Finished Michael Frayn's Headlong this morning. Highly entertaining, as you might expect from the guy who wrote the brilliant farce Noises Off and the screenplay for the wonderfully daft Clockwork - my favourite John Cleese movie, A Fish Called Wanda not withstanding. Frayn's protagonist-narrator is a typically ineffectual philosopher turned inept con-man with an interest on the side in Dutch art, which develops into quite an obsession and if you like this sort of stuff, which I do, there's not much you're not going to enjoy about the novel. It turns out to be a great way to learn about the life and work of Pieter Breugel and since at one time, back in my teens, I would have claimed him as my favourite artist this aspect of the book in itself held enormous appeal for me.
Indeed, I rather think it's Frayn's dark picture of life in the Lowlands under authoritarian Spanish rule that I'll most clearly remember about the novel as opposed to the laugh-out-loud moments, of which there are several. I suppose the fact that he doesn't really marry these two aspects of the work together means it's not really possible to regard Headlong as anything other than a well-crafted entertainment, but that was quite good enough for me, thanks.
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2 comments:
Hi Mr Connor , I don't know if you remember me but I'm Taran . Am working in London but back in Singapore for a break and for some reason the old tk days have been on my mind ! Let me know if you would like to get a cup of tea sometime! Taran
Hello Taran - yes, indeed, I remember you very well from our dramatic days in the past. A cup of tea sounds very nice indeed. Let me know how we might make the concept manifest.
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