LATE ON SATURDAY EVENING (24th) AND A TOO EARLY SUNDAY (25th)
We have been totally focused on this event since Thursday evening and the tiredness has arrived until you know that Ian Rankin is ‘interviewing’ Mark Billingham. I have sat in for chats between two accomplished writers before and not been impressed. One I remember sounded like two grumpy ones chatting over a pint.
I expected these two to spark off each other and we had a terrific hour. What entertainment they provided and with content that appealed and held my interest. I was helped with the fact that I had read Cry Baby as I could relate to it in a previous life. This book is a prequel to Billingham’s DS Thorne series and set in a time frame as HOLMES - a Home Office computer system - was being brought in to assist in major crime investigations. Just three years after The Yorkshire Ripper had been nicked and to avoid mistakes and any more deaths. It certainly was time to move on and we have since. I don’t normally read English cop novels but I enjoyed this one from start to finish. I may even read others in the series.
His new one Rabbit Hole is a stand-alone and I will get around to reading it. It’s on the list. Its topical and set in and around mental illness. I am not going to say anymore about these two authors except both are bloody brilliant. So read them and see them if you can.
CHRISTIE’S ENDURING ALLURE
Sunday morning arrived after only a few hours sleep and at 9.30 we sat in to listen to Christie’s Enduring Allure chaired by Elly Griffiths and with a depleted panel due to Covid with Ragnar Jonasson - who I have not read - and who translated his first Christie when aged only seventeen into Icelandic. Ruth Ware was a survivor too ‘ is the queen of classic-meets-modern and regarded as Christie’s heir. All three knew their stuff.
THE POLITICS OF CRIME
Chaired by Alan Johnson and expertly done as well and again the panel had been reduced by Covid but enhanced by two others. These two female writers were Marnie Riches and Kate Rhodes. I have no previous knowledge of either but that is the beauty of being at the festival. Seeing and listening to others outside of your usual horizon. They know their stuff and obviously are accomplished and experienced writers. Two names for me to note.
George Alagiah of TV news reading fame has published The Burning Land set in South Africa. Doug Johnstone with his ‘Skelfs’, I have read, enjoyed and the characters are still in my head. It is set in Edinburgh with a female cast, spread over three generations, who are involved in the funeral business and private investigative work. An unusual mix! It works and I commend him and his work. He is multi-talented and fun.
This was an exceptionally interesting hour and in the time allowed we heard discussions in depth on serious subjects ranging of views authors would not include but where a character could be used to hold extreme views. This may reflect the authors own agenda concealed in prose. There is an hidden message in many stories. However, ‘keep politics out’ was also mentioned.
Crime Genre is often focussed in ‘middle-class-crime’ but in reality it happens in real life in poorer areas where the poor are the victims. So the slant should be towards as it is in The Man on the Street by Trevor Wood. This set in Newcastle with the homeless characters driving the story on. The opposite of Christie I can say.
How could they leave ‘the gender issue’ out and then one of the panel spoke of misogyny in the genre. Personally I have no idea how it could be avoided? It does seem to be a one way street as there was no mention or any reference to a misandrist. The media are allowed to portray that domestic abuse is only perpetrated by males enhanced by the crime writers choice of victims. Another reference was made of Don Winslow with ‘toxic masculinity’. It’s avoided me so far and I have not read the author.
The word prejudice was not mentioned which I found odd. Surely people should be written as they are and indeed we read of characters who stay long in our imagination. Let’s just keep the stories coming so that we can have these discussions.
I should mentioned this,The Last Train to Gypsy Hill, was in proof copy form and free, and we have it. It is Alan Johnson’s first novel.
I will find out later if he has kept politics out of his story as he once was a Labour Cabinet minister.
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