2020 | Guy Portman's Blog

Postponing, Feasting & Netflixing

Oct 16 2020

It’s that time of year again. Few things are as pleasurable as a fire.

Here are some more deer that I saw on my morning walk the other day. There is an abundance of roe here at the moment and a fair few muntjac about too.

Few combinations are better than tea and Maltesers.

Another day; another snack.

Don’t know about you, but I’ve been doing a lot of postponing of late. While I’ve been writing a lot, I have put off a load of other things.

The last week or so has entailed a Netflix frenzy.

Dirty Money has proven to be particularly intriguing and disturbing. The episode about the Kushners will live long in my memory. Bad Boy Billionaires: India is also interesting.

The Netflix splurge is due to end. I need to concentrate on finding new readers and getting reviews for my books amongst other things. Have a good weekend.

5 Satires Worth Reading

Oct 09 2020

It’s back to books this week. Here are five satires worth reading. They are presented in chronological order. Click on the links to read my reviews

Candide by Voltaire (1759)

Candide is an eighteenth-century satirical classic that evaluates optimism; the prevailing philosophical ideology of The Enlightenment.

My Review: Brought up in the household of a German baron, cheerful protagonist Candide has been instilled with the philosophy of Leibniz, notably – That all is for the best in this, the best of …(more)

Subjects Satirised: The Church & The Enlightenment.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)

This satirical book’s motif is a warning about the threat posed by state censorship.

My Review: Books are banned in this dystopian world, where firemen are employed to burn them. Guy Montag is a fireman, who lives an unfulfilling existence with Mildred, his sedentary, parlour-consuming …(more)

Subjects Satirised: Social Problems.

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (1991)

American Psycho is a satire of the yuppies culture of the 1980s. It has become a cult classic.

My Review: American Psycho is a highly controversial novel that brought its young author Bret Easton Ellis instant fame. The book is written from the perspective of a young Wall Street financier, Patrick Bateman …(more)

Subjects Satirised: 1980s yuppies culture.

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk (2001)

Choke is in essence a social commentary about our innate craving for attention and the fundamental nature of addiction.

My Review: The protagonist, Victor Mancini, is a sex addict employed at an eighteenth-century historical re-enactment park. Victor attends various sexual addiction support groups, where he …(more)

Subjects Satirised: Sex addition & dependence.

I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe (2004)

This is a humorous satire about campus life. Themes include materialism, social class, race and America’s obsession with college sport.

My Review: Appalachian wunderkind Charlotte Simmons has been awarded a scholarship to Dupont, an elite fictional university, steeped in tradition. Living amongst the cream of America’s youth is …(more)

Subjects Satirised: Campus life & society.

Torrential Rain, Transgressive Fiction & Culinary Delights.

Oct 02 2020

It’s absolutely pouring out there. On a day like this, one just wants to lie around in a hot bath, or watch Netflix. Not sure this photo in any way captures the severity of the current downpour, but for better or worse here it is.

The dog is also feeling lethargic today.

I am an avid consumer of fish fingers. However, it’d been a long time since I had fishcakes.

Prior to the weather turning horrendous, I came across these pheasants near my house feasting on birdseed.

Anyone a fan of carrot cake? For some reason I was under the impression that I couldn’t stand the stuff; so it was a pleasant surprise last weekend to discover I was sorely mistaken.

This week I purged my mailing list. It had a lot of dead weight. Now it’s time to start building it up again.

I have also been reading. Not sure how it took me so long to get around to reading this, as I am something of an Easton Ellis fan. So far, so good.

Currently, I am seeking reviews for my books, especially the latest one. If you have read any of my books, a short review on Amazon or elsewhere would be much appreciated. Reviews are vital to us authors for finding new readers.

Have a good weekend.

5 Transgressive Fiction Reading Recommendations

Sep 25 2020

This week I don’t feel like talking about myself, so it’s back to my old staple, reading recommendations. Here are five works of Transgressive Fiction that you might like. Well, I’m not sure they are all strictly Transgressive Fiction, but they certainly all contain transgressive elements. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Definition: Transgressive Fiction is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways.

Glue by Irvine Welsh

Glue adeptly captures the zeitgeists of the various eras it encapsulates. The book’s scabrous descriptions will appeal to fans of Transgressive Fiction.

My Review: Glue is about four friends who hail from Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. It begins with them as infants in the 1970s, and ends at the dawn of the new …(more)

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

Set in the 1800’s, Blood Meridian is an episodic book, which is almost unparalleled in its misanthropy and repugnant content.

My Review: ‘The Kid’ is a fourteen-year-old hailing from a Tennessean backwater. Following an ill-fated stint as a conscript in a Mexico-bound militia, he is …(more)

Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis

Glamorama adeptly captures the hedonism of 1990s New York. The text is punctuated with numerous pop-culture references.

My Review: Victor Ward aka Victor Johnson is a male model living in 1990s Manhattan. Victor is a vapid, soulless character, obsessed with celebrity culture, who lives an existence that …(more)

Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk

Survivor is an innovative and erudite social commentary, brimming with satirical observations and irreverent humour.

My Review: Tender Branson, the last survivor of the Creedish Church cult, has hijacked an aeroplane, which is now flying on autopilot. His objective: to dictate his life story onto …(more)

Red Russia by Tanya Thompson

Red Russia could best be summed up as a frenzied, post-Soviet satirical transgressive work.

My Review: Tanya has accompanied her American entrepreneur boyfriend Peter to Russia on a business trip. She is there to act as his interpreter. Their hosts are a motley collection of shady …(more)

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Hedging, Reading & More Besides.

Sep 18 2020

This week I have divided most of my time between writing, reading and hedging. The hedging is of the vegetation variety, as opposed to hedge funding. This form of hedging might not be as lucrative, but it’s probably more fatiguing.

Fortunately, my neighbour has been helping me. Otherwise it would be a Sisyphean task. Topping the hedge is going to have to wait until a suitable platform arrives from Amazon, as it’s just too high. I did briefly consider utilising a ladder. However, I came to the conclusion that using a chainsaw on a ladder probably isn’t a good idea.

The weight seems to fall off doing gardening, this despite the fact I have been drinking a few beers in the evenings.

This is my new washing machine. Two washes in and it’s working like clockwork.

It was nostalgic eating a ’99 Flake’ last weekend. I hadn’t had one in decades. They might not cost 99p anymore but they still taste just as good.

As for reading, it’s been typical fare of late. I recently finished this highly original satirical novel.

And I am currently reading this work of Transgressive Fiction.

Have a good weekend.

Reading, Ruminating & Household Appliances.

Sep 11 2020

It’s Friday again; it came around quick. My latest book, The Gazebo, has got some reviews on Amazon US, Amazon CA and Goodreads, but not on my native Amazon UK as of yet.

As for me, I’ve been writing, reading and mourning the demise of my washing machine. It’s standard procedure for people to say how much better x or y was back in the day. In the case of household appliances, it really does hold true. Contemporary washing machines and dishwashers can’t hold a candle to their predecessors of the 1980s and early 90s. My household was graced by only two washing machines during my childhood and adolescence, and the first was replaced through choice, in favour of a larger model.

I’ve been through five washing machines thus far during my adult life. I’m presently waiting for number six to arrive. The rot set in with no.5 when all the wash cycles stopped working apart from quick wash. When it finally stopped spinning earlier this week, the writing was on the wall. If life expectancies are anything to go by, I’ll get through another nine, and that’s assuming the things don’t regress further.

Bosch – once a symbol of robustness and quality, now one of fragility and incompetence. Old habits die hard – I’ve just bought another. This one’s the dead one.

Here is a slow worm I stumbled across on my afternoon walk yesterday.

My hedge got very scruffy during lockdown. It’s time to give it a cut with a chainsaw on a pole. It could be a disaster waiting to happen. Wish me luck.

Have a good weekend.

New Release: The Gazebo Is Only 99p/99c

Sep 04 2020

My seventh book, The Gazebo, was unleashed on the world on Tuesday (Sep. 01). For a limited time only, it is only 99p/99c from all major retailers. The price will be raised next week. It is also available as a paperback.

Bawdily Brilliant Black Comedy

Two men’s lives are about to implode. Can they save themselves before it’s too late?

The first reviews are already up on Amazon US & Goodreads, and they’re good ones. As for the launch thus far, it has been a mixed bag. The enthusiasm shown by some of my ‘fans’ who have already read The Gazebo has been very encouraging. The apathy displayed by large sections of my mailing list, less so.

If you like dark humour you’ll love The Gazebo; and if you don’t you probably won’t. Have a good weekend.

The Links: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Goodreads, Kobo CA, Smashwords

The Gazebo – Release Imminent.

Aug 28 2020

My seventh book, The Gazebo, will be unleashed on the world next Tuesday (September 1st).

This darkly humorous, quick read (42k words) will be available in eBook and paperback form from all major retailers. I toyed with the idea of just opting for Amazon initially due to their potential incentives, but for better or worse decided against it in the end.

For a limited time only, The Gazebo (eBook) will be only 99p/99c. After a week or so a dollar/pound will likely be added to the price.

If you missed it, here is the back matter:

Click here to see The Gazebo on Goodreads.

Well, best be getting back to writing the next one. Have a good (extended if in UK) weekend.

The 5 Books I’ve Read Recently

Aug 21 2020

The last few months I have been concentrating on my own writing (more on that next week). I am currently taking a short hiatus from my fiction writing and catching up with some other stuff, including reviews of books that I’ve read. Here are the five books that I have read recently. Three of them are my typical dark fiction/dark humour fare, while the other two aren’t. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Disaster Inc.

Disaster Inc is the first instalment in a series by former Irish stand-up comedian and successful television writer Caimh McDonnell.

My Review: Bunny McGarry is an Irishman in America on a mission to find someone. Hungover one morning, he is having breakfast at a diner, when …(more)

My Opinion: Funny but convoluted.

Six Days: How the 1967 War Shaped the Middle East

Through its numerous interviews, journalist Bowen imbues his account of the conflict with a personal touch.

My Review: Over a six-day period in 1967, Israel fought and defeated an Arab coalition consisting of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Tensions had been …(more)

My Opinion: Interesting and too long.

My Sister, The Serial Killer

The intriguing premise, darkly humorous elements and dialogue-heavy content make for an enduring combination.

My Review: Twins Koredie and Ayoola are very different. Conscientious Korede is a senior nurse in a hospital while the beautiful Ayoola is …(more)

My Opinion: Lives up to the hype.

Walden

Walden, which comprises the vast majority of this book, is an account of the author’s two years living in the New England wilderness.

My Review: This Collins Classics publication consists of two works in one. The latter, Civil Disobedience, is a pamphlet-length, instrumental anarchist …(more)

My Opinion: Onerous yet rewarding.

Blood Meridian

Set in the 1800’s, Blood Meridian is an episodic book, which is almost unparalleled in its misanthropy and repugnant content.

My Review: ‘The Kid’ is a fourteen-year-old hailing from a Tennessean backwater. Following an ill-fated stint as a conscript in a …(more)

My Opinion: Bleak and exceptional.

Reading, Writing & Searing Heat

Aug 14 2020

It’s been unusually hot and humid in the UK of late, though it appears conditions will soon be returning to normal. It was 36C here the other day and it has been very sticky at night. Yesterday, while in the supermarket observing my fellow shoppers, I came to the conclusion that summer is the kindest time of year on the beautiful, the cruellest on those who are not.

The supermarket had rolled out some great deals on beer.

I opted for two Cobras and a Staropramen.

What with the heat, Trigga has been seeking the coolest places he can find.

He gave the postman a bit of a fright when he emerged barking from here.

Writer’s block is an ailment that affects many writers. This one is currently suffering from a bout. I have used some of the time to catch up with other stuff, including writing book reviews. It’s a labour of love but one I am adamant helps my writing. Six new book reviews will be appearing in the review section soon. I also ordered a couple of new books. Transgressive fiction and satire – two of my favourite genres.

I’ve been trying to mobilise some interest, from UK readers primarily, in the Necropolis Trilogy. A handful have taken the plunge.

With any luck some of them will be intrigued by my forthcoming darkly humorous book, The Gazebo (Release date: Sep. 01).

Have a good weekend.

Archive - 2020

Postponing, Feasting & Netflixing

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5 Satires Worth Reading

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Torrential Rain, Transgressive Fiction & Culinary Delights.

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5 Transgressive Fiction Reading Recommendations

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Hedging, Reading & More Besides.

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Reading, Ruminating & Household Appliances.

Like this:

New Release: The Gazebo Is Only 99p/99c

Like this:

The Gazebo – Release Imminent.

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The 5 Books I’ve Read Recently

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Reading, Writing & Searing Heat

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Archive - 2020

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