Empty promises

‘You promised you would get it sorted.’

‘I’m working on it. It’s not ...’

‘I don’t care,’ the man interrupted, ‘how easy or difficult it is. I voted for you because you said you’d get it fixed. Three years we’ve been waiting.’

‘Look, the recession has changed everything. The country is dying on its feet. It’s ...’

‘And whose fault is that? You’re as bad as the last lot! Full of empty promises. Don’t try and tell me about the recession. I live the recession!’

‘Look, I’m doing my best.’

‘Well, it’s not good enough, is it? It never is.’


A drabble is a story of exactly 100 words.

Time flies by when you're lost in data

This week has been unbelievably busy. The institute I run was the official data visualization partner for the Irish Census 2011, launched yesterday morning. The AIRO team in NIRSA has been flatout working with the data and constructing and testing various interactive mapping and graphing visualizations. We only had the data for a week before launch (and there's only 4 of us - 3 when you consider that all I do is test, analyse and do the media stuff). The team did an unbelievable job and the launch by the Central Statistics Office and ourselves went smoothly and we've had great feedback and media coverage. Several of our graphing tools were embedded into Irish Times stories (see the IT census section). If you're interested in these kinds of things then the CSO report 'This is Ireland' can be found here, and the interactive data visualizations here. A bunch of analysis can be found on the other blog I contribute to Ireland After NAMA. After a week of 12-14 hour days I'm zonked; back to usual next week, hopefully.

Review of The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson by Douglas Lindsay (Piatkus 1999, reprinted by Blasted Heath, 2011)

A serial killer is at work in Glasgow sending a body part through the post to the victim’s relatives. The case has Chief Inspector Robert Holdall and his sergeant MacPherson vexed. The madman’s exploits vie for attention in a local barber shop, along with football and general pish. Barney Thomson resentfully works the chair furthest from the window, the other two operated by Wullie Henderson, the owner’s son, and Chris Porter, who is several year’s Barney’s junior. When on form, Barney cuts like a maestro, but lately he’s lost his form and customer’s seeking his services are dwindling. To make matters worse his wife is a soap opera addict that barely notices him and his aging mother has dementia. In his fantasies, what Barney would love to do is kill Henderson and rightfully reclaim the window seat and his dignity. And the local serial killer would like to help.

The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson is a comedy noir, thickly laced with black humour. The story is not particularly complicated, but is very well told, and there are three strong twists in the book that the rotate the plot ninety degrees each time to good effect. The dialogue and wit (or talking pish in the books terms) in the barber scenes is excellent, as is the running commentary on the soap operas Barney’s wife watches, and the banter between the detectives. I laughed out loud several times, especially in the first half of the book. The characterisation was spot on and despite being one of life’s losers it’s difficult not to take to Barney and his ill-judged decisions and morose approach to life. If there are any television producers reading this, in my view, the book would make a very good two-hour comedy drama. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to the second book in the series, The Cutting Edge.

Review of Death on the Marais by Adrian Magson (Allison and Busby 2010)

It’s 1963 and Inspector Lucas Rocco has been posted to the village of Poissons-les-Marais in north-west France as part of a bureaucratic exercise to rotate officers around the country. He’s not best pleased to be leaving cosmopolitan Paris, but is immediately plunged into a village life and a murder case. A young woman is found dead in a Great War cemetery having been drowned and moved. A former sergeant who served in Indo-China, Rocco is famed for his insubordination, determination and bravery. His new boss is his former commanding officer, a coward who lost countless men’s lives through poor leadership. Before Rocco can even make a start investigating the case, the young woman’s body has disappeared, high level officials creating a smokescreen. The dogged Rocco soon picks up a trail, though it brings him into conflict with a powerful family. As Rocco makes slow progress, he starts to uncover a web of intrigue and a bitter legacy left over from the Second World War. To solve the case, Rocco must battle both enemies unseen and French bureaucracy.

Death on the Marais has many good qualities: an interesting main character in Inspector Lucas Rocco, a nice sense of place, and engaging prose that’s easy on the eye. The story unfolds at a fast clip, tugging the reader along, and the plot has a nice mix of a cop out of place and historical intrigue. The main plot is lively and intriguing and the subplot involving Rocco’s new boss, Massin, with whom he has an old enmity, unfolds nicely. There are two flaws in the story, however, which have niggled away at me since finishing the book. It’s difficult to talk about either in specific terms without giving spoilers, however, in general terms: Rocco is thorough in what he does but occasionally he notes to himself that he needs to do something, such as searching somewhere, then ignores it; the killer also leaves a large thorn in the side unresolved and yet is ruthless otherwise. Neither made little sense other than as plot devices and both worked to undermine what was otherwise an fine piece of storytelling. Nonetheless, I enjoyed Death on the Marais and look forward to catching up with Rocco in his next case.

Laughter shack

One of my flash fiction pieces is up on Laughter Shack. Had to be less that 500 words and be funny without telling jokes. My piece is a riff on that theme - a host of almost told jokes. Two men get thrown out of a bar ...

Shots of noir

A slow week of reading shorts. Here's what I managed.

Baby boom by Jochem Vandersteen (Shotgun Honey)
Undead by Benoit Lelievre (Flash Fiction Offensive)*
Saving his marriage by Jim Harrington (Near to the Knuckle)
Toad skin and yellow eyes by S. Zaniab Williams (Spinetingler)
Deviation Jones - a trilogy by Christopher Grant (All Due Respect)*
Shades of grey by Darren Sant (Thrillers, Killers and Chillers)

Lazy Sunday Service

For the first time this year I've spent the day in lazing in the garden. The sun even decided to show itself. A nice calm before the storm - Census 2011 results are out this Thursday. I'll be flat out at work trying to make sense of those at the end of the week. I'm looking forward to wading through and analysing the results.

My posts this week
Shots of noir
Review of The Imitation of Patsy Burke by John J Gaynard
Guerrila gardening and ghost estates
Guerilla art: Romantic Ireland is Dead and Gone
Review of Kiss Me Quick by Danny Miller
Third level education from the frontline
Brief encounter
Deserted village