Alone Desperate and Going Nowhere af Paul Haworth (Bog)

Alex ‘Abs’ Brenchley is back. The seven-foot tragedy opens the sequel to Silk Handkerchiefs with the words “2008 was the worst year of my life.” This is the story of that year..

Neon and doors – I’m dead, hell, we’re being pumped in by the dozen – I don’t belong here! – yes you do, sex fiend – to a tight passage – bundles of us trying to get out – bottle-necked against a tunnel of lights – the triple-X, neon and doors, passages to perdition – I shuffle with the masses – nearly there – I notice…a woman – or she notices me – our eyes meet, skinny, late thirties, she is squatting in a doorway, eating a burger, she speaks: “Do you have trouble with the ladies, sir?”

Alone, Desperate and Going Nowhere sweeps our hyper-emotional hero across England, into the depths of despair and deranged behaviour, towards a mythical destination – The Lady Field – a fabled area of Hampstead Heath where it isn’t just men who are cruising. Carnforth yobs, Sex and the City: The Movie, dogging fanatics, Christian Slater, Community Support Officers and the Page Street Gang – these are just some of the forces Alex is up against as he seeks to find the manhood, absolution and purpose in life that will empower him to win the love of Trevoreesia, his Absqueen.

All the while, the economy is collapsing – “My life had been in crisis for so long and now the world was catching up,” observes Alex – and the soundtrack to this far-gone era is Take That’s cruel taunt: THIS COULD BE THE GREATEST DAY OF OUR LIVES. Does that day come for Alex Brenchley or will he remain, always and forever, Alone, Desperate and Going Nowhere?

Mixing Cockney, teen lingo, Victorian slang and inventive wordplay, Haworth’s colourful style makes for an exhilarating and addictive read. This is the second part in a trilogy of comedic novels about Alex Brenchley.
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Titel: Alone Desperate and Going Nowhere
Forfatter: Paul Haworth
Genre: roman_samtid
Forlag: True True True
Sammendrag: Bogen "Alone Desperate and Going Nowhere" af Paul Haworth skildrer en rejse ned gennem en mørk, forfalden by. Tekstudsnittet på bagsiden beskriver, hvordan natten tager over, gader indsnævres til gyder, og hvor alle former for misgerninger og småforbrydelser skjules af mørket. Læseren føres forbi barrow boys, interimistiske skure, knækkede borde og triste mennesker, der handler med elendige frugter og grøntsager, mens hæslig latter og monsterbander fylder lydbilledet. Både overklasse, hjemløse og prostituerede ender på samme niveau i dette hul, og fortælleren presser sig videre gennem miljøet. Teksten antyder en rå, socialt bevidst, måske eksperimentel roman eller fortælling om ensomhed, desperation, urban forfald, klasseskel og liv på kanten.
Type: Pocket
Engelsksproget bog af Paul Haworth med titlen "Alone Desperate and Going Nowhere". Omslaget er meget minimalistisk med sort baggrund og hvid typografi. Bagsideteksten beskriver en dyster, urban nedstigning gennem smalle gader og gyder, hvor mørket skjuler kriminalitet, fattigdom, hjemløse, prostituerede og monsteragtige bander. Stemningen er rå, klaustrofobisk og litterær, med fokus på outsider-figurer og byens skyggesider. Bogen udgives på forlaget True True True, som er nævnt på omslaget. Formatet er en tynd, blød paperback/pocket-udgivelse i lille størrelse, egnet som eksperimentel eller litterær skønlitteratur for voksne læsere med interesse for mørke, stemningsfulde, urbane fortællinger og alternativ prosa.