Christopher Brookmyre

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Christopher Brookmyre (b. September 6, 1968) is a Scottish novelist whose novels mix politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. [1]

His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning. Subsequent works have included One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night, which he said was just the sort of book he needed to write before he turned 30[citation needed], and All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses an Eye (2005).

Five of Brookmyre's novels (Quite Ugly One Morning, Country of the Blind, Boiling a Frog, Be My Enemy and the forthcoming The Attack of the Unsinkable Yellow Rubber Ducks) centre on the investigative journalist Jack Parlabane. Parlabane's unorthodox, occasionally criminal methods usually see him catching all manner of "white collar" villains, from murderous NHS Trust managers (Quite Ugly One Morning) to rogue secret service chiefs (Country of the Blind, Be My Enemy). The character is very anti-authoritarian and frequently curses institutions such as the government, media and intelligence services. Through Parlabane, Brookmyre articulates what might be argued as a radical viewpoint, with the "bad guys" invariably belonging to the the Establishment. Most vitriolic is Boiling a Frog, in which Parlabane tracks down massive corruption and murder in the Scottish Catholic Church. This novel is also notable for countering readers' accusations that Parlabane had become too good at his work, by opening with him in prison following a conviction for breaking and entering, and for revealing the character's full name to be John Lapsley Parlabane.

Brookmyre has said that the inspiration for Jack Parlabane was Ford Prefect from Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series; he said "I always adored the idea of a character who cheerfully wanders into enormously dangerous situations and effortlessly makes them much worse." [2] The name Parlabane is lifted from the works of Robertson Davies, as are the names of several other characters in Brookmyre's works, indicating another of the author's influences.

In 2003, Quite Ugly One Morning was dramatised in two parts by ITV, with the lead played by Irish actor James Nesbitt. None of Brookmyre's other novels have been adapted for television. His short story Bampot Central was rewritten as a radio play by the author for BBC Radio.

Brookmyre is married to a doctor and supports St Mirren F.C., and Scottish football features frequently in his books. He was raised and schooled in Barrhead, attending St. Marks Primary School, and St. Lukes Secondary School, before attending the University of Glasgow. [3]

Contents

[edit] Recurring Characters

Brookmyre's books contain a number of recurring characters, especially the appearance or mention of major characters (such as Parlabane) in incidental roles in other stories. Some of the recurring characters are listed below:

  • Jack Parlabane
  • Sarah Slaughter
  • Angelique de Xavia
  • Tim Vale
  • Simon Darcourt

He has stated that he would like to write another book with Zal Innez, one of the main characters in The Sacred Art of Stealing, in it.

[edit] Awards

Quite Ugly One Morning was the winner of the Critics' First Blood Award for Best First Crime Novel of the Year in 1996.

Bampot Central was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Macallan Short Story Dagger in 1997.

Boiling a Frog won the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective in 2000.

All Fun And Games until Someone Loses an Eye was the winner of the seventh Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction in 2006.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] External links

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