by Gordon Burn
The spectre, hanging back, recording. Re-formatting, word-counting, re-nosing experience; putting a headline on it before it has a chance to be felt. Telling it in words that will never see black and white.
About the Author
Gordon Burn was the author of four novels, Alma Cogan (winner of the Whitbread First Novel Prize), Fullalove, The North of England Home Service and Born Yesterday. He was also the author of the non-fiction titles Somebody’s Husband, Somebody’s Son, Pocket Money, Happy Like Murderers, On The Way to Work (with Damien Hirst) and Best and Edwards. His last book, Sex & Violence, Death and Silence, was a collection of his essays on art. Gordon Burn was the author of four novels, Alma Cogan (winner of the Whitbread First Novel Prize), Fullalove, The North of England Home Service and Born Yesterday. He was also the author of the non-fiction titles Somebody’s Husband, Somebody’s Son, Pocket Money, Happy Like Murderers, On The Way to Work (with Damien Hirst) and Best and Edwards. His last book, Sex & Violence, Death and Silence, was a collection of his essays on art.
Copyright
This ebook edition published in 2011
by Faber and Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
All rights reserved
© Gordon Burn, 1995
From Molloy by Samuel Beckett, translated by Samuel Beckett in association with Patrick Bowles, reprinted by kind permission of the Samuel Beckett Estate and the Calder Educational Trust, London.
From ‘Mario in Citta’ © 1978 by John Cheever, reprinted by kind permission of Alfred A. Knopf.
‘Detroit City’ written by Danny Dill and Mel Tillis © 1963 Polygram Music Publishing Ltd, lyrics reproduced by kind permission of the publisher.
Lyrics reproduced of ‘Is It My Body’ by kind permission of Carlin Music Corp., UK administrator
From World Within World © 1951 by Stephen Spender, reprinted by kind permission of the author
With the exception of those persons appearing as well-known personalities under their own names, albeit in often fictitious circumstances, all other characters do not bear any relationship to living characters and any resemblance to living persons is wholly incidental
The author wishes to acknowledge his debt to the work, particularly the doll works, of the American artist Mike Kelley
The right of Gordon Burn to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–0–571–26701–9