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The Protagonist
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unBURIED Authors Q-T > Paul Ritchie

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message 1: by MJ (new) - rated it 4 stars

MJ Nicholls (mjnicholls) | 213 comments Australian novelist with a Kafkan/Beckettian flavour, Calder-pubbed for two novels and a playscript.

Novels:
The Unlucky Seed (1962), Cassell, London.
The Protagonist (1966), Calder & Boyars, London.
Confessions of a People Lover (1968), Calder & Boyars, London.
Pitfall (1973), Milton House Books, London.

Plays:
Saint Honey & David, Are You There? (1969), Marian Boyars, London.

Informative obituary from The Independent below, citing an earlier book entitled The Fallow Season (1961), bibliographical information on which has proven elusive. Everything out of print but attainable for cash money, except Pitfall which is unavailable from no antiquarian booksellers.

http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming...


message 2: by Nathan "N.R." (new)

Nathan "N.R." Gaddis (nathannrgaddis) | 986 comments This guy is deep!


message 3: by Jonathan (new)

Jonathan (nathandjoe) | 139 comments "The astonishing thing about both books is that, although their substance is dark and chilling, the language is highly innovative and surprising. Ritchie's prose has an extraordinary density and tactility. He often said that if you can't do anything new in a novel you oughtn't to write one."

= enough for me!


message 4: by Thomas (new) - added it

Thomas | 56 comments interesting that he was a painter, i can't think of any other painter/novelists apart from wyndham lewis.


message 5: by MJ (new) - rated it 4 stars

MJ Nicholls (mjnicholls) | 213 comments ^ Tom Mallin also switched from painter to writer.


message 6: by Tony (new)

Tony Vacation | 4 comments Alexander Theroux painted his portrait on the cover of DC. I assume that wasn't his first time to pick up a brush.


message 7: by Lynne (new)

Lynne King | 28 comments I'm always every embarrassed to put a comment here, in fact I don't think I ever have, as you are all so well-versed in books. I'm the rookie on the block.

I have never heard of Paul Ritchie and unfortunately I'm like a dog with a bone. I had to find one of his books. I've managed to get a copy of "The Protagonist" and I'm very intrigued to read it. It's a second-hand hardback, first edition, but I don't care as these books always have a history attached to them.


message 8: by Nate D (new)

Nate D (rockhyrax) | 354 comments Fernando Arrabal seems to have done everything, but was an accomplished painter among them. I can't guess the order of these expertises.


message 9: by Aloha (new)

Aloha | 16 comments A few serious artists are proficient writers, mostly art philosophy, such as Mondrian, Klee and Kandinsky.


Ronald Morton | 65 comments After reading The Protagonist I decided to get a copy of Saint Honey (the dramatization); it came packaged with a one act play "Oh David, Are you there?" as well. It's worth checking out; Saint Honey is basically as good as The Protagonist; and the second play is a nice slice of absurdity.

Review and further thoughts here


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