Todays BBAW task was to highlight two forgotten classics or modern books ,so being me went for a bit of both with a book from early 80’s and book from 90’s the first is –
The peculiar memories of Tomas Penman by Bruce Robinson -Now Bruce Robinson is best known for writing the script for the film withnail and I ,which was autobiographical ,well this book is like withnail as a child set in the 50’s in follows Thomas a young lad in a eccentric family as he comes of age told in Thomas voice crude ,funny ,revealing ,if you like withnail you’ll love this it has same sense of humour and characteristics as that film had .Not seen any reviews of it in my time blogging ,a lost gem from a clever writer and to date his only novel .
The last testament of Oscar Wilde by Peter Ackroyd -Now my second book is by Peter Ackroyd who is still writing but this is one of his earliest books from 1983 ,it is written in the style of Oscar Wilde and recounts the great writers dying days in paris after his time in Reading Gaol .It is a beautifully written piece Ackroyd manages to capture the great Oscar’s voice and we glimpse what were his last days through the man’s wit and irony a touching book
I think I read Ackroyd’s book a long time ago when I was going through an Oscar Wilde phase and remember enjoying it a lot. I haven’t read Robinson’s book although I’ve watched Withnail & I! I remember being shocked to find out he was Benvolio in Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet!
yes multi talent guy robinson ,yes I read ackroyd in my Wilde phase too same time as my morrissey phase ,all the best stu
Wow, haven’t heard of either of those books Stu, but they sound interesting 🙂
they are both great amy ,all the best stu
Love Withnail & I ,yet have never come across this author.
he wrote screenplay for withnail ,worth rooting out
That one on the left caught my attention. The cover is quite arresting.
yes often mention in cover art pieces as it is different with no writing on cover and great photo
Very interesting choices Stu – and not translated lit. either 😉
No choose two English titles ,was think of choosing man without qualites Robert musil but couldn’t find my copy to take picture of all the best stu
The Peter Ackroyd one looks really interesting – I’ll have to give it a try! Thanks for the recommendation.
thanks for first comment krishna ,love your south asian focus ,be looking at them closely as its a area I m weak on ,all the best stu
I have yet to read anything by Ackroyd, but this one does sound very good. One of these days…
It is very good and a insight into wildes last days ,all the best stu