Helen Taylor (7)

OK, this is maybe not your average run-of-the-mill novel for most folk. A wee bit sweary, a cast of characters including drug users and prostitutes, and a main protagonist who is, quite frankly, pretty hard to like. But maybe it’s just me – I actually quite enjoyed this debut novel set in the seedier parts of Glasgow.

Finn Garvie, a struggling artist, is facing an existential (or non-existential) crisis: his girlfriend is pregnant (although he doesn’t know), his life is a bit of a mess, show more he falls out with his best friend, his alcoholic neighbour ends up in hospital…. Yep, it’s all a bit raintown is Finn’s Glasgow. Up pops the figure of Caravaggio – Finn’s idol and muse – who enters into Finn’s life as part of his punishment in purgatory. A ghost? An apparition? The real deal? Whatever, the figure of Caravaggio is probably the best character in the book – foul-mouthed, larger than life and seriously moody. As Finn sets about a series of paintings inspired by Caravaggio’s own work, so his life takes a darker turn and starts to mirror that of the great artist. There are various subplots at work in the book, and some work better than others, but all of the characters are connected in some way as the story progresses.

This is not a perfect novel by any means. For me, it took too long to get going – some judicious editing would have made this a leaner, faster-paced book. Some of the plot lines became a little too coincidental and could easily have been pruned. And I felt the use of the ‘ghost’ of Caravaggio was a little too similar to A.L. Kennedy’s wonderful novel ‘So I Am Glad’ and its use of Cyrano de Bergerac. However, I did enjoy the book, despite these misgivings. For a novel produced basically by crowd-funding and the support of Unbound (is this the future of publishing?) it is a promising debut by Helen Taylor. There are laugh-out-loud moments, and once the action picks up it rattles along to a shocking conclusion (I won’t spoil it here). Raising questions about art and inspiration, about who we are and the importance of family, and including some wonderfully colourful swear words for you to try out yourself, I would recommend this book – just bear with it for the first 70 or so pages and it rewards you. show less

With rich and sensory writing, Helen Taylor presents readers with a remarkable cast of characters. The voices are strong with inventive dialogue and colloquial language. She does a wonderful job of keeping all the plates in the story spinning until the final reveal. There is much to enjoy in this novel.