” for daily activities, including “get drunk in front of your cat”. 

Shoving the reader into a world of sex in vacant parking lots and weed-smoking millennials discussing their favourite doomsday scenarios, this is pretty grim reading from the outset. A nihilistic threads runs throughout the poems, which is visualised perfectly in “Armageddon Origin Story” where molestation in a lake house is juxtaposed with a man mowing his lawn; if you’re not convinced, try “On Reading a Copy of Pushkin I Stole from My Childhood Rapist: A Cento”, a title which, on reading the poem, turns out not to be metaphorical as the poet depicts their abuser in something approaching awe. In a later poem, Price telephones his “molester” and can’t help seeing him in all men with the same name. 

There are touches of Beat poetry in many poems, indeed the whole collection evokes it, especially in “Someone Is Missing for You and the Whole World Feels Empty” which begins - 

“We’re on LSD going eighty in a downpour”. 

Another highlight is the opening verse of “How to Die on a Farm” - 

“The vegetarians have slipped/and cannibalism is on its way.”

The rest of the poem is a rhythmic, punchy treat, displaying the usual pitch-dark sexual negativity. Elsewhere, the Apocalypse is renamed Carl, and we get a list of all of Carl’s foibles which are all too recognisable to our 2022 eyes, e.g. 

“Carl and cancel culture are in heat”

Overall, this is a modern, powerful  collection with many effective moments - and it ends strongly - a kind of “hate-letter” to modern America. There are some poems where the titles are possibly the best thing about them, but they all have a pleasing kinetic rhythm and vivid, often brutal imagery. This isn’t a book to be read in one sitting as the negative imagery can become very overwhelming, but an occasional sampling can offer a jolt of angry, modern darkness that is so very now. I loved it!

TEMPO - EXCURSIONS IN 21st CENTURY ITALIAN POETRY

TITLE - TEMPO - EXCURSIONS IN 21st CENTURY ITALIAN POETRY 

EDITED BY - LUCA PACI

PUBLISHED BY - PARTHIAN BOOKS 

PUBLICATION DATE - 1ST JULY 2022 

 

“Tempo - Excursions in 21st Century Italian Poetry”, edited by Luca Paci, is a collection of select works by over twenty modern Italian poets, separated into their own discrete section, with each poem presented in both Italian and English, alongside a short biography of both the poet their translator. Pretty much all the poetry included in this collection is very good to excellent, with vivid, often brutal imagery melding with effortless lyricism, creating many memorable moments. 

There is no doubt that a certain something is lost in translation, as always, but I would argue that something is gained, too. The poems, on the whole, are about the “dark underbelly” of the Italian psyche. The Italian language doesn’t seem suited to such dark themes, it being one of the most lyrical, romantic and “happy” languages in the world, but the translations often lay that darkness bare by using the harsher words of English. It’s telling that the first line of the first poem in the book, the sombre “VI” by Antonella Anedda, translates as “This language has no innocence”. Death and darkness stalk Anedda’s stark poetry; it is deeply concerned with mortality and the inevitability of decay. By contrast, the work of the next poet, Franco Buffoni, evokes Italy’s classical age. 

Much of the poetry is dark to the point of morbidness. The frailty of the human body and it’s eventual collapse, murder, the brutality not only of death but of birth, too, are recurring themes - the visceral body-horror of Dome Bulfaro being a standout - but depictions of such things have rarely been so beautifully rhythmic. However, this is not, to coin a phrase, poetry to kill yourself too, yet the reader would be forgiven for thinking that the world conjured up in these verses jars quite significantly with their accepted impression of Italian culture. From the urgent, urban poetry of Milo De Angelis, to Matteo Fantuzzi’s savage dissections of terrorist attacks and Shirin Ramzanali Fazel’s love letters to language and home - there are rare, enlightening jewels to be found in this uncharted territory, though I feel that the poems are best consumed in small doses. 

The selection is a model of diversity. The aching and poignant verse of Mariangela Gualtieri is fragile and elusive, and concerned with the passage of time, while Andrea Inglese’s clinical and highly visual blocks of prose conjure up images of scientific exhibits, forensically detailed. There is something for everyone in this vital and energised collection. 

With this collection, Luca Paci has delivered a breath of fresh poetic air that deserves a wide audience. If nothing else, it presents a new side to Italy that I assume many are unaware of: an Italian intellectualism that perhaps even it’s own country has suppressed, whether by accident or design. Very much a groundbreaking celebration of Italian poetry, presented in both the original language and in new translations, Parthian Books are to be congratulated for bringing such a vibrant, diverse and thorough compilation of under-known verse to a wider audience. I have rarely been so moved by poetry this dark, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

BUY IT FROM PARTHIAN BOOKS

BUY IT FROM BOOKSHOP

 

THE UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE BEANO

TITLE - THE UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE BEANO 

WRITTEN BY - IAIN MCLAUGHLIN 

PUBLISHED BY - WHITE OWL/PEN & SWORD BOOKS

PUBLICATION DATE - 30TH MARCH 2022

The Beano has been a treasured stalwart of British culture for over 80 years, and Iain McLaughlin’s book is a splendid celebration of Britain’s longest-running comic. Furthermore, it is also relives the glory days of British comics with enthusiasm and depth. 

The Beano’s importance as a morale-boosting publication despite paper shortages during the Second World War is analysed with the strips gloriously lampooning real-life figures such as Hitler and Mussolini and even the characters themselves doing their bit for Britain. The creation and development of all the major Beano characters such as Dennis the Menace, Roger the Dodger, Minnie the Minx and The Bash Street Kids is thoroughly examined. Thoroughly researched and full of interesting nuggets such as the fact that the first issue had ten pages devoted to text stories, and that the Bash Street Kids’ headmaster was modelled after the Beano’s editor. Biographies of the artists and writers who created the comic being these lesser-known figures to life, and the book includes quotes and anecdotes from them. Each decade of the Beano’s life is analysed right up to the present day where it continues to go thrive. 

This is an unofficial history but the book is fully illustrated with photographs, and there is a full timeline and an index. This book is written with skill and knowledge, relating the whole Beano story from its birth right up to the present day. McLaughlin keeps the tone light throughout and writes with obvious affection for the comic, but this doesn’t detract from what is most definitely a work of scholarship. The book shows how the comic has survived the decades and adapted to the times while maintaining its core values of quality, fun stories and characters for everyone.

BUY FROM PEN & SWORD

BUY FROM BOOKSHOP

MARVEL - CRISIS PROTOCOL | SHADOW AVENGERS

TITLE - MARVEL - CRISIS PROTOCOL | SHADOW AVENGERS 

WRITTEN BY - CARRIE HARRIS 

PUBLISHED BY - ACONYTE BOOKS 

PUBLICATION DATES - 

US PAPERBACK - 26TH APRIL 2022 

US/UK EBOOK - 5TH APRIL 2022

UK PAPERBACK - 7TH JULY 2022 

With Doctor Strange back in the limelight recently with his new movie coming this year, this is a perfect time for this book to come out, which sees his team, the Shadow Avengers, battling an invasion from the Dark Dimension. Throw in everyone’s favourite bad guy, Loki, who teams up with Venom and Green Goblin, and you’ve got another immensely enjoyable and riotous Marvel romp from Aconyte Books. 

Carrie Harris’ “Shadow Avengers” is the latest instalment in the Aconyte’s Books” Marvel - Crisis Protocol series, but it isn’t necessary to have read the previous book (although I recommend you picking up “Target : Kree” by Stuart Moore asap) as it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone story. 

Chapters are short and dynamic which makes the story pacy and exciting, and there is a veritable who’s-who of Marvel characters. Carrie Harris has a good handle on each of the characters, and she ensures each one gets equal exposure: something which is not always easy in a multi-character story. 

Aconyte Books’ Marvel range is an enjoyable alternative history of the Marvel universe with every instalment being excellent. I recommend these books to all Marvel comics fans and want to assure them that they have nothing to fear from the longer prose format as it allows their favourite hero or villain to be fleshed out in a deeper way that comics can’t always achieve. I would go so far as to say that this range is one of the best things currently coming out under the Marvel banner.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I received an advanced reading copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © MARVEL 2022

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------