The Beach Beneath the Pavement, is a quirky novel by a first-time English writer named Roland Denning. I first came across Roland when I was reading a thread on authonomy about finding an agent. He posted a link to a hilarious video he made that showed a bunch of robots (author, agent, publisher, friend, etc) acting out the plight of trying to get a novel published. I figured I should get the book, just as a way of showing appreciation for his video.

The book itself is about a guy named Bernard (I always thought of him as Roland, but whatever) who is a journalist in London and gets pulled into a series of bizarre events. These involve a woman named Animal who is apparently a terrorist, a mysterious person named “JJ” who noone is really sure is real or just a myth generated by internet buzz, something called the Tranquillity Foundation which promised “serenity with security”, and a bunch of other New Age hilarious characters. There is also a group of theater performers who are trying to “break down the barriers between audiences and theater” who carry out a series of bizarre productions that confuse and involve the audience. The novel itself has the feeling of continued confusion which the author appears to induce deliberately. I found it interesting for some of the ideas conveyed (a monologue by “JJ” about the age of “post-credibility”, amongst others). So I would definitely recommend it for someone looking for something different than a Tom Clauncy or Dan Brown novel.

Backed!

Originally posted on Doug Bremner’s blog

http://www.beforeyoutakethatpill.com/index.php/2009/11/28/the-beach-beneath-the-pavement/