babyicedog
Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 8
Location: Brisbane
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 Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 5:27 pm Post subject: Looking For Sarah Jane Smith |
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A review has just been put up in the books section of Outpost Gallifrey:
http://www.gallifreyone.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112783
Looking for Sarah Jane Smith--a review by Sharaz Destler
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LOOKING FOR SARAH JANE SMITH
In my opinion, Dave Franklin's short story "Looking for Sarah Jane Smith", the second story in the Manic Streets of Perth anthology, is a wonderfully pessimistic retelling of the legend of Don Quixote, in which Marty, a hapless Welsh journalist, is in constant search of the ideal woman--personified by Doctor Who companion Sarah Jane Smith (also a journalist). Marty's quest unsurprisingly prevents him from seeing relationships from a realistic point of view (ie he is unwilling to search for potential good qualities in a "real" woman because he wants his "Sarah Jane Smith".) Now, I will say this: fancying a television character/particular actress is one thing, but Marty's delusional quest is something else.
Marty's quest, delusional though it is, makes him somewhat more likable (but still unsympathetic) than his two mates, John and Wasp Boy.
John is sort of the Marvin the Paranoid Android of this story--he's an accountant who can't stand his job, is always coming up with get-rich-quick schemes that ultimately come to naught because he won't do anything about them, and, up until the journey to Australia, is luckless with women. At his job, John maintains an animosity with his superior (whom he refers to with a name I will not repeat in this review), and this costs him his job in the end. It appears that this animosity also extends to practically everyone else he meets, illustrated in one hilarious scene wherein John gets thrown out of an Australian fitness center after getting caught smoking! Therefore, he is a largely unsympathetic character with a "the world is against me" mentality.
Wasp Boy takes his name from his "waspish" disposition--he's always looking for a fight, which he often gets (putting his two mates in danger every time), and his "me against the world" mentality, the direct opposite of John's. He and John regard relationships in an extremely superficial manner--had Dave Franklin written the story from either John's or Wasp Boy's perspective, it would be called "Looking for Perpugilliam Brown", because this is what John and Wasp Boy look for in women, despite the fact that Wasp Boy is already married but he isn't getting much (his wife can't stand him!)
I guess you could say that this story is about three teenagers who are many years past adolescence but refuse to "grow up!" Their actions are largely irresponsible, sex is one of the key things on their minds, and poor Marty refuses to let go of his Sarah Jane Smith-worship.
As a result of the characters' mindsets, this story is a hoot. The dialogue, while extremely coarse, is frequently hilarious because of the various situations this dialogue gets them into--being thrown out of various bars and an Australian inn!
Misfortune is a frequent element in this story: in one scene, Wasp Boy shoots and kills Marty's rather obnoxious pet galah (whose vocabulary charmingly includes the word "EX-TER-MI-NATE!"), and in another, Marty gets one of his shoes stolen by a dingo! Douglas Adams would be proud.
All in all, "Looking for Sarah Jane Smith" is a fantastic 21st Century British comedy which might not be for some people's tastes but is nonetheless sidesplittingly funny, yet very dark underneath the surface.
9/10
There are some other reviews here:
http://www.postnewspapers.com.au/20011020/impressions/home.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/2jk6n2
http://www.kasterborous.com/interviews.asp?id=571
http://www.timeoff.com.au/index1.php?area=Encore&pg=29&subarea=1689&sel=1919&PHPSESSID=623c40031a7675f2d8cb700c0969b0e6
Last edited by babyicedog on Sun Aug 26, 2007 12:15 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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