London Blues

Rating:
Summary: Porn and Profumo
Review: Five years ago, I saw this book in a London bookshop and filed it away in my head as something to check out when I had more money. Last week, after carrying the title around in a notebook for years, I stumbled across a used copy in a local bookshop. I'll step right up and say that, yes, it was worth the effort and the wait. Frewin's debut (he was Stanley Kubrick's PA for many years), is a great, gritty period thriller set amidst early '60s London. The atmosphere oozes off the page in a story which follows a small-time part time pornographer who gets mixed up in the Profumo scandal.

A note of caution here-those not familiar with the Profumo scandal (which is likely to be almost any American reader) would be well advised to do a little reading about it prior to embarking on Frewin's book. The Guardian web site has a decent mini-history of the affair, or at the least, watch the 1989 film Scandal (starring John Hurt and a young Bridget Fonda). The whole sordid episode is presented in Frewin's book, but only through the eyes of the protagonist, and much of the context may be confusing without further grounding.

A further note of caution is order due to the book's structure. Some readers may find confusing or be put off by its framing technique. The book starts with a 40 page section in which a contemporary narrator discovers an old '60s short porn film appended (appropriately enough) to a video of Get Carter. His curiosity over the maker of the "blue" film leads an interview-like series of other people talking about "Tim." Then the bulk of the book slips back in time to follow country lad Tim, as he tries to make it in the big city and the unsavory people he gets mixed up in. The book then ends with a brief further contemporary section. Those who demand their thrillers end neatly, with all loose ends tied up will be especially frustrated by the outcome.

Frewin's prose is direct and lively, capturing the period slang and tone. To a large degree, the story is one about a "secret London" of greasy cafés, small time hoods, West Indian immigrants, wanna-be models, and cover-ups. It's a vibrantly seedy portrait of London's transition from the postwar '50s to the legendary "swinging" '60s. (If the time and place interests you, check out Colin MacInnes' London trilogy of City of Spades, Absolute Beginners, and Mr. Love and Justice) The thriller aspect is a rather perplexing, tied up as it is in Tim's pornographic work and the Profumo scandal, but moves the story along-always with a hint of conspiracy. Good stuff, and I'll definitely be adding Frewin's next two books, "Sixty-Three Closure" and "Scorpion Rising" to my list, although hopefully it won't take me five years to find and read them!

Rating:
Summary: London Vice
Review: Tim Purdon, pioneering pornographer of London in the early 60's has gotten himself in a whole lot of trouble with forces neither he nor the reader understands. The story intersects with Stephen Ward, the Osteopath and procurer who was made the fall guy for the Profumo scandal that brought down the Tory government. Well written and literate, but bring a dictionary to convert British to American English. The story is as exciting as the pornography is boring. If you like well-defined, pat endings though, stay away. A good read.