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chramies's review
4.0
This looks at first as though it is part of that great category of books, the pub guide. However this one diverges from the universal start point of a drinker reviewing a pub by sitting in it and having a beer; sadly this is not the kind of person who should be drinking beer (possibly) as his behaviour from then on becomes surreal. But then some people, those who do not use pubs, might feel that this is the norm - I look forward to reading comments about people who review pubs, q.v. "You shouldn't call them men, you should call them weirdos." Or something like that. [yes, I know women review pubs as well. But you see where I am going here]. I am sure there is a niche for reprinting or including in a blog, the weirder reviews from Beerintheevening.com, some of which rival the worst fanfic for misspellings, bizarre statements, compound fractures of the syntax, ad hominem attacks, accusations of criminal activity (often allied to severe misspelling), the illusion that the landlord and staff are in any way pleased to see them, &c, &c.
This "London Pub Reviews" is in a way a distillation of that kind of thing along with a heady dose of Frank Key-ish surrealism. It does, also, describe the pub, its decor, its beer &c before diving into the weird, which is good. After all no pub-owner would want to find their pub pilloried and/or ignored by a supposed reviewer; there are some very good pubs in here and they are properly reviewed. At first.
However despite the funny that this book brings the reviews / pieces do tend towards the predictable after a few (so to speak) - they follow the same format. This is not the case in my favourite of this kind of book (admittedly it is a very small genre), Alan Reeve Jones' "London Pubs" (1962) in which some pieces are straightforward reviews, others divert into surrealism, others eschew the pub itself entirely in favour of a rambling narrative about the narrator and his friend Xerxes McGill. It is unfortunate that the Reeve Jones slants my perception of any book like this simply because it was done so well. Ewen's effort is pretty good anyway, although as said the pattern is invariable - misbehaviour, police or ejection.
Q.
A. I am not sure how much we are supposed to sympathise with the narrator. It is possible that we are supposed to condemn those around him because they are not supportive in any way; that he sees it as a safe place but it isn't.
Q.
A. Yes, the whole book could I suppose if you wanted to be seen as an attack on the public house as a whole, that they encourage drunkenness and that the customer is there under suffrance. If you wanted to. But that might be playing into the hands of those who are opposed to the alcohol industry and alcohol workers as a whole, who would like to see consenting alcohol use for money between adults driven underground.
Q.
A. Exactly like Al Capone or "Boardwalk Empire," I do agree. Just remember kids, the Sleep of Reason breeds Mobsters. Goodnight.
This "London Pub Reviews" is in a way a distillation of that kind of thing along with a heady dose of Frank Key-ish surrealism. It does, also, describe the pub, its decor, its beer &c before diving into the weird, which is good. After all no pub-owner would want to find their pub pilloried and/or ignored by a supposed reviewer; there are some very good pubs in here and they are properly reviewed. At first.
However despite the funny that this book brings the reviews / pieces do tend towards the predictable after a few (so to speak) - they follow the same format. This is not the case in my favourite of this kind of book (admittedly it is a very small genre), Alan Reeve Jones' "London Pubs" (1962) in which some pieces are straightforward reviews, others divert into surrealism, others eschew the pub itself entirely in favour of a rambling narrative about the narrator and his friend Xerxes McGill. It is unfortunate that the Reeve Jones slants my perception of any book like this simply because it was done so well. Ewen's effort is pretty good anyway, although as said the pattern is invariable - misbehaviour, police or ejection.
Q.
A. I am not sure how much we are supposed to sympathise with the narrator. It is possible that we are supposed to condemn those around him because they are not supportive in any way; that he sees it as a safe place but it isn't.
Q.
A. Yes, the whole book could I suppose if you wanted to be seen as an attack on the public house as a whole, that they encourage drunkenness and that the customer is there under suffrance. If you wanted to. But that might be playing into the hands of those who are opposed to the alcohol industry and alcohol workers as a whole, who would like to see consenting alcohol use for money between adults driven underground.
Q.
A. Exactly like Al Capone or "Boardwalk Empire," I do agree. Just remember kids, the Sleep of Reason breeds Mobsters. Goodnight.
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