30 day blog challenge: Day 13 — A fictional book

...and this means....what...exactly?  an imaginary book?  or a book of fiction?  badly-worded heading there, i feel.  ambiguous.  however, having pondered and debated with hubby, and considered tomorrow's title, i think it's probably the latter.

(N.B.  weird wordie that i am, i specifically arranged the first part of that paragraph just so i could use the word "latter".  i've always been fond of that word...)

but...  haven't we already had "Your favourite book"?  why put in two?  as a lifelong bibliophle, i have to say i really couldn't give a monkey's chuff.  opportunity to think and talk about books?  i'm in!  :oD

but what to pick?  what to pick?

how'bout One Fine Day In The Middle Of The Night - the one i'm reading right now? 

or, more accurately re-reading.  for the third, or possibly fourth time.  it's by Christopher Brookmyre - an author who comes second only in my affections to Neil Gaiman.  principally because of how much he makes me laugh.  and i'm not talking chuckling, here - i'm talking great, guffawing belly-laughs. 
...not all the time.  oh, no.  but then who wants that?  where nuance?  where tragedy? &c. &c. 
...but he did write a scene that had me laughing so hard that, desperate though i was to read it to a puzzled and mildly alarmed hubby, i. just. couldn't.  it involved discovery of accidental cannibalism, an ice-bucket, and synchronised vomiting of epic proportions.  oh, and there was the one where, with the careful (or, more accurately, careless) application of a snooker table, a mercenary accidentally cut his own head off.  seriously - one of the literary comedy highlights of my entire life.  so elegantly and logically set up, so gracefully executed (if you'll forgive the pun  >_< )....  i'm in awe. 
and the titles of his books are often works of art in themselves.  for example - who wouldn't be intrigued by a book titled "A Big Boy Did It And Ran Away"...?

  

or "All Fun And Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye"...?

now, admittedly, OFDITMOTN doesn't contain as many guffaws, but the part where the recently-retired policeman get's knocked unconscious by a disembodied arm falling from the sky is pretty funny....

the plot centres around a school reunion, which takes place on a decommisioned oil rig that has been converted into "The Floating Island Paradise Resort".  which subsequently gets attacked by a bunch of inept mercenaries hell-bent on slaughtering everyone on board.  one of the things Brookmyre does so very well is paint schooldays, and the relationships, language, politics and culture peculiar to that environment.  several of his novels concern this particular aspect of the human experience.  but there's so much more than that in there.  Brookmyre pokes fun at everything.  sometimes affectionately, sometimes with loathing and incredulity at the stuidity and malice of "the people".  but always with inventive accuracy.

dear reader, i urge you to read this book.  or, indeed, anything by this master storyteller (apart from Boiling a frog which, for reasons i won't go into, i enjoyed the least, but whose title is still a wonderful thing, and perfectly encapsulates the essence of the book).  invariably fast-paced, intelligent and funny, they are joyous.  and i'm bloody dying for him to write another.  i'm twitching like a junkie needing a fix.

for your consideration: the two mentioned earlier (particularly AFAGUSLAE, which is about the power and strength of motherhood, and women in general, and has some really cool gadgets in it).

all images borrowed from www.fantasticfiction.com.  i'll be happy to put them back if they're not happy about this.