(Drivebycuriosity) - A while ago I read '"Tamburlaine Must Die" by Louise Welsh, a novel about the last days of Shakespeare competitor Christopher Marlow`s short life (my review). The fascinating and dark semi-fictional biography and the exquisite style woke my interest into the books of the author and I gave her novel "Naming the Bones" a try (amazon ).
A Edinburgh based literature lecturer is researching for a book about an obscure poet, who had died 30 years ago, searching for those, who might have known his object. Welsh describes the sex drive of the protagonist and his amorous experiences - "the tyranny of sex" - nicely; but otherwise the plot is too slow and too viscous for my taste. She tried to create a mysterious and gothic atmosphere, but she couldn`t convince me - and the ridiculous, melodramatic and ghoulish finish doesn`t help.
But the Welsh is quite a wordsmith. There are sentences like "step quickly ahead and leave the old bastard to ferment in his ignorance". Therefore I am still interested in her books and might try another novel by her in a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment