I am delighted to welcome to Jaffareadstoo
Christopher Fowler is a Londoner born (in Greenwich) and bred. For many years he jointly owned and ran one of the UL’s top film marketing companies.
He is the author of many novels and short story collections, from the urban unease of cult fiction such as Roofworld and Spanky, the horror pastiche of Hell Train to the much praised and award winning Bryant and May series of detective novels and his two critically acclaimed autobiographies, Paperboy and Film Freak
Christopher ~ welcome to the blog and thanks for taking the time to answer questions about books and writing.
Which was the first book (of any
kind) to make a strong impression on you – and why?
The first book I remember reading
was ‘Treasure Island’, but I had a fondness for exotic adventures like ‘Swiss
Family Robinson’ and ‘Coral Island’, probably because I came from a South
London backstreet where nobody had travelled further than Brighton. What stood
out then – and still draws me – is the richly coloured ‘otherness’ of far-flung
lands. It’s probably why I graduated to the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake.
The dense descriptions of the castle that defeated so many readers entranced
me, rather like the detailed textures in Pre-Raphaelite paintings.
At what point did you discover
that you had some facility with the written word?
Very early on. My essays were
always returned with a high score – in strict inverse to my maths scores – and
my teacher encouraged me to write. I started a home magazine and filled it with
stories from about the age of ten. I was given a great piece of advice by a
terrific teacher: ‘Nobody needs a good all-rounder – excel at something.’
Major influences then – and now?
First, storytellers - I
discovered a chain of seedy South London second-hand book stores called the
Popular Book Centres. They stamped their smudged triangular logo inside all
their books, and made enough money from top-shelf smut to keep racks of
yellowing paperbacks going for real readers. In this way, they were every bit
as useful as public libraries. The great thing about the shop was that I could
always find something rare and wonderful lurking in the racks, and as
everything was 1/6d I could afford to take a chance on the dodgiest-looking
books.
Alfred Hitchcock had put his name
to a series of dog-eared anthologies that were wonderful assorted literary
ragbags, and from these I started making informed decisions about the writing I
enjoyed most. I made a list of favourite short stories:
‘The
Cone’ – HG Wells
‘Leningen
Versus The Ants’ – Carl Stephenson
‘Camera
Obscura’ – Basil Copper
‘Evening
Primrose’ – John Collier
‘The
Man Who Liked Dickens’ – Evelyn Waugh
‘The
Fly’ – George Langelaan
The biggest single influence of
any writer has been the ultimate ‘exotic’, JG Ballard, whose works I can
virtually recite by heart. But Dickens had a huge impact because his writing
contains everything you need to know, and I love the nasty home truths in
Evelyn Waugh’s darkest books.
Was Roofworld (1988) your first
completed novel? How was it received by publishers – then readers?
I had attempted two earlier
novels, both of which I’ve locked in a drawer, never to be seen, so Roofworld
was the first ‘proper’ novel. My publisher loved it, but could never decide
where it fitted in the canon of fiction, or who I should be compared to. Then
an American publication said ‘A Major new thriller writer takes his place
halfway between JG Ballard and Stephen King’, so that decided things – for a
while. The book didn’t sell well initially, but built by word of mouth. Readers
said; ‘It’s made me look up and see London properly for the first time’, which
is certainly a result. I still think it’s an original idea, but perhaps today
I’d have developed the characters more.
Which normally comes first for
you - an idea or theme, plot, place or characters. And why?
I have a habit of jumping over
and between genres, and it confuses readers. I used to think like a traditional
genre writer, coming up with what I felt was a killer plot and a good theme. I
revised my thinking over time to aim for the creation of a good central
character. The comedy writers Galton & Simpson taught me that you have
nothing without character and tragedy. I’ve come across wonderful thriller
plots that are horribly written and beautiful writing that goes nowhere – the
trick is to marry elegance and surprise.
Visit Christopher on his website
 |
| Transworld March 2015 |
London is under siege. A banking scandal has filled the city with violent protests, and as the anger in the streets detonates, a young homeless man burns to death after being caught in the crossfire between rioters and the police.
But all is not as it seems; an opportunistic killer is using the chaos to exact revenge, but his intended victims are so mysteriously chosen that the Peculiar Crimes Unit is called in to find a way of stopping him.
My Review
The gentlemen detective duo , Arthur
Bryant and John May, of the Peculiar Crime Unit, return in this, the twelfth
book in the Bryant and May series. Drawn into an investigation into a
series of random killings which seem to be focussed in the financial district
of London, Bryant and May soon find that there is more to these killings than
first appears. London is in chaos. Unrest and dissidence is rife and even
though there is no apparent reason other than a growing discontent with the banking
fraternity, Bryant and May need to track down those responsible, before
brutal anarchy is allowed to spread throughout the city.
This is the first Bryant and May
novel I have read and when I was invited to review The Burning
Man, I thought at first that I would be at a
disadvantage by not knowing anything of the back history of the series.
However, the story is remarkably easy to get into, with more than enough information
given for the established characters to soon make sense. The author has an easy style of story
delivery which makes for interesting reading and there are more than enough
twists and turns in the plot, all of which are delivered with a lightness of
touch, and a fine eye for detail. There is light and shade within the novel and
appropriate humour which helps to lighten what could have been a very heavy
story. There are some marvellous descriptions of London, which help to set the
scene quite perfectly. Overall, I enjoyed spending time in the company of
Bryant and May. Their unique way of crime investigation works really well and their
very eccentricity is highly entertaining.
I am sure that devotees of the
Bryant and May series will devour this story with great gusto and for new fans
it’s a good place to start, as there is the tantalising promise of so much back
story to catch up on.
I really enjoyed it.
Huge thanks to Christopher for being our guest today and to Sophie at Transworld for the opportunity to read and review this book.
~***~
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