Book reviews.Reviews of the latest fiction and non-fiction releases. The London Pigeon Wars By Patrick Neate Patrick Neate is a British novelist, journalist and playwright. Early Life Born and raised in South London, he was educated at St. Paul's School and Cambridge University. . Published in hardback by Penguin, price pounds 12.99. Patrick Neate follows up his Whitbread Award-winning Twelve-Bar Blues with this superbly multilayered book which intercuts two improbably converging stories. One centres on a group of friends in their late 20s, trying to come to terms with disappointment at the way their dreams have betrayed them. The other follows the events of the eponymous pigeon wars from the viewpoint of Ravenscourt, a suburban pigeon combatant with a taste for philosophy. The disaffected cynicism of the human protagonists is interrupted by the sudden arrival of a long-lost friend from student days, the enigmatic Murray. His reappearance fills them with the hope that they might once again find joy in living in the present. But when a drunkenly hatched idea to rob a bank evolves into concrete plans, the excitement is more than they had bargained for. Meanwhile, in the pigeon story, Ravenscourt describes how his species discovers consciousness and subsequently splits into warring factions. Neate expertly weaves the stories together, with events in each parallel world affecting the other. Reviwe by Steve Ball Steve Ball (b. 2 September 1969) is a former professional footballer. He was a midfielder. Ball began his career with Arsenal, with whom he won an FA Youth Cup winner's medal. 100: The Work That Changed British Art By The Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art, opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to show his sizeable (and changing) collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and Chelsea , introduction by Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi (born June 9, 1943) was the co-founder with his brother Maurice of the global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, which became the world's biggest before the brothers were forced out of their own company in 1995. . Hardback by Jonathan Cape, pounds 20. Former ad man and celebrated art collector Charles Saatchi is back in the spotlight with a new central London The term Central London refers to the districts of London which are considered closest to the centre. There is no such conventional definition, nor any official one, for the entire area that can be called "central London". home for his vast collection of new British art. This new lavish volume and quite reasonably priced for an art book, showcases many of the key works in his hoard - which was also the basis for the landmark Sensation! show at the Royal Academy in 1997. There are good reproductions of works by Damien Hirst and by Richard Patterson, whose astonishing, grand-scale paintings of tiny toys have gone a long way to reinvigorate British painting. Review by Lindesay Irvine Curzon by David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour . Published by John Murray. Paperback, pounds 15.99. Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India at the turn of the 19th Century, had a personality that matched his grand name and it is unfortunate that he is remembered more for his loftiness than his considerable political achievements. This fascinating biography probes deeply into the life and psyche of a brilliant but complex politician whose chief flaw was that he took himself, and life, far too seriously. His gifts brought many glittering prizes, but the post he coveted most of all, the Prime Ministership of Great Britain, always eluded him, undoubtedly due to his capacity to rub people up the wrong way. He nagged, interfered and corrected colleagues, relatives, parsons, servants, gardeners, Indian princes incessantly. Review by Anthony Looch |
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