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Literary London
FAQs
Hampstead,
Bloomsbury, yeah fine. But what is the area in London which speaks
of now in a literary kind of way?
There isn't one I'm afraid. You might want to claim the revitalised
Soho cafe scene, or clubby Camden, perhaps, but these areas are
at least as famous for other art forms as the novel.
What future
trends in London fiction do you predict, oh LondonNet oracle?
Two contradictory
ones. On the one hand we'll see more and more specific and localised
novels; on the other there will be more portentous tomes aiming
to figure London's place in the world, universe and so on.
What is
a 'Hampstead' novel?
It's an often
pejorative term handed to usually slow, self-consciously intellectual,
dinner party novels which emanate from a back scratching group
of writers, some of whom reside in Hampstead. Typical plot line
would go: Middle-aged man realises he is bored stiff with life.
Tries something new (e.g. an affair, drugs, crime etc.) to spice
things up a bit but comes to long winded conclusion that all
alternatives are boring and he might as well find solace back
on square one.
What's the
wackiest London novel you've come across?
How about Monica
Grant's The Ragga and the Royal, an extraordinary fantasy in
which Princess Diana gets hip to Jungle, Ragga and one particularly
delicious DJ.
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