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Loading... All My Colors (2019)by David Quantick
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A wanna-be writer with an eidetic memory decides to claim authorship of a book that only he remembers, but soon finds that there are consequences for his theft. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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‘All My Colors’ is a weird blend of horror and comedy that manages to work a lot better than books that mix those genres sometimes do. I often find that comedy horror veers too far one way or the other, being either funny but not scary or creepy but with jokes that fall flat. David Quantick’s book steers a path straight down the middle and is both laugh out loud funny and genuinely mysterious and unsettling. Given that Quantick is part of the team who wrote TV shows ‘The Thick Of It’ and ‘Veep’, I expected the jokes. What I didn’t count on was him having such a talent for horror.
The book is the tale of a failed writer in 1970s middle America who finds that no-one else can remember a famous novel which he knows word for word. Seizing the opportunity, he rewrites the book. Given that this is a horror novel, his actions set in motion a suitably horrific sequence of events that build up nicely as the book progresses.
The premise is pure Twilight Zone, and the 70s setting makes it read a little like a lost Stephen King novel, only much, much funnier. It never quite reaches King levels of terror, but it does have some memorably nasty imagery and a denouement that is lingeringly creepy. It also features the King trope of the alcoholic writer. To my mind, though, it’s a better book about writing than anything King has penned. It perfectly captures the mystery of the creative impulse and the way in which a work of art ceases to belong to its creator once it is finished.
Most of all, though, ‘All My Colors’ is a really fun read. It’s engaging, gripping and hilarious by turns. I couldn’t put it down and ploughed through it in a day. If you like your horror smart, inventive and witty I can’t recommend it highly enough.
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