54 – A Novel by Wu Ming, i.e. the Luther Blissetts who wrote “Q”.
Published by William Heinemann on the 5th May.
’54 plays with the forms of espionage novel, the noir genre, and social realism. It seeks to transcend those forms, and it does: this is mutant fiction, a living narrative organism composed of various bodies that aim at multiple endpoints. The most accomplished: a spy story on the surface, with an eye on the ordinary citizen, who acts as witness or protagonist of history. This happens at a level where myths – the archetypical hero, but it goes beyond that – are described as doubtful and ambiguous constructions. It makes sense then that Cary Grant reads Casino Royale (the first James Bond novel) with perplexity and amazement, before he meets Marshall Tito and ends up talking with him about the personality cult.’
(Qué Pasa, Chile)
Loved “Q”.
I have not read 54 yet, but will probaly do so on holiday.
I would have thought that further advetures of Kurt-in-the-Well would have been something to look forward to. Not too sure whether cary grant has that same aura.
He never struck me as being anything but as a very superficial person. i would have looked forward more to something starring Robert Mitchum or Humphrey Bogart. But “Q” was so good that I will read it anyway.
Question.
I thought that it was a maxim in writing that good fiction cannot be created by two or more people writing together. How do you write? Do three of you stand around and shout at the person with the typewriter? Or do you take it in turns to write one word at a time. Perhaps you are actually a myth. There isn’t 4 of you. you have taken on the notion of 4 to symbollically reflect the 4 gospel writers. You are really only one person. Aren’t you Umberto?