God bless Sir Kenneth of Bruen (right, portrait by KT McCaffrey). I was in Galway on Friday night, and got an email from Sir Ken saying he’d received his m/s copy of the current humble offering, and that he’d be back to me within a week with a verdict. Which was all kinds of good news.He emailed me again on Saturday afternoon, to say he’d read the book in three hours straight. Sir Ken being Sir Ken, he was extravagantly generous with his verdict, the gist of which runneth thusly:
“A GONZO NOIR is unlike anything else you’ll read this year … Laugh-out-loud funny … This is writing at its dazzling, cleverest zenith. Think John Fowles, via Paul Auster and Rolling Stone … a feat of extraordinary alchemy.” – Ken Bruen, Author of AMERICAN SKINPeople, you have no idea how much I’d love to believe I can write as well as John Fowles …
Anyway, that’s the first official reaction to A GONZO NOIR. It’s a nice buzz, and for a couple of reasons. The first, obviously, is that it’s from Ken Bruen, which is just terrific. Also, the fact that Ken has an eye for the screwy narrative, for playing around with the conventions and bending things out of shape, is a nice bonus, because A GONZO NOIR does its best to bend things out of shape, just a little bit. And that bit about reading it in three hours straight … well, that’s just about the best thing a writer can hear.
Today was one of the good days, folks …
Yup, Ken Bruen knows his stuff. Great stuff, as is the novel.
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I'm a little hurt that you didn't trust your three regulars' opinions on Gonzo. Did any of us say it was bad?
ReplyDeleteWho is John Fowles?
Is it just me or does Mr. Bruen strike you as an angel who's just slumming it on earth with us mere mortals? Congratulations, Declan, that's just the tops.
ReplyDeleteThe Bruen Seal of Approval. I'm not at all surprised you got it, Dec.
ReplyDeleteGood-oh! If Bruen likes the book, how dare a publisher say nay to it?
ReplyDeleteMuch obliged, folks ...
ReplyDeleteGerard, I must post your verdict ... the first official verdict I ever got, actually.
Ms Witch - none of three of you actually said it was bad, no ... but none of you compared it to John Fowles, either. And stop trying to bait me ...
Keiran - KB's a gent, full-stop.
Shawn - Ken's been incredibly generous to me all along the line, so in a way it's no real surprise, no ... Still nice to hear nice things about a new book though, especially when I'm totally unsure of how it's likely to go down.
Cheers, Dec
Nice one! Mr. Bruen is a great ambassador for the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteYes he is, Stuart. As is our obliging, apparently unbaitable host here.
ReplyDeleteCongratualations, Declan. That's good news.
Nice job, Mr. Burke! Don't forget about all of us peasants when you strike it rich.
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