
Richard
Ben Myers(Author)
Picador (Publisher)
Book
Paperback/Softback
416 pages
978-1-5098-9180-1 (ISBN)
Description
Reviews / Votes
'What is sure is Myers' skill for storytelling; the absence of any cynicism, a certain hypnotic meditative pace he successfully employs that draws you in as the novel progresses and a mood of melancholic nostalgia, a tantalising nostalgia for a time not long passed but gone forever' 3:AM Magazine 'A novel for our celebrity-obsessed age, a thorough investigation - written in beautiful prose - of a young man suicided or disappeared by society. From life in a small town to sex, drugs and rock and roll excess, Ben Myers' Richard slashes and burns its way through the bloated beigeness of the contemporary British novel' Bookmunch.com 'It's not uncommon to hear someone say something to the effect of, "There's no such thing as a good rock and roll novel" - the next time you hear someone say this, point them towards this book' Bookslut 'Extraordinary' Daily Mirror 'This moving, tender novel tells the story of a lost boy adrift in a world that he can't make sense of . . . Myers' recreation of Edward's life is sensitively handled - an exploration of a troubled, articulate man who was shy and withdrawn' Marie Claire 'There are moments of haunting poetry' Metro 'A work of fiction that bears a convincing ring of truth' Mojo 'Myers' true service to the story is humanising the icon by portraying Edwards outside his common context. Offstage, alone, and out of sight, Richard is fully imagined. Some descriptions of the landscape are so fresh you can smell the moss' TheQuietus.com 'It's a brilliant book and I loved it' Sun 'Never once is there a dropped beat. Myers understands the reactionary nature of the post-punk diktat, the people it attracts and its importance to lives given up to it' The Times 'Richard is not a provocation, nor does it claim to solve the Richey mystery. It is a sympathetic and sad imagining of the boy who became a reluctant pop idol before that notion became oxymoronic' Time Out Myers deserves credit not only for adding a third dimension to Edwards, but for trying a fourth, for attempting to document a period of his life that seems destined to remain a mystery * The Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-5098-9180-1 (9781509891801)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ben Myers was born in Durham in 1976. He is the author of several works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. His writing has appeared in a number of publications including Melody Maker, NME, Mojo and the Guardian. He lives in rural Yorkshire. His work has been translated into seven languages and his short stories have appeared in dozens of print anthologies and underground publications. His novel Richard was published by Picador in 2010. His novel Pig Iron (Bluemoose, 2012) was runner-up in the Guardian's Not The Booker Prize 2012 and won the inaugural Gordon Burn prize in 2013.