Reflection's Edge

Book Review: Fags and Lager, by Charlie Williams

Reviewer: Romie Stott

Summary: Royston Blake is happy with his job as Head Doorman of Hoppers bar, a position of some respect in the community of Mangel. He's got a flash car, all the lager he could want, and an excuse to get his aggression out whenever he needs to. He even looks a bit like Clint Eastwood. But when a drippy outsider comes to town, Mangel's delicate balance is upset, launching a drug-induced crime wave and putting Blake's beloved bar job in danger. Is Blake tough enough to do what needs doing and sort the whole mess out? Can he save his mate from being turned into sausage by the local shopkeeper? More importantly, will he manage to secure a large bounty of fags and lager?

Sequel to: Deadfolk. However, in the grand tradition of mystery writing, each book stands alone.

Length: 312 pages of relatively large type. The reviewer finished the book in under four hours, spaced evenly over one week.

From the cover, you might think this book is about: Drinking, smoking, and, if you are American, negative views about homosexuals.

But it's actually about: Drinking, smoking, negative views about homosexuals, violence, and an assortment of awful people coming to more or less unpleasant (and more or less humorous) ends.

If this book were a food, it would be: A shepherd's pie with meat of dubious provenance.

Maximum Number of Fags and Lagers Appearing in a Single Scene: 400 of each.

Overall Consumed Lager-to-Fag Ratio: Approximately eight to one.

Mainstream appeal: Discontinuous. This is a book that will appeal to a variety of readers who might not otherwise have much in common. Mystery readers who like Sam Spade or Robert B. Parker's Spenser Series will appreciate Fags and Lager's hard edge, while adherents of Brother Cadfael will be turned off by the protagonist's comfort with violent solutions. Barbarian fantasy fans will recognize the book's uncomplicated anti-hero, who remains sympathetic even while committing gruesome, senseless deeds. Intellectuals can read Fags and Lager as a social criticism of insular small-town Britain, while casual readers will be attracted to the book's sly humor.

Fringy-ness (US): High. Fags and Lager is written in dialect, with plentiful slang and poor grammar. Un-PC terms like "cripple" and "cunt" are used unreservedly. The protagonist is firmly low class, curses freely, and drinks heavily. There is never a suggestion that any character could improve his lot in life, or that human life is valuable. Bystanders get hurt; women get hurt; men who wear glasses get hurt. Vandalism abounds, as do drug use and car theft. Terrible things happen to underage children and people in wheelchairs. Horrible events are treated lightly, and often played for laughs. There are no good guys.

Fringy-ness (UK): Moderate; it's harsh, but you've seen it all before, and will be able to laugh at it. Still, it's not an appropriate book for children.

People are saying: Fags and Lager is black humor of the blackest sort - both tremendously funny and deeply disturbing. It makes masterful use of an unreliable narrator by cleverly contrasting his accounts with those of the equally biased town newspaper. The timing and rhythm of the jokes is perfect. Despite the cruelty and violence throughout the book, it never seems mean - just matter of fact - and it never condescends. One wonders how many towns like Mangel are out there, and how many hooligans like Royston Blake.

The author is: busy supporting his new Mangel mystery, King of the Road, which just came out in the UK. His website at www.charliewilliams.net includes a blog, short stories, and a recording of Williams reading from King of the Road.

To buy a copy of this book, click: here.

If you liked this book, check out:

The Spenser Series, by Robert B. Parker

Trainspotting, by Irvine Welsh

Shallow Grave, directed by Danny Boyle

The Big Lebowski, directed by Joel Coen

The Stranger, by Albert Camus



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