Description:
A Gothic Horror novel about severe mental distress and punk rock. The novel is written in the form of a diary kept by a psychiatrist, Dr. Rodney H. Dweller, concerning his patient, Nathaniel Snoxell, brought to him in 1979 because of several attempted suicides. Snoxell gets involved in the nascent UK anarcho-punk scene, recording EPs and playing gigs in squatted Anarchy Centers. In 1985, the good doctor himself "goes insane" and disappears.
This semi-autobiographical novel from Rudimentary Peni singer, guitarist, lyricist, and illustrator Nick Blinko, plunges into the worlds of madness, suicide, and anarchist punk. Lovecraft meets Crass in the squats and psychiatric institutions of early '80s England. This new edition collects Blinko"s long sought after artwork from the three previous incarnations.
Brief description:
Nick Blinko was born in 1961. His band, Rudimentary Peni, whose records include Death Church, Cacophony, and Pope Adrian 37th, enjoy international acclaim in punk and avant-garde circles. A legendary figure in the "outsider art" scene, his paintings are exhibited across the world. He continues to write, paint, and make music in Black Langley, Hertfordshire, UK.
Review Quotes:
"Dense, haunted, shot through with black humour."
--Raw Vision
"Nick Blinko is a madman. That's not intended as pejorative opinion but rather a statement of plain fact."
--Maximum RocknRoll
"The insights it offers into the punk scene and into the unsettling landscapes of its author's mind are fascinating. The whole book has a distinct sense of coming from a mind unlike most we are used to."
--The Big Issue
"An intensely written and authentically Gothic look at the life of a man suffering extreme mental distress."
--Detour
"Fascinating and compelling."
--Kerrang