Paperback / softback
Description
In this exquisite, haunting book, John Burnside describes his coming of age from the industrial misery of Cowdenbeath and Corby to the new world of Cambridge.
This is a memoir of romance – of lost love and the love of being lost – darkened by threat, illuminated by glamour. The old Scots word ‘glamour’ means magical charm, and the first time he was played I Put a Spell on You, John Burnside thought he had never heard a more beautiful song – it was an enchantment, a fascination that would turn to obsession.
Implicit in the song were all the ambiguities that intrigued him – love, possession and danger – and this book is an exploration of the darker side of glamour and attraction.
Beginning with memories of a brutal murder, the book follows the author through a series of uncanny encounters with ‘lost girls’, with brilliant digressions on murder ballads, voodoo, acid and insomnia, and a cast that includes Kafka and Narcissus, Diane Arbus and Mel Lyman, The Four Tops and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and time spent lost in the Arctic Circle, black-and-white films and a mental institution.
Ending with the tender summoning of the ghost of his dying mother as she sings along to the radio in her empty kitchen, I Put a Spell on You is a book about memory, about the other side of love: a book of secrets and wonders.
Information
-
Less than 10 available - usually despatched within 24 hours
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:288 pages
- Publisher:Vintage Publishing
- Publication Date:07/05/2015
- Category:
- ISBN:9780099554943
Other Formats
- EPUB from £5.99
Information
-
Less than 10 available - usually despatched within 24 hours
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:288 pages
- Publisher:Vintage Publishing
- Publication Date:07/05/2015
- Category:
- ISBN:9780099554943