The kidnap of a rebellious heiress leads Inspector Nightjar into a steampunk underworld of brain love, greed and revolution. Can the Raven Method uncover the big Truth? What powers Thousand Tower City? Why are books telling unfamiliar stories? How cosy is anarchy?
Steve Aylett, author of LINT (chosen by Stewart Lee on R4's A Good Read) and Slaughtermatic, returns in this fizzing caper about “the good sin of thinking for yourself”.
"In the whole of language there is nothing like Steve Aylett, and The Book Lovers is his most relentless assault yet on our prissy synapses. Every sentence is a nifty seizure that will slug his reader through the printed page into a better and less reasonable world, a fugue-state heaven of excruciating beauty that spends dazzling insight as though it were chocolate money. Utterly astonishing, and possibly some manner of police procedural. Read this now before it happens." — Alan Moore, author of Watchmen
"Every sentence is a wonderland, every phrase a treat. No one writes like Steve Aylett. I am so glad that he is back. With each book it is as if he changes the possibilities of our imagination and populates your mind with new shapes and forms." — Robin Ince, comedian, author, broadcaster and co-host of the award-winning Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox.
“Aylett is the greatest absurdist of our age and worthy of comparison with William Burroughs – elegant, witty and absolutely his own writer. Lay back and immerse yourself in this wonderful book. Wise – wonderful – hilarious! Entertainment for everyone who believes there is nothing worth reading any more!” — Michael Moorcock
What did I think?
Never has the phrase 'What have I just read?' fit a book more, as that's what I actually said (in a good way) when I finished reading The Book Lovers. It feels just like falling down the rabbit hole into a wonderful wacky world created by the imaginative mind of Steve Aylett.
The first line is an absolute belter and I just have to share it here:
'A book is like you and me – glued to a spine and doing its best.'
There are so many other lines I could share as I noted down loads of favourites but I don't want to spoil the book for other readers. The writing is incredibly poetic and hypnotic, drawing me in and holding my attention throughout.
The story revolves around the kidnap of heiress Sophie Shafto and Detective Inspector Nightjar who is investigating the case. Steve Aylett takes the reader on a journey through a world filled with books, mystery and adventure as we find out what happened to Sophie.
Steve Aylett has a very unusual and unique writing style and The Book Lovers is like nothing I've ever read before. It reminded me of a mixture of Lewis Carroll, William Shakespeare and a sprinkling of Spike Milligan as I didn't know what was going on most of the time but I also couldn't tear my eyes away from the page.
It's impossible to describe The Book Lovers but you could definitely say that it is highly original and completely unique. It is also bold, bonkers and incredibly mesmerising; it's well worth a read just to appreciate the incredibly poetic prose.
Many thanks to Steve Aylett for sending me a gifted copy to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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