Welcome to Litsy!

Hmmm. Difficult book to rate. Ridgway is a writer I admire for his beautiful prose and outstanding dialogue. I really liked the first story, The Party, and the diverse set of characters, the setting (London) but I didn‘t get what the central point/theme is that connects the stories and makes them a novel because that‘s how the book is marketed. I also found myself drifting off too many times, the stories meandered too much. Still a pick, but low

A 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.

Is 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.