10-minute review of 'Paul Simon', by Chris Killen (part 1)

I received my copy of 'Paul Simon' a couple of weeks ago, and have been meaning to review it. However, events conspired against me, and I haven't been able to write much at all, apart from snatches of prose and poetry concerning the sadness of life and the general crushing despair of it all. I feel a bit better now.

So, 'Paul Simon' in 10 minutes. I'll do my best, I'm going to a pub quiz at 9.

'Paul Simon' (copy 29 of 50), landed on my doormat a couple of weeks ago. I'd caught the first couple of chapters over at Day of Moustaches, and was intrigued by the mention of Paul Simon, Yo La Tengo, Chevy Chase, flotation tanks and leaving the oven on too long. Then they disappeared. The rest of the story was only available in hardcopy, on request, before Chris went to New York for a holiday.

I requested one.

It arrived, an A5 pamphlet depicting Paul Simon and his fishtank with a guitar in it on the cover. I thought Paul looked quite happy on the cover, well, not unhappy at least. I flicked through the dozen pages to see if there were any other pictures, which there weren't. The chapters appeared in the order 1, 2, 3, beginning of 5, 4, end of 5, 6, 8, 7, 9, 10. I didn't know if this was intentional or not. Although confusing at first, I found it endearing. I read them in numerical order, flicking backwards and forwards as if looking for a telephone number in a poorly maintained address book. Maybe I was meant to read them in the order presented, but I found that the story made sense the way I read them.

['10 minutes' was a challenge I couldn't meet. I'm off to the pub now, part 2 of the review will appear later.]