UEL English PEN Society Book Reviews

So, after reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, which I utterly fell in love with, I was excited to find, amongst the towering piles of books under the bridge on the London Southbank book market, this little gem.

It is a collection of poems and observations by Haddon, and is compelling from the start – some are dry, some downright silly but funny nonetheless, and others are uplifting. There is a disclaimer section about the suitable age limit for poetry readers, entitled ‘This Poem is Certificate 18’ which is nothing less than a laugh-out-loud, tongue-in-cheek, don’t-read-in-public-unless-you-want-to-be-stared at, work of genius.

“…there may be sex, too. A man may be sucked off in a MacDonalds en route to the airport, a babysitter may masturbate on the kiln-fired tiles of her employers’ bathroom, and an arsehole may be described in more detail than is necessary … Some 18-certificate poems purport to be translations of work by Finnish and Romanian poets who do not, in fact, exist. In others, lightbulbs may be granted sentience.”

He uses turns of phrases and colourful descriptions which really place the reader at the centre of the action, transporting us to another world entirely. Some are hopelessly romantic, and you can feel your heart twinging as you scour the pages for more descriptive words and scenes, and some are desperately sad but not obviously so until you read between the lines. He explores all landscapes, countries, states-of-minds, classes, and persuasions, in an observational and fiery way that keeps you turning the pages, and watching the arrangement of words with fascination.

I particularly love how he manages to delve deep into what makes us human, using only words and appealing to our imaginations and innate humanity.

I’ll be reading it again, and again, and again – every time I need a lift.

Peace and love, and thanks to all for your pledges – we reached our target successfully so will be launching on the 30th September in style. See you there.

Sam