On 9th November 2017, Hove's finest rode again. This time out it was to discuss three "outkast" selections courtesy of leading republican Sir Keith of Hove Park.
Sir Keith, fascinated as he is, by hermits, geysers and Bjork, reached for his well worn copy of....
BOOK: “From The Mouth of the Whale” (2008) by Sjón
From the Mouth of the Whale (Icelandic: Rökkurbýsnir) is a 2008 novel by the Icelandic writer Sjón. The English translation was shortlisted for the 2012 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the 2013 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
The year is 1635. Iceland is a world darkened by superstition, poverty and cruelty. Men of science marvel over a unicorn’s horn, poor folk worship the Virgin in secret and both books and men are burnt. Jónas Pálmason, a poet and self-taught healer, has been condemned to exile for heretical conduct, having fallen foul of the local magistrate. Banished to a barren island, Jónas recalls his exorcism of a walking corpse on the remote Snjafjoll coast, the frenzied massacre of innocent Basque whalers at the hands of local villagers, and the deaths of three of his children.
Sjón is a celebrated Icelandic poet and novelist. His novels have been translated into twenty-five languages and include From the Mouth of the Whale and The Whispering Muse (both by Telegram). Sjón won the Nordic Council Literary Prize, the equivalent of the Man Booker Prize, for The Blue Fox and "Best Icelandic Novel" for The Whispering Muse in 2005. Also a songwriter, he has written lyrics for Björk, including for her eight studio album, Biophilia.
Sjón is a celebrated Icelandic poet and novelist. His novels have been translated into twenty-five languages and include From the Mouth of the Whale and The Whispering Muse (both by Telegram). Sjón won the Nordic Council Literary Prize, the equivalent of the Man Booker Prize, for The Blue Fox and "Best Icelandic Novel" for The Whispering Muse in 2005. Also a songwriter, he has written lyrics for Björk, including for her eight studio album, Biophilia.
The subsequent discussion was wide-ranging and divisive some, like Sir Keith, lauded it to the hilt, others like Hamish, gave it up as a bad job, not even finishing it. Sheesh.
Tristan 6/10
Keith 9/10
Nick 7/10
Roland 5/10
Robin 5/10
Hamish 3/10
Nigel 6/10
MUSIC: “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” (1994) by OutKast
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik is the 1994 debut album of American hip hop duo OutKast. After befriending each other in 1992, rappers André 3000 and Big Boi pursued recording music as a duo and worked with production team Organized Noize, which led to their signing to LaFace Records.
All the members of HBG get their annual invitation to the Players Ball. No surprise there, right?
With that in mind it is also no surprise to learn that we love nothing more than a bit of early Outkast.
FILM: “Nói albinói” (aka Noi the Albino) (2003) directed by Dagur Kári
Is he the village idiot or a genius in disguise? 17 year old Noi drifts through life on a remote fjord in the north of Iceland. In winter, the fjord is cut off from the outside world, surrounded by ominous mountains and buried under a shroud of snow. Noi dreams of escaping from this white-walled prison with Iris, a city girl who works in a local gas staion. But his clumsy attempts at escape spiral out of control and end in complete failure. Only a natural disaster will shatter Noi's universe and offer him a window into a better world.
We bloody love Noi - there's a little bit of Noi in all of us. #truedat
ENDORSE IT
Currently we are endorsing…
Film: Rams - Icelandic film
Podcast: Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy
Film: And Then They Killed My Wife (Netflix doc about Khymer Rouge)
Music: The Clientelle
Music: The Clientelle
Book: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
TV: Stranger Things season 2 (Netflix)
