Black Comedy – DaneCobain.com

Graham Greene – Doctor Fischer of Geneva, Or ‘The Bomb Party’ | Review

Title: Doctor Fischer of Geneva, Or ‘The Bomb Party’

Author: Graham Greene

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 143

Rating: 9/10

Graham Greene – Doctor Fischer of Geneva, or ‘The Bomb Party’

I discovered this novel a little late, after I’d already read most of Greene’s other work, and I wish I’d found it sooner – it’s a real cracker, a black comedy with a moral that follows a toothpaste millionaire who decides to play a little game with bombs. The shock ending is a real eye-opener, and yet despite that it’s also a book you can read again and again and still enjoy it.

My only gripe here, and I appreciate that it’s a bit of an odd thing to be annoyed about, is the title – there doesn’t need to be an ‘or’ in it, Graham, pick one. I’d go for ‘The Bomb Party’.

Graham Greene

Click here to buy Doctor Fischer of Geneva, Or ‘The Bomb Party’.

Paul Beaumont – A Brief Eternity | Review

Title: A Brief Eternity

Author: Paul Beaumont

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 274

Rating: 10/10

Paul Beaumont – A Brief Eternity

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

It’s very, very rare for me to give a book a 10/10 – this is only the second time that a book that I’ve been sent has managed it, and it’s a first for a work of fiction. But then, this is a very, very good debut novel.

Of course, I don’t want to go into the story-line too much for fear of spoilers, but I can tell you that broadly speaking it follows the story of Christ’s second coming, right in the middle of rush hour. Beaumont was a Christian for many years before discovering overnight that he no longer held his former faith, and this book is born from his frustration with the religious dogma that formed the majority of his religious belief system.

It might sound like a dry subject, but Paul has managed to turn it in to a thrilling and, quite frankly, hilarious piece of satire, which could fit in to the genre of a black comedy, too. It keeps you guessing throughout, and Beaumont’s depiction of heaven and some of its residents is, quite frankly, hilarious.

My favourite character? Why, it’s Jesus Christ himself, of course – he’s a bad-ass, who smokes cigarettes that are smuggled in from hell and who’s responsible for such immortal lines as, “I’m the lord of the universe – I can do whatever the fuck I want.” This really is a cracking book, and one that everyone should read.