Johnny looks up at the stars…
Author Jake Arnott is currently working the publicity treadmill to plug his latest offering, Johnny Come Home, out now through Hodder & Stoughton Ltd (ISBN: 0340840358).
David Bowie has made no secret of his love for Jake’s writing and regular visitors to these pages may remember a quotation from DB that graced the cover of an earlier novel of Jake’s, truecrime, that we told you about back in June 2003. (06.09.2003 NEWS: DB CONTRIBUTES QUOTE FOR NEW ARNOTT BOOK)
As we mentioned back in that original news piece, the quotation from DB back then was: ‘Funny, fast, witty and brutal.’, and he also went on to say of Jake’s work: “Whenever he’s got a new book out I drop everything, knowing that the next couple of hours are going to be pure gangland bliss. Gawd bless ‘im.”
Johnny Come Home, lifts yet more from the latter quotation, and apart from that Bowie reference, one of the printings of The Long Firm has a jacket rather evocative of one of the more famous Bowie album sleeves of the seventies. (See below)
A closer inspection of Johnny Come Home‘s cover reveals an Aladdin Sane type flash tattoo and the nods to Bowie continue inside. Here’s the synopsis:
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This is a gripping tale of emotional and political ferment in 70s London from the author of the bestselling ‘Long Firm’ trilogy. London, 1972, and a charismatic anarchist called O’Connell dies of an overdose, leaving his artist boyfriend, Pearson, and fellow activist Nina in shock.
It also leaves a spare room in their squat, so Pearson moves in Sweet Thing, a streetwise yet vulnerable young rent boy he initially picks up but then tries to help. Pearson isn’t the only one who’s interested though – glam rock star Johnny Chrome is on the brink of a breakdown and is convinced that Sweet Thing is the only one who can bring him back.
As Sweet Thing gets drawn further into Johnny Chrome’s dangerous orbit, Pearson and Nina discover that O’Connell was not all he seemed.
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Meanwhile, Jake has mentioned Bowie in a few recent interviews, including
The author also chose to play All The Young Dudes and Lady Stardust during the 6 Music interview with Pete Mitchell (standing in for Phill Jupitus) which you can still listen to online via the 6 Music player. Click on Monday (right hand side of the page) and fast forward about two hours and thirty four minutes in. Jake is on after T Rex‘s Children Of The Revolution.
Jake doesn’t know if DB has read Johnny Come Home or not, and he is such a big Bowie fan that he has admitted to being quite nervous about what David will make of his latest effort. I’m sure he’ll let you know, Jake.