Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Italy in Notting Hill

Simon Barraclough

To the Travel Bookshop in Notting Hill for the launch of Any Human Face. Hugh Grant seems to have ceased employment there, so the paparazzi were not in evidence as I  mingled before the event, trying - and failing -  to look elegant on a sweltering evening. The very quaffable Italian wine, provided by our hosts certainly oiled the wheels, and I had the great pleasure of meeting Charles Lambert in the flesh for the first time. I also met Anne (A.C.) Tillyer, whose intriguing collection of short stories, An A-Z of Possible Worlds, comes, BS Johnson style, as a boxed set, and Simon Barraclough who read poems with an Italian connection from his collections Los Alamos Mon Amour and Bonjour Tetris.
The event was introduced by Charles's agent - and a considerable poet herself - Isobel Dixon. Simon read some of his thought-provoking poems first. More of these anon - suffice to say that I was ashamed not to have read his work before. Charles read three passages from early in the novel, one for each of the three narrative threads. I enjoyed revisiting the book, and people I spoke to who hadn't read it were very intrigued- they were hooked by the thriller aspect, and reeled in by the superbly evocative language.
Charles Lambert

All in all, a lovely way to spend a balmy summer evening in Notting Hill.