Cellarscene's book!

Now, I've been really slack about my reading this week, but I have read chapter one. I agree very much with Drew. The voice is very distinctive. Over the last three years or so I've lost touch a bit with contemporary literature, so I've no idea whether this style is coming in or or going out or whatever. I have seen Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections compared to Vanity Fair, and the voice here reminded me of that mid Victorian style. Most of all it remeinded my of the Byronesque meanderings of Tom Brown's Schooldays, and yet it has something of a sly take of Portrait of an Artist about it too. I liked it a lot. The humour is great, and as i say, the interventionist narrative voice is striking. On chapter one, and this is merely a personal quibble, I prefer 'estate' or 'estate car' over 'station wagon', particularly when applied to a Peugoet. It just seems more authentic to me. Other than that, I have no quibbles or downers, and I will be reading more - excellent.

Thanks so much! That's exactly tone I was aiming for! The narrator's voice is indeed supposed to be a pastiche of a Victorian style. Having said that I think Cervantes ("Don Quixote") was probably a major influence too. Funny you should mention "Portrait of the Artist" too, as this book did make a considerable impact on me. You are frighteningly astute. Incidentally the narrator is not nearly as present later in the book. I have tried to entertain the reader with variety, and there are jokes of various levels of subtlety throughout. Needless to say there are many puns - spot the references to books and songs in the chapter titles! Ta also for the note about "estate" vs "station wagon". I shall amend it forthwith. I seem to remember being uncertain about this at the time I wrote it, but where I grew up (in Zimbabwe) the latter term was more common. I should have checked.

oops: THE tone I was aiming for...

Thank you so much for doing this. I see that in the process of posting my work the computer has removed some of the paragraphing. I hope people will bear with me as I work my through the book and correct this. This should make it easier to read.

Please accept my apologies for hogging the "last ten posted" slot. Now that my attention has been drawn to this fact I shall edit the remaining chapters'paragraphing piecemeal so as not to do this again.

I've added an index to the introduction and synopsis, as well as a list of all the chapters' URLs, so if you just want to see what topics I deal with and how I tackle any specific topic you can find what you want rapidly. Ta for the cherry for Chapter 30!

i read the first chapter and thought it was really well written. however, it was so dense to read it on the screen (because of the amount of the text) and it was hard work. i know that that's a rubbish thing to say because it's not saying anything.... i wrote this book once and one of my friends told me that she liked it but she didn't read it all becuase she said it was too well written. i didn't know what she meant at the time but now i do. another rubbish thing to say... you definitely have this really distinctive voice and i read it and i was jealous and i thought this person knows how to write, definitely he's going to be something big. maybe you already are. you know what it reminded me of? well, it was one of those steven spielberg movies where they have this whole sequence before the credits and you are sitting there thinking, you know, this is going to be good. so maybe it is.

OK let's have a go. I think cellarscene is amazing, not flawless by any means, but obviously prolific and bursting with ideas. If I have a criticism at all it's to do with the characters....they come across as vehicles for all the other stuff and it's hard to empathize with them on a human level. Perhaps this is intentional...anyway it's a small point and easily rectified. I liked a lot of the chapters but heaped a few stars on #27 "Mary, Mary..." because it cracked me up. Not just funny but very informative and full of topical insights. Here's a quote for the book jacket...."Cellarscene has a keen grasp of the unrealities of modern economics...."

Thanks guys! A major point of posting it is to get constructive criticism and I really appreciate your input!!! The feedback I received from an agent, who only reviewed the first three chapters, was that the narrator's voice was too dominant. I can see the point, but would like to think that this criticism only applies to the earlier parts of the book. Likewise, I hope that as one reads further one will empathise with the characters more - I certainly lived them as I wrote it - but I do accept that some re-writing might be required. To be honest I put so many years and so much energy (not to mention forfeited income) into writing this book that I haven't yet managed to summon the willpower to commence the re-write. Asking for feedback in this way is (a) a means of slightly postponing it, and, more importantly, (b) making sure that I get it absolutely right next time, and don't have to re-write a third time. (Hysterical laughter...!) This project is really important to me. I put my heart and soul into it, so I am immensely grateful for your comments! Thank you again.