books reviews EVERYONE YOU HATE


IS GOING TO DIE Daniel Sloss


(Hutchinson Heinemann, £16.99) There has


mystifying about Leonard Cohen’s obsession with Christian stories. Even if you know nothing of his family’s prominence in the Montreal synagogue, the surname is enough to tell you of his Jewish heritage and upbringing. If you add in his many years at the feet of Zen master Roshi, atop Mount Baldy, it all adds up to a tapestry of spiritual storytelling.


THE APPARITION


PHASE Will Maclean (Windmill; £8.99)


I would not recommend buying this book for your dad as a Christmas present, unless you are 100% certain that your dad is going to be on board with swearing, crude jokes and a lot of discussion about sex. Sloss holds no punches with his sense of humour, which is brash to the point it’s almost slapstick.


Despite the sexual references and swear words, there is a genuine affection that runs through every chapter of this novel. Surprisingly, despite the book’s title, Sloss actually spends far more time discussing the people he loves rather than the people he hates. I found myself settling into the stories, appreciating the unique voice and humour delivering them.


Absolutely stinking of the 1970s, The Apparition Phase transports you back to a time where kids pored over the likes of Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 and childhood mischief was a rite of passage. Twins Tim and Abi are no different, and their fascination with sci-fi, the occult and the unexplained is taken a step too far, when they forge a photo of a ghost that supposedly resides in their attic to prank a girl in school.


All innocent hijinks, until they unwittingly invite an actual spirit into their home – cue Abi going missing and an unravelling of their entire lives. Part gothic horror, part history lesson, The Apparition Phase is an ode to that time period in every way and from a storytelling point of view can stand with any Hammer Horror tale.


TV writer and debut author Will Maclean’s attention to detail is second to none, which adds to the experience – bringing you in to a welcoming, comfortable, familiar place, before completely shredding your nerves. The suspense will leave you on the edge of your seat and the scares will send a shiver right down your spine and up again, as all good ghost stories should.


CHRIS ANDREWS


This is not a self-help book, but there is certainly a lot of good advice buried between the lines. Sloss’s attitude to love, relationships and life is refreshing. While I don’t think I was the target audience for this book (it’s much more geared towards straight men than gay women) I think the comedy still worked. I know a few straight men in the UK who could benefit from reading what Sloss has to say, and I think they’d have a lot of fun whilst doing so.


SEREN MCKEEVER


LEONARD COHEN: THE MYSTICAL ROOTS OF GENIUS


Harry Freedman (Bloomsbury Continuum, £18.99)


Yes, Mike McCartney is Paul’s younger brother but don’t dismiss his limited- edition book as a case of nepotism. He’s an accomplished and observant photographer and besides, if not for this connection, there wouldn’t be such a fab visual record of a very young Paul and the Beatles. Early Liverpool collects Mike’s 1950s and 60s photography of his home city and includes previously unpublished material such as an unseen colour photo of Paul, John Lennon and George Harrison from 1958.


Fascinated by photography as a teen, he starts out using the family’s Kodak Brownie box camera, showing imagination even then, and after his brother buys him a Rollei Magic camera, his artistry continues to come into focus (particularly poignant is one photo taken in a concentration camp). McCartney


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Religious scholar Harry Freedman attempts to unravel the twisted threads of dozens of song lyrics, exposing the many inspirations and biblical references behind Cohen’s stunningly poetic writing. The format works, focusing on stanzas or couplets to draw out the underlying mythos with everything from Suzanne to You Want It Darker covered in great detail.


You don’t need to be a biblical scholar to enjoy the analysis, and if you’re into Cohen then you should be up for some deeply religious analysis. Which begs the question why the book’s title steers so far from any mention of faith – “mystical” doesn’t quite cover it for me and “genius” implies something more spontaneous than Cohen’s laboured writing process. But this is a fascinating analysis of one of popular music’s great lyricists and greatest interpreter of religious stories – a testament to the old made new.


JOHN-PAUL DAVIES MIKE MCCARTNEY’S


EARLY LIVERPOOL Mike McCartney


(Genesis, £295/£595 deluxe edition)


A quote from former Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy proclaims Roger McGough “the patron saint of poetry”, and it’s an accolade that is in evidence in all the work supporting poets and poetry that McGough undertakes, as well as in the pages of this fine, funny, full-of-feeling collection which again goes to prove his endless inventiveness and creativity.


With his trademark warmth and wit, we take McGough by the hand and are led through terrains familiar yet also strange as the poet addresses everyday concerns such as holes in socks, leaving items on trains, applying paint, riding a bicycle, staycationing, and queueing up – but with, very often, a twist or quirk demonstrating the poet’s playfulness and intelligence.


I love, too, how some of his poems, such as Creeping Up On Poetry and The Poem You Are About To Read Has Not Yet Been Written, showcase writers’ wry, more self-deprecating reflections on poetry – intimating that, despite all McGough’s accolades, it still isn’t the be all and end all, making the book feel at once earthy and unpretentious. Sparky, thoughtful, inventive, and fun, it’s also the mix of these qualities that makes this a fantastic collection.


MAB JONES always been something


visits the iconic Cavern Club and other local clubs and not only gets up-close shots (and sometimes birds-eye views) of the Beatles and fellow Liverpudlian groups but also of music legends Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.


The book, a family photo album as much as a historical documentation, is filled with ephemera like ticket stubs, letters and postcards and has amusing and insightful antidotes. Shown too is Mike’s artwork, also demonstrating early promise and interest in surrealism.


RHONDA LEE REALI


SAFETY IN NUMBERS Roger McGough (Penguin, £9.99)


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