“Brief Reviews: Girls’ Night, Dirty Real, First Death”

Eimear Lynch, a photographer, presents us with a photobook titled “Girls’ Night”, published by IDEA Books and priced at £35. Lynch portrays the habitual proceedings of Irish teenage girls getting ready for discos in her work. The book teems with the thrill of an anticipated evening, akin to the carefully chosen visuals of an Instagram profile. Lynch’s images primarily depict skinny white girls donned in form-fitting synthetic dresses and Converse trainers merrily attending youth discos. Accompanied by brief pieces from fashion guru Simone Rocha, teenager Marley Nolan, and Gráinne McCullah. Sadly, it portrays the self-consciousness but skips the joy that usually brings fond memories of such events. – Brigid O’Dea’s Review

Peter Stanfield, in “Dirty Real: Exile on Hollywood and Vine with the Gin Mill Cowboys”, provides a fresh perspective on the late 60s/early 70s era of New Hollywood, instigated by the unexpected hit “Easy Rider.” Published by Reaktion Books at a price of £17.95, he investigates movies by renowned artists like Fonda, Hopper, Nicholson, Altman, Peckinpah amongst others. He uncovers the real tales behind their origin whilst dispelling the myth of these maverick “cowboy filmmakers” being against the establishment, which their backgrounds don’t support. They indeed turned filmmaking norms upside down in Hollywood, still many didn’t escape the harsh reality of filmmaking. It paves a path similar to works like “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls”, Sam Wasson or Paul Seydor’s exceptional monograph on “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid”, making it perfect for cinema enthusiasts. — NJ McGarrigle’s Review

Tim Booth’s “When I Died for The First Time” is priced at £22 and published by Little, Brown.

Booth, known for his connection to the band James, is the latest addition to the roster of musicians who have endeavoured to pen a novel. Notable figures who have successfully navigated this path include Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, and Willy Vlautin. While Booth’s work does not quite hit their benchmark for uniqueness, it’s an entertaining, whimsical and energetic take on the world of rock’n’roll for his debut novel. The narrative follows Seth Brakes, a recovering addict working to reconstruct his life and career in the wake of the devastation that the allure of musical stardom can cause. The characters can seem flat due to the abundant dialogue, but Booth counterbalances this with his array of witty and amusing lines that keep the reader engaged. On the downside, his writing about sex falls into the realm of cliché, and his resort to an overused trope of experimental font and layout changes pads out many contemporary novels uncreatively. Reviewed by NJ McGarrigle.

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