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Post by dem on Jun 26, 2018 23:07:07 GMT
Bernard Taylor - The Comeback (Duckworth, 2016) Blurb: Rosemary Paul used to be a celebrated singer, but is now past her prime. Living an isolated life, her only companion is Carrie Markham, her young live-in assistant who panders to Rosemary's every need and looks up to her mentor. When Rosemary hears news from London that one of her albums is getting an unexpected re-release, it reignites in her an old hunger for fame, and she begins to plan her big comeback, with Carrie's help.
But as preparations for her relaunch into the celebrity stratosphere commence, long-buried secrets resurface and dangerous cracks start showing in Rosemary and Carrie's relationship - until it reaches a dramatic breaking-point... "it's a different scene today. You see them on TV - all those wailing singers with their interminable songs without hooks or shape. And then there's that grotesque thing they call twerking. What the hell is that all about?" Picked this up in charity shop yesterday, breezed through the first hundred pages. As yet have no idea whether The Comeback features any 'supernatural' content - most likely not - but the underlying tensions between the sixty-something Rosemary Paul and Carrie Markham, her timid, devoted assistant, suggest something unpleasant is on the cards. Rosemary was a phenomenally popular Broadway star in her day, but that day was forty years ago. With the tragic death of her five year old son, Rosemary quit singing, left England to begin a new life in Manhattan. When Amberlight records unexpectedly reissue her greatest hits, healthy CD and download sales persuade Rosemary that a UK comeback tour is viable. Carrie was once a promising song and dance girl, but she gave up her career after a traumatic experience with a lecherous producer while rehearsing flop stage musical Save A Place For Me. The man she loved opted to stay with the show rather than quit in disgust at her treatment, and that was Carrie done with men for good. She and Rosemary have been inseparable ever since. Carrie's growing concern is that Rosemary's comeback will change their secluded lifestyle for ever. To take her mind off things Carrie adopts a cat and a sweet little mouse - and what happens next suggests we are right to be very worried about her TBC
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Post by dem on Jul 3, 2018 12:06:09 GMT
A furious Rosie sacks manager Doug Rosti for failing to find either producer or financial backer for her second coming. Rosti, with nothing to lose, gives it to her straight. He's spent a fortune of his own cash on promotion but to no avail. She is industry poison. No-one who previously worked with her is willing to repeat the traumatic experience no matter how much money they're offered. Only the intervention of Carrie - who insists on funding the entire project with her life-savings - gets the revival back on track. Rose throws a minor-celebrity bash to announce her comeback. Event ruined when Michael Mitchell - Carrie's lost love - emerges from the woodwork. Rose unceremoniously evicts him from premises before her doting assistant sets eyes on him. We smell a rat. In the event, Carrie later catches sight of Mitchell in the street and corners him in a restaurant. When he admits to never having loved her, she casually lifts a fork and ...
England. Carrie rents a country cottage at Aston Heath, a tiny village in the Chilterns, takes up residence while Rose spends a fortnight at a health spa while recovering from extensive plastic surgery. Kurt Hellman, musical arranger drops by. On learning that Carrie is acting as sole financier, he tells her she's making a huge mistake. Rosie is way over the hill. He's only doing this for money and frankly, he's not seen enough of it to compensation for so joyless a trip. Unfortunately, Rose - early back from the heath resort - walks in at the wrong moment and grabs a handy shovel ....
Carrie - where would a has-been diva be without her? - keeps a calm head. There's nothing going to get in the way of Rosemary Paul's triumphant return - unless Carrie were to somehow learn the truth behind her constructive dismissal from the Save A Place For Me production and subsequent abandonment by Michael all those years ago. That would be very inconvenient.
Guess what happens?
More (often) unbearably suspenseful psycho-thriller than "horror story" with particularly outrageous if just-about plausible twist. Ending is perhaps a little abrupt but those brought up on Wheatley/ Guy N. Smith finale's can certainly live with that.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jul 3, 2018 12:51:37 GMT
The title is very to the point.
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Post by dem on Jul 3, 2018 12:59:09 GMT
The title is very to the point. Have you ever read him, JoJo? Sweetheart, Sweetheart and The Moonstone Sickness are particular favourites of mine. The more recent Evil Intent is an unashamed reworking of Casting The Runes with emphasis on horror. Hadn't realised he'd made a comeback of his own until spotting this novel in the Spitalfields Crypt shop. |
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jul 3, 2018 13:07:36 GMT
Have you ever read him, JoJo? Yes, I think I read all of his novels up to and including CHARMED LIFE. But that was a long time ago. I just acquired THE COMEBACK as an ebook. It apparently took him 17 years to write, so it should be really good. |
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jul 4, 2018 14:20:30 GMT
Ok, I started it. I am going to read it as allegory! So when Rosemary finds out that her old recordings are being released on CD, it is REALLY about the author's reaction to having his old stuff made available as ebooks. Obviously.
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Post by dem on Jul 5, 2018 8:41:48 GMT
Ok, I started it. I am going to read it as allegory! In which case, am curious how you interpret the pay-off ... |
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jul 6, 2018 8:33:22 GMT
Ok, I started it. I am going to read it as allegory! In which case, am curious how you interpret the pay-off ... I cannot discuss this without spoiling the whole thing, of course, but somebody should check that both Taylor AND the real author are alive. Other than that, let me note that toward the end of this novel a favorite hokey device is employed that other authors (such as Richard Neely and Sebastien Japrisot) have used to START their books. |
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