pickA highly imaginative and visceral account of South.London life told through intertwined stories which highlight the hedonism of London as well as its insecurity, boredom and squalor. Ridgeway uses crevices and cavities to gain a distinctive perspective which privileges rodents and other marginal lives. He has a mastery of genre and exposes the role that storytelling plays In London‘s mythical and material life. Highly recommended
What? No. Not Spark - I keep telling you Harry. Rename the pub. Put her picture up. Create a cocktail called The Abbess of Crewe. - I know I know - She lived five minutes from here - There are probably legal issues - You could relabel the toilets. The Bachelors and The Girls of Slender Means. There is nothing about her around here. She‘s been forgotten and it‘s a great injustice that you could remedy Harry
He‘d been daydreaming, he‘d told her, miles away,happy, enjoying the discussion,and the first couple of times he saw something moving just out of his field of vision he‘d assumed unconsciously,he said he must have assumed that it was people walking by on the street.But it was a rat.It had come in through the window and was exploring the windowsill and nosing the plates waiting to be washed, licking them Stan thought, its long tail slapping glass.
pickIs it a novel, are the inter-linked short stories? It turns out I didn‘t really care. I have my book club to thank for bringing me to this edgy little number that tickled many of my favourite itches. A Shock is a clever, unsettling, complex selection of stories about the oddities of life in London. Oh…there are a lot of rodents too. Loved this, a thoughtful, unnerving, critical read.
A Shock | 
