The October List

Writing a novel backwards can't be easy, and reading one that's been written backwards wasn't a stroll in the park either. Well done Jeffery Deaver for attempting to do it. It all turned out well in the end (or should that be 'at the beginning'?) but please don't do it again.

To explain, The October List starts (at chapter 36) with a kidnapper arriving at an apartment and pointing a gun at the mother of the kidnappee, and a guy who's there to keep her company. In the next chapter (35) two other guys set off to negotiate with the kidnapper for the child's safe return. In the chapter after that (34) four people arrive at the apartment to await the kidnapper's instructions. Then after that... Well, you get the idea.

It wasn't easy to follow.  And when I got to the end (chapter 1) I had to go back to 36 to check out exactly what had happened all the way back then.

Part way through I was convinced I knew what was going to happen (had happened but I hadn't read yet) and to a point I was right. I didn't guess it all. I should have known with Deaver that he still had a few twists in the plot. It was a good story. But I'd been so preoccupied trying to make sense of the backwards timeline that I didn't really enjoy it. Which is a shame.

If you're a Jeffery Deaver fan by all means give it a go. You'll stick with him because you know he'll spin a good yarn eventually. But if you aren't familiar with his work, don't start here. It will put you off reading any of his other excellent books.

Something from 2011 I think

Being fat is not a crime. It's an eating disorder. Yet anyone who's seen as even slightly wider than a moss-covered stick is considered out of control, stupid and a fair target for insults and abuse.

It's still acceptable to say the word 'fat' as an insult, even when people aren't. I've seen plenty of examples recently. I'm increasingly convinced that those who choose to use it are lazy and lacking in imagination because all the other words they might have hurled in the past have been branded politically incorrect.

Call someone by the N word or insult their religion or sexual preferences and the world will condemn you. Call someone fat and everyone laughs. Why?

Let's look at the recent publicity over Amy Winehouse. Poor Amy. She couldn't help herself. The stress of fame and fortune got to her and she started taking drugs and drink so she could cope.
Good job she wasn't a comfort eater then, wasn't it? Otherwise the millions who have been rushing round to offer their sympathies since her death would be calling her a fat bitch.

More than half of the UK's under 30s have considered surgery to 'correct' their bodies.  Most of them think they're fat - even at size 12 (US size 8). Why?

Because it is still acceptable to use the word fat as an insult. It's about the worst thing you can say to someone these days without risking admonition.

If someone in the UK is identified as having one of the 'skinny' eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia the might of the health service turns out to help. Full on psych support, daily guidance, the works. But until recently a fat person was told to eat less, take more exercise and go away. Being fat only increases your risk of other diseases and so you're costing the country money you fat waster.

Stuffing your fingers down your throat, taking overdoses of laxatives, smoking, drinking, popping pills, pushing white powder up your nose, etc. etc. are seen somehow as 'proper' signs of addiction that deserve help. Being addicted to eating is a sign of weakness.

Make no mistake here. Fat people do not enjoy being fat. Most of them don't even enjoy eating. They are addicted to the short-term comfort food offers. And unlike most addictions they have to learn to control it. They can't just go cold turkey.

Telling a fat person to cut down on their food is like suggesting to an alcoholic that they restrict themselves to three measures of whisky a day. It ain't gonna happen!

Everyone (except a lucky few) is addicted to something. Sex, exercise, gambling, smoking, biting fingernails, Facebook, blogging, whatever.

Next time you think about using 'fat' as an insult just consider what your own addiction is - and use that word instead.

Shoppers!