Two years ago today, StreetBooks held the launch party at Blackwell's Oxford for
Facing the Strange by SB Sweeney. It was a brilliant evening, with a reading from the novel by Roger Ashton-Griffiths, a video reading by the author (excellent psychedelic backgrounds) and music from David Rowland. Read the
jtns post about the event.
This is what I said about the novel two years ago: At one level
Facing the Strange is uncompromising, tough. It deals with difficult subjects, including the self-deception of addiction and family breakdown. But then there is the Becketian comedy in the face of adversity and the insight into people. Above all it's about people. No matter how these men and women in the book are - whether at their best or at their worst - they are written about with compassion and humanity. It's a story of vividly realised places - Preston, London, Ireland, North Yorkshire, Somerset. It's a novel of polyphony - of a wide range of beautifully rendered voices.
Facing the Strange is a book that asks challenging questions about where we have come from and where we are now.
Hugely proud to have played a part in bringing this novel to readers. If you haven't read it, try the Kindle ebook on Amazon -
UK,
US.
For more information about the novel and its author, visit the
SB Sweeney and
StreetBooks websites. You can also follow
SB Sweeney on Twitter.
And here's some more praise for the novel:
'SB Sweeney writes with a clarity and wit that brings to life the less glossy side of the eighties: a world of squats, bedroom bands and cheap drugs, where a CV most likely meant a pint of cider and Vimto. The intriguing and intertwining tales make an addictive read.' Deb Googe: My Bloody Valentine and The Thurston Moore Group
'One great long drunken rambling guitar solo of a novel!' Tim Pears
'It's
La bohème meets
Trainspotting, with the structure of a dream; a hole in the wall of the ordinary, an extraordinary landscape beyond.' Roger Ashton-Griffiths: Actor and Writer
'
Facing the Strange is a kaleidoscope of intertwined lives told with verve, humour and - despite its darker themes - lightness of touch.' Mary Lucille Hindmarch, The Oxford Times
'SB Sweeney's novel is a rollicking joy ride from start to finish. It's hard to believe, in fact that this is a debut novel, so adept is he at conveying the brutal beauty of life's searing highs... crashing lows... and life in between... It is both heart-breaking and life-affirming.' Liz Nicholls, Round & About Magazine
