{"title":"Books by David Keenan","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781399603249","title":"Industry of Magic \u0026 Light","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndustry of Magic \u0026amp; Light\u003c\/i\u003e is a love letter to the counterculture of the 1960s and a requiem for its passing. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The much-anticipated prequel to Keenan's cult classic debut, \u003ci\u003eThis is Memorial Device\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIndustry of Magic \u0026amp; Light\u003c\/i\u003e is set in the same mythical Airdrie in the 1960s and early 70s and centres on a group of hippies running their own psychedelic light show. Told in two halves - the first in the form of an inventory of the contents of a caravan abandoned by one of the hippies, the second in the form of a tarot card reading - it is not so much a book about the 1960s as a direct channelling of the decade's energies, bringing to life how even the smallest and dreariest of working class towns felt so full of possibility in the wake of the psychedelic moment. Via artefacts from the time - everything from poetry chapbooks, record reviews and musical instruments through bubblegum wrappers, bicycle repair kits and mysterious cassette recordings - the book opens out into adventures along the hippy trail in Afghanistan and behind the Iron Curtain that leads a cast of new and returning characters - as well as the authorities - to believe that they are literally \u003ci\u003emaking magic\u003c\/i\u003e. Simultaneously a forensics of the 1960s, a detective novel, an occult thriller, a vision quest, and the hallucinatory exposition of a moment where it felt like anything was possible, \u003ci\u003eIndustry of Magic \u0026amp; Life\u003c\/i\u003e brings to life the streets of small working class towns as transformational sites of utopian joy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43206112575666,"sku":"9781399603249","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399603249_05ac9c19-8a2f-4554-a5cb-1fb3f445f827.jpg?v=1786019339"},{"product_id":"9780571330850","title":"This Is Memorial Device","description":"\u003cp\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTELEGRAPH\u003c\/i\u003e AND \u003ci\u003eROUGH TRADE \u003c\/i\u003eBOOK OF THE YEAR\u003cbr\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE \u003cbr\u003eROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE MONTH\u003cbr\u003eLRB BOOK OF THE WEEK\u003cbr\u003eCAUGHT BY THE RIVER BOOK OF THE MONTH\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRoss Raymond and Johnny McLaughlin are two fanboys dedicated to the Airdrie post-punk scene of the early ’80s – the glory years – when anything and everything seemed possible. Looking back on that time – the people, the bands, the underground legends – they piece together a story which has at its core Memorial Device, the greatest band you’ve never heard of. Featuring a cast of misfits, artists, drop-outs, small-town visionaries and musicians, \u003ci\u003eThis Is Memorial Device\u003c\/i\u003e is a dark, witty novel depicting a moment where art and the demands it makes are as serious as life itself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43403739594930,"sku":"9780571330850","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571330850.jpg?v=1786015014"},{"product_id":"9781399624947","title":"Volcanic Tongue","description":"\u003ci\u003eVolcanic Tongue\u003c\/i\u003e presents the first ever collection of multi-award-winning author David Keenan's music writings. Keenan has been writing about music since publishing his first fanzine, inspired by The Pastels and by Glasgow (and Airdrie's) DIY music scene, in 1988. Since then, he has written about music for \u003ci\u003eMelody Maker, NME, Uncut, Mojo, The New York Times, Ugly Things, The Literary Review, The Social \u003c\/i\u003eand, most consistently, \u003ci\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/i\u003e. Volcanic Tongue was also the name of the record shop and mail order that Keenan ran with his partner, Heather Leigh, in Glasgow from 2005-2015.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eVolcanic Tongue\u003c\/i\u003e features the best of his reviews, interviews and think pieces, with exclusive in-depth conversations between Keenan and Nick Cave, members of legendary industrial bands Coil and Throbbing Gristle, krautrock legends like Faust, Shirley Collins, the first lady of English folk, Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, German auto-destructives Einstürzende Neubauten, as well as discographical analysis of the back catalogues of groups like Sonic Youth and musicians like John Fahey, extensive writings on free jazz and obsessive in-depth digs into favourites like Pere Ubu, Metal Box-era Public Image Ltd, Sun Ra, guitarist and vocalist John Martyn and many more. It is an essential addition to any music fan's bookshelf.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This first collection of his legendary criticism functions as an extended love letter to the revolutionary music of the 20th century and the incredible culture that sustained it.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685831483765,"sku":"9781399624961","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":54926339768693,"sku":"9781399624947","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399624961.jpg?v=1792599036"},{"product_id":"9780571340521","title":"For The Good Times","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2019\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE ENCORE AWARD 2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eThis Is Memorial Device\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘A gasp-inducing thrill of a ride.\u003c\/b\u003e’ \u003ci\u003ei Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘An exhilarating novel, burning with rage, danger and dark humour.’ \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Remarkable . . . demented brilliance.’ \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eScotland on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBelfast, 1970s: Sammy and his three friends live in an impoverished area of the city that has become the epicentre of a country seemingly intent on cannibalising itself. They love sharp clothes, a good drink, and the songs of Perry Como, whose commitment to clean living holds up a dissonant mirror to their own attempts to rise above their circumstances. They dream of a Free State, and their methods for achieving this are uncompromising. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut \u003ci\u003eFor the Good Times\u003c\/i\u003e is not just a novel about the IRA. It is about the heartbreak and devastation that commitment to ‘the cause’ can bring; of violence and betrayal, breakdown and rebirth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56291783016821,"sku":"9780571340521","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571340521_a99b62e9-6fed-488f-90fd-3b473af8acc6.jpg?v=1786015273"},{"product_id":"9781474617062","title":"Xstabeth","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eINCLUDES 'PREQUEL' THE TOWER THE FIELDS THE TRANSMITTERS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'This book spoke, it said \"read me\" from the very first sentence as if it were alive, it gave me visceral joy' Kim Gordon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Reading [\u003ci\u003eXstabeth\u003c\/i\u003e] feels like being cut open to the accompanying sound of ecstatic music' Edna O'Brien\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Prepare for more of that inimitable Keenan narrative voodoo brilliance' Wendy Erskine\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn St Petersburg, Russia, Aneliya is torn between the love of her father and her father's best friend. Her father dreams of becoming a great musician but suffers with a naivete that means he will never be taken seriously. Her father's best friend has a penchant for vodka, strip clubs and moral philosophy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen an angelic presence named Xstabeth enters their lives - a presence who simultaneously fulfils and disappears those she touches - Aneliya and her father's world is transformed. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMoving from Russia to St Andrews, Scotland, \u003ci\u003eXstabeth \u003c\/i\u003etackles the metaphysics of golf, the mindset of classic Russian novels and the power of art and music to re-wire reality. Charged with a consuming intensity and a torrential rhythm that pulses with music, it is an offering of transcendence and a love letter to the books of Chandler, Nabokov and Dostoevsky, by a writer who is rewriting the rulebook of contemporary fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301530939765,"sku":"9781474617062","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781474617062_86a8ddcf-2e6a-44cf-b749-df371f2c092d.jpg?v=1786020927"},{"product_id":"boyhood","title":"Boyhood","description":"\u003ci\u003e'Boyhood \u003c\/i\u003eis a complete triumph . . . it slaps our dull, sterile culture hard across the face with a studded, uncompromising literary glove' - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eIRVINE WELSH\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Reading Keenan is like reclaiming your own imagination' - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLIAS SAOUDI\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoyhood \u003c\/i\u003eopens in 1979 with the abduction of a young boy outside a Glasgow football ground. Nine years later, the boy's brother, Aaron Murray, is on the cusp of that moment when adolescence becomes adulthood. His own journey of grief and recovery has been guided by an angel, 'The Precious Gift' - perhaps imagined, perhaps real - who has blessed Aaron with redemptive, messianic powers. These have enabled him to see through the past and present, joining the dots between a vast array of characters; ballerinas, soldiers, poets, burlesque dancers, East End gangsters and the Vampire of Derry over five decades, all tied up in each other's fate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As Aaron's visions span cities and decades, from wartime Paris to the Troubles in the 1970s, Mexico City in the 1980s to - of course - Glasgow, \u003ci\u003eBoyhood \u003c\/i\u003ebuilds to an extraordinary, intense, climactic moment of redemption.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A book of great joy, of laughter in the face of horror and delight in storytelling by the beloved and critically acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eThis Is Memorial Device\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBoyhood\u003c\/i\u003e is a hymn to the resilience of youth, to the brave dreams of artists and lovers and a love letter to Glasgow - a city where magic happens.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'Boyhood\u003c\/i\u003e is a marvel. Impossible to sum up, it is a true novel, jumping with event and spectacle and showmanship - while speaking in its own extraordinary voice of tenderness and violence and pity and love, along with the gorgeous great fun and wonder of being alive' - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKIRSTY GUNN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483399496053,"sku":"9781399624992","price":23.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399624992.jpg?v=1786178548"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-david-keenan.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}