Walking to Hollywood
Encyclopedia
Walking to Hollywood is a 2010 novel by writer and media personality Will Self
. Self describes the novel as 'a cross between a comical farce and an intense misery memoir'. The novel is published by Bloomsbury
and is currently only available in hardback, however, a paper back is expected to be released in early 2011. It was mainly conceived whilst Self himself walked to Hollywood from Los Angeles Airport.
. Each part of the book details a relation between the artist and his art whether this be Sherman Oaks; a dwarf sculptor who makes gigantic statues or Self's own voyage to discover the film makers responsible for tainting the form with CGI
. The blurring between the factual elements of Self's life and opinions with gonzo
-esque embellishments, unreliable narrator
traits and thoughtful trajectories makes complete distinction between fact and falsity virtually impossible.
commented in their review...
Scotland on Sunday went further, commenting that Self had finally found his place as an author...
Will Self
William Woodard "Will" Self is an English novelist and short story writer. His fictional style is known for being satirical, grotesque, and fantastical. He is a prolific commentator on contemporary British life, with regular appearances on Newsnight and Question Time...
. Self describes the novel as 'a cross between a comical farce and an intense misery memoir'. The novel is published by Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
and is currently only available in hardback, however, a paper back is expected to be released in early 2011. It was mainly conceived whilst Self himself walked to Hollywood from Los Angeles Airport.
Content
The sections of the book form a triptychTriptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
. Each part of the book details a relation between the artist and his art whether this be Sherman Oaks; a dwarf sculptor who makes gigantic statues or Self's own voyage to discover the film makers responsible for tainting the form with CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. The blurring between the factual elements of Self's life and opinions with gonzo
Gonzo journalism
Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first-person narrative. The word "gonzo" is believed to be first used in 1970 to describe an article by Hunter S. Thompson, who later popularized the style...
-esque embellishments, unreliable narrator
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
traits and thoughtful trajectories makes complete distinction between fact and falsity virtually impossible.
Reviews
Reviews were generally positive. The SpectatorThe Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
commented in their review...
The conversations with Scooby-DooScooby-DooScooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
, the made-up characters, the sex, lies and videotape – this is a landscape contoured, almost in whole, by Self’s imagination… It is, as always, a place crammed with a Devil’s Dictionary’s worth of wordplay, and with an unerring tendency towards the absurd.
Scotland on Sunday went further, commenting that Self had finally found his place as an author...
The most successful book he has written, and it establishes, perhaps, what kind of writer Self actually is: a modern-day Jonathan SwiftJonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
. He has the satirist’s interest in exaggeration, distortion, snarling anger and linguistic verve, but more seriously, he is serious. There is a deeply moral core to Walking To Hollywood, and a raw emotional quality his previous fictions may have repressed or sublimated.