A particularly astute and well-written four-star review of I Shot a Man in Reno appears in this week's issue of Time Out, concluding that "it's in making... connections between death songs and a life lived that I Shot a Man in Reno really shines." I'm so glad somebody has picked up on this aspect of the book: the way that good death songs can really throw an affirming light on existence in general, and our own individual lives in particular.Equally satisfying and smartly turned out was the review in Sunday's Morning Star, which called Reno "authoritative and sparkling with insight, drawing on sharp wit and a record collection to apparently rival John Peel's." You can read the review in full here - though comparing my humble store of music to Peelie's vast world of song is just plain silly. But nice.
The measured insight of these reviews sits in stark relief against a rather pointless radio interview I did this morning with some shouty parody of a local radio DJ, who couldn't get past accusing me of being a "morbid bugger" in between calling Ralph Stanley "Ralph Bellamy." But then he - clearly - hadn't bothered to read the book. Which always helps in these matters, I find.
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