Born to Be Posthumous
Mark Dery
William Collins, £18.99, pp512
The strange, quasi-Victorian life of the American illustrator Edward Gorey would appear to offer rich material. Unfortunately, Mark Dery’s stilted account of the hermetic world of “the grandfather of goth” feels like a missed opportunity. It gives some insight into why Gorey’s work has inspired the likes of Neil Gaiman and Tim Burton, but Dery has little of interest to say about the man behind the art, meaning the subtitle’s promise that the book will unpack “the eccentric life and mysterious genius” of its subject goes unrealised.
The Chestnut Man
Søren Sveistrup
Penguin, £12.99, pp512
If you are one of the millions who enjoyed the Scandinavian crime series The Killing, you’ll want to read the first novel by its creator, Søren Sveistrup, which deals with a series of murders distinguished by the presence of a small doll made of chestnuts at each crime scene. Ably translated by Caroline Waight, Sveistrup’s ability at building tension is evident, and this will undoubtedly make for a compelling television adaptation. The more discerning might note that there is little here that can’t be found in Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole series.
How to Rule the World
Tibor Fischer
Corsair, £8.99, pp256
Tibor Fischer’s enjoyable satire on modern TV documentary making – or “the Vizz” as he calls it – focuses on the travails of the past-it film-maker Baxter Stone, who flits about the world in a half-hearted attempt to make a difference, even as he wails that “a 12-year-old with a phone can do what we do”. Some of Fischer’s targets feel slightly dated – this is a book that perhaps speaks more to 2009 than 2019 – but, at its best, it has the energy and wit of early William Boyd, and its commitment to exploring the seedy underbelly of journalism leads to some memorably bleak one-liners.
To order Born to Be Posthumous for £16.71, The Chestnut Man for £11.43, or How to Rule the World for £7.91, go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £15, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99
