10 October 2008

West Coast

Last night I finished West Coast by Kate Muir. I enjoy Muir's column in the Times magazine, and read Left Bank last year, so again skipped happily through this.

Muir's attention to detail was impressive, and she was intent on capturing the speech patterns of the Scottish fishing town where much of the action is set, even going as far as to include a glossary. At times, though, the speech was a little overwhelming and instead of giving a flavour of the place it sent me leafing back to the glossary several times a page.

A small beef, though, and the story of Fergus Macfarlane's ascent from Burnoch to international fame as a photographer was pacey and well drawn, even in its perhaps inevitable denouement, with Fergus finding his end in his beginning.

It reminded me of the Belle and Sebastian song 'Dirty Dream Number Two', which would perhaps play over the closing credits of the film:

A choice is facing you, a healthy dose of pain
A choice is facing you as you stare through the rain
A choice is facing you but I choose to refrain for today
Tomorrow we'll be back in trouble again
[...]
In a town so small there's no escaping you
In a town so small there's no escape from view
In a town so small there's nothing left to do
[...]
Could you put a name to someone elses sigh?
Could you put a face to someone elses eyes?
Is it someone that you'd maybe recognise?
But it all fades into morning when you open your eyes

Kate Muir, West Coast (Headline Review); Belle and Sebastian, 'Dirty Dream Number Two' from The Boy with the Arab Strap (Jeepster)

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