Declan Burke is working on a new novel when Billy Karlsson appears in his back garden. Karlsson claims to be a character in one of Burke’s previously unpublished novels, a hospital porter with a sideline in euthanasia taking part in a did he/didn’t he kill his girlfriend plot. Burke’s initial response is that this is some kind of weird piece of performance art – that the supposed Karlsson has somehow got his hands on a version of the abandoned novel. What Karlsson wants is for Burke to re-draft the novel with his help; to make it out of the purgatory of a manuscript left languishing in a drawer and to become published. Playing along with Karlsson’s performance, Burke helps Billy rework the manuscript. If euthanasia isn’t enough to get the work accepted then Karlsson is going to blow up an entire hospital.
On the jacket cover, John Banville states that
Absolute Zero Cool is a cross between Flann O’Brien and Raymond Chandler. I think it’s more a cross between Flann O’Brien (the Irish satirist) and Declan Burke, author of Eight Ball Boogie,
The Big O and
Crime Always Pays – satire and high art meets screwball noir. The nearest comparison for the existential, literary plot-play I can think of is Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next and Nursery Crimes novels. Whereas Fforde plays with literary theory and intertextuality, Burke uses Greek mythology, theology and philosophy to deconstruct and satirise the life of a writer, the crime novel and contemporary society, especially the Irish health system. The result is a very clever book, that’s at once fun and challenging. The prose and plot has been honed within an inch of its life, full of lovely turns of phrases, philosophical depth and keen observational insight. I wouldn’t classify
Absolute Zero Cool as a page turner – it’s far too cerebral for that – and the middle of the book is a little ponderous as various pieces are moved into place, but it does have a coherent plot that tugs the reader to the somewhat inevitable end. That’s no mean feat given how postmodern the tale is, but does reveal that the book is, as Burke insists in the text itself, a crime novel and not simply a literary conceit.
Absolute Zero Cool takes the crime genre and its many tropes and stereotypes and throws them out the window. It’s a genuinely unique tale. It certainly won’t be for everybody, but for those crime readers who like to be pushed and challenged this is well worth a look. Five stars all the way for me.
Declan Burke is working on a new novel when Billy Karlsson appears in his back garden. Karlsson claims to be a character in one of Burke’s previously unpublished novels, a hospital porter with a sideline in euthanasia taking part in a did he/didn’t he kill his girlfriend plot. Burke’s initial response is that this is some kind of weird piece of performance art – that the supposed Karlsson has somehow got his hands on a version of the abandoned novel. What Karlsson wants is for Burke to re-draft the novel with his help; to make it out of the purgatory of a manuscript left languishing in a drawer and to become published. Playing along with Karlsson’s performance, Burke helps Billy rework the manuscript. If euthanasia isn’t enough to get the work accepted then Karlsson is going to blow up an entire hospital.
Appropriately enough I finished Absolute Zero Cool last night on the train to Sligo, the setting for the book. I'll write a review sometime over the weekend and post on Monday. I need to try and get my thoughts ordered. It's one heck of a novel - a postmodern crime tale mixing noir, Greek mythology, theology, philosophy, satire and heaven knows what else. And the prose is exquisite. A book where every section seems to have been worked over and honed until it is shines. A book designed to make you think. It won't, I suspect, be for everybody. It's not a light beach read, but for those wanting to be challenged then this is definitely worth checking out. And it's not just me who thinks so. Here are the glowing reviews from today's Irish Times and Independent.
I attended the launch of Absolute Zero Cool by Declan Burke last night in the Gutter Bookshop in Dublin. John Connolly gave it a very nice send off. Also had a good, short chat with Alan Glynn and Decland Hughes. John Banville describes AZC as a cross between Flann O'Brien and Raymond Chandler. I beg to differ. I think it's a cross between Flann O'Brien (the Irish satirist) and Declan Burke (the writer of screwball noirs). If you read the book, that last sentence will make sense. Honest. I'm only a hundred pages in, but it's fair to say that this is one of the most original crime fiction books I've read. Probably ever, actually. Along with Duane Swierczynski's Secret Dead Men, it really takes the genre and throws it out the window to take it in a completely different direction. It's erudite, philosophical, clever and funny. So far, so good. Looking forward to the rest.
