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The Dead of August
A self-styled 'Bigger Picture' man, James has his head in the clouds, and the 'fairy-tale' celebrity obituaries he writes for a tabloid are currently all the rage. Conversely very practical and matter-of-fact, June is a respected and uncompromising author of violent and sexually explicit Radical Feminist fiction. In their late thirties, with a precocious teenage son, they are a talented, thoroughly contemporary London couple.
In spite of conflicting perspectives and a deep-rooted loathing of each other's work, for seventeen years they've managed to live with their differences happily, but recently their arguments are coming to a head. Even as her latest collection of lurid short stories fast becomes an unlikely bestseller, if June isn't crabby she's glum, and she's never in the mood to have sex any more.
When James begins to suspect that she's having an affair, his whole world is threatened with mid-life collapse. Over three successive Augusts, and distracted by scandals and colourful deaths, he drifts in unlikely directions while he tries to decide whether June can be trusted or his marriage has finally fallen apart.
In spite of conflicting perspectives and a deep-rooted loathing of each other's work, for seventeen years they've managed to live with their differences happily, but recently their arguments are coming to a head. Even as her latest collection of lurid short stories fast becomes an unlikely bestseller, if June isn't crabby she's glum, and she's never in the mood to have sex any more.
When James begins to suspect that she's having an affair, his whole world is threatened with mid-life collapse. Over three successive Augusts, and distracted by scandals and colourful deaths, he drifts in unlikely directions while he tries to decide whether June can be trusted or his marriage has finally fallen apart.
374 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 28, 2013
352 people are currently reading
825 people want to read
About the author
Panayotis Cacoyannis
10 books131 followersPanayotis had a magical childhood growing up in a small seaside town in Cyprus. After two years as an army conscript (at a time when the island suffered first a military coup and then an invasion), he travelled to Britain where he studied law at Oxford and qualified to practise at the Bar. Having then decided (very wisely) that he didn't want to be a lawyer, he also graduated art school, and for many happy years he worked as a painter and sculptor, until a spell of artist's block led to a very short course in creative writing...
For the moment at least, Panayotis has no plans (not to mention the energy or any trace of talent) to embark on a fourth career. Aside from reading, writing, and watching movies with his cat, his favorite pastime is "spying" on his friends while gathering unique material for his novels - thankfully they're all too self-absorbed to notice. He also enjoys making things up, especially about his friends, all of whom he loves very dearly.
His time now exclusively devoted to writing, Panayotis lives in London but travels to Cyprus often, to visit family and be near the sea.
If anyone would like to get in touch with him, there is a contact email address for Panayotis on his website.
For the moment at least, Panayotis has no plans (not to mention the energy or any trace of talent) to embark on a fourth career. Aside from reading, writing, and watching movies with his cat, his favorite pastime is "spying" on his friends while gathering unique material for his novels - thankfully they're all too self-absorbed to notice. He also enjoys making things up, especially about his friends, all of whom he loves very dearly.
His time now exclusively devoted to writing, Panayotis lives in London but travels to Cyprus often, to visit family and be near the sea.
If anyone would like to get in touch with him, there is a contact email address for Panayotis on his website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
January 27, 2017
Hilarious, Disturbing, Poignant, Surreal
At turns hilarious, disturbing, poignant, surreal, I wasn't always sure where the line was between reality and dreamscape, which, I think, was the point. Poetic prose woven like a tapestry, and relationships that ring true while evoking a wacky film farce. It kept me reading, and kept me on edge. If you like books that make you think, that don't necessarily tie things up with a tidy bow at the end, you may find The Dead of August invigorating.
At turns hilarious, disturbing, poignant, surreal, I wasn't always sure where the line was between reality and dreamscape, which, I think, was the point. Poetic prose woven like a tapestry, and relationships that ring true while evoking a wacky film farce. It kept me reading, and kept me on edge. If you like books that make you think, that don't necessarily tie things up with a tidy bow at the end, you may find The Dead of August invigorating.
October 20, 2016
The esteemed critic and novelist William Gass once claimed that novels require stories, literature does not. The Dead of August has a story, and unlike some of Gass’ novels—Middle C, for instance—the story has a plot. But the plot is not what this novel is about. It’s about character, the nature of reality, and words. And the words are a pyrotechnic display, providing enough pleasure in themselves to satisfy readers who enjoy what Gass would call, “literature.”
James Linthwaite is a an obituarist; he writes obituaries for the London Herald. We never get to read any of his obituaries, but we hear about them. They are about “the tortured souls of those middling celebrity types who do have a talent of sorts – on occasion even a talent to speak of - but whose needy ambition exponentially exceeds it.” And he writes these obituaries “euphemistically” using “vastly more subtle and sophisticated one-off inventions” to describe what otherwise would be tragic or tragic-comic lives, depending, probably, upon one’s sense of humor. In fact, an anonymous reviewer’s claim that “Mr Linthwaite is able to wrest a sense of the perversely comic tragedy of existence, and through the paradox which his subjects embody, distil the very essence of our lives - of what it is, so absurdly, to be human,” is an almost perfect description of what Cacoyannis provides us in The Dead of August and its story of James, his acquaintances and his family.
James’ life is, for no particular reason except perhaps middle age ennui, if not disintegrating, at least sinking low enough to raise troubling questions in his mind. Why do he and his wife never have sex anymore? Does she value him or his work? Why is his son so contemptuous of him? His wife accuses him of being “too abstract, …My focus was soft. My perception was fuzzy. I never paid attention.” In his words he’s a “Bigger Picture man.” In fact he regards that as the “hub of my character, and much more encompassing than a mere trait.” But in truth, the fact of the forest eludes him as he gazes at the trees.
Does James misunderstand himself? Probably no more than the next person, although he ponders the question more deeply (though without penetrating its surface), and with brilliant, often hilarious and sometimes perversely euphemistic, inner dialogue to which we are privy because of the first person narrative. But he understands his peers and family even less than he understands himself, and they appear to understand themselves not terribly more than he does. James’ real problem seems to be that this all too human characteristic of failing do understand what is happening within or around him leads him to passively accept the directions provided by others; he does not take charge of his own life.
The plot of the novel is simple, but inventive. A mysterious invitation to attend a week-long “happening” at the country home of a wealthy recluse arrives. Without anyone ever saying what the happening is to be, James is urged by his wife and editor (whom he suspects are having an affair) to head to the country for a week and attend the event. He has no inner sense of whether he should or should not go, he vacillates, makes up his mind not to then changes his mind to fit a minor conversational exigency and ends up going. Prior to that, we are treated to a dizzying sequence of meetings with his editor, with the sports writer who will take over the obituaries during his absence, with the sports writer’s sister, to whom James is attracted. None of these people proves to be whom he or she first appears to be.
Once at the country estate of the eccentric, who has assumed an identity as “Max,” we learn that the man is planning a happening at an avant garde gallery and that James is one of three people who, over a period of time, have been invited for a week to visit Max and pen a 900 word obituary of him.
We can guess that the “happening” will include Max’s demise, but James, faithful to type, fails to anticipate this. At any rate, the actual event doesn't occur until a year after James is thrown out of his house by his wife, with the help of his son, for reasons he of course fails to comprehend. In fact, his understanding is hampered by his focus upon details at the expense of the “Bigger Picture,” showing us how little James understands himself.
In the end, Max commits suicide during the happening, James is shocked but uses his debilitating reaction to wangle his way back into the good graces (and house) of his wife, and is back writing his obituaries, but this time less worried about his sex life, the wanderings of his wife, and has taken up an affair with the owner of the gallery (who was at one time a lesbian, the object of desire of the unsuspecting dictatorial editor, and has now reverted to heterosexuality). The editor, with whom James had suspected his wife was having an affair, accidentally suffocates himself while attempting a sexual scene copied from James’ wife’s best-selling pornographic book. James is taken by surprise, another intricate example of his misapprehension of the character of those around him. James finally decides not to be untrue to his wife, and the book ends with a titillating suggestion that he had been right all along about his wife’ affair with his editor.
In Cacoyannis’ novel Bowl of Fruit (1907), Jack Faro, the protagonist, searches for an identity by copying that of others—Picasso, Kafka— and then learns that everything he thought was true about himself and his history was not. James Linthwaite is continually learning that everything he thought about the people around him was wrong, or at least only a glimpse of one side of them. He never quite addresses his own lack of self-understanding and as a result, he never grasps the forces that are propelling him hither and thither. I’ve read enough reviews of The Dead of August to realize that such a character irritates or even angers some readers, who demand the main character of a novel be more “appealing.” I would hazard the suggestion that such readers are denying, or at least underestimating, the degree to which James is each of us. He never realizes that he doesn’t have a clue why he does what he does or what is “happening” around him, but do I dare say, most of us don’t either? It’s a painful realization, but one that Cacoyannis presents with brilliant, verbally glistening humor. It was a book that, for me, was an immense pleasure to read.
James Linthwaite is a an obituarist; he writes obituaries for the London Herald. We never get to read any of his obituaries, but we hear about them. They are about “the tortured souls of those middling celebrity types who do have a talent of sorts – on occasion even a talent to speak of - but whose needy ambition exponentially exceeds it.” And he writes these obituaries “euphemistically” using “vastly more subtle and sophisticated one-off inventions” to describe what otherwise would be tragic or tragic-comic lives, depending, probably, upon one’s sense of humor. In fact, an anonymous reviewer’s claim that “Mr Linthwaite is able to wrest a sense of the perversely comic tragedy of existence, and through the paradox which his subjects embody, distil the very essence of our lives - of what it is, so absurdly, to be human,” is an almost perfect description of what Cacoyannis provides us in The Dead of August and its story of James, his acquaintances and his family.
James’ life is, for no particular reason except perhaps middle age ennui, if not disintegrating, at least sinking low enough to raise troubling questions in his mind. Why do he and his wife never have sex anymore? Does she value him or his work? Why is his son so contemptuous of him? His wife accuses him of being “too abstract, …My focus was soft. My perception was fuzzy. I never paid attention.” In his words he’s a “Bigger Picture man.” In fact he regards that as the “hub of my character, and much more encompassing than a mere trait.” But in truth, the fact of the forest eludes him as he gazes at the trees.
Does James misunderstand himself? Probably no more than the next person, although he ponders the question more deeply (though without penetrating its surface), and with brilliant, often hilarious and sometimes perversely euphemistic, inner dialogue to which we are privy because of the first person narrative. But he understands his peers and family even less than he understands himself, and they appear to understand themselves not terribly more than he does. James’ real problem seems to be that this all too human characteristic of failing do understand what is happening within or around him leads him to passively accept the directions provided by others; he does not take charge of his own life.
The plot of the novel is simple, but inventive. A mysterious invitation to attend a week-long “happening” at the country home of a wealthy recluse arrives. Without anyone ever saying what the happening is to be, James is urged by his wife and editor (whom he suspects are having an affair) to head to the country for a week and attend the event. He has no inner sense of whether he should or should not go, he vacillates, makes up his mind not to then changes his mind to fit a minor conversational exigency and ends up going. Prior to that, we are treated to a dizzying sequence of meetings with his editor, with the sports writer who will take over the obituaries during his absence, with the sports writer’s sister, to whom James is attracted. None of these people proves to be whom he or she first appears to be.
Once at the country estate of the eccentric, who has assumed an identity as “Max,” we learn that the man is planning a happening at an avant garde gallery and that James is one of three people who, over a period of time, have been invited for a week to visit Max and pen a 900 word obituary of him.
We can guess that the “happening” will include Max’s demise, but James, faithful to type, fails to anticipate this. At any rate, the actual event doesn't occur until a year after James is thrown out of his house by his wife, with the help of his son, for reasons he of course fails to comprehend. In fact, his understanding is hampered by his focus upon details at the expense of the “Bigger Picture,” showing us how little James understands himself.
In the end, Max commits suicide during the happening, James is shocked but uses his debilitating reaction to wangle his way back into the good graces (and house) of his wife, and is back writing his obituaries, but this time less worried about his sex life, the wanderings of his wife, and has taken up an affair with the owner of the gallery (who was at one time a lesbian, the object of desire of the unsuspecting dictatorial editor, and has now reverted to heterosexuality). The editor, with whom James had suspected his wife was having an affair, accidentally suffocates himself while attempting a sexual scene copied from James’ wife’s best-selling pornographic book. James is taken by surprise, another intricate example of his misapprehension of the character of those around him. James finally decides not to be untrue to his wife, and the book ends with a titillating suggestion that he had been right all along about his wife’ affair with his editor.
In Cacoyannis’ novel Bowl of Fruit (1907), Jack Faro, the protagonist, searches for an identity by copying that of others—Picasso, Kafka— and then learns that everything he thought was true about himself and his history was not. James Linthwaite is continually learning that everything he thought about the people around him was wrong, or at least only a glimpse of one side of them. He never quite addresses his own lack of self-understanding and as a result, he never grasps the forces that are propelling him hither and thither. I’ve read enough reviews of The Dead of August to realize that such a character irritates or even angers some readers, who demand the main character of a novel be more “appealing.” I would hazard the suggestion that such readers are denying, or at least underestimating, the degree to which James is each of us. He never realizes that he doesn’t have a clue why he does what he does or what is “happening” around him, but do I dare say, most of us don’t either? It’s a painful realization, but one that Cacoyannis presents with brilliant, verbally glistening humor. It was a book that, for me, was an immense pleasure to read.
February 29, 2016
I don't know where to begin
This compelling, confusing, maddening, hopeful, did I say compelling? book was quite a journey.
The characters drew me in and repelled me time and time again. James often struck me as an upscale bumbling fool reminiscent of Ignatius J Reilly in John Kennedy Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces". In fairness, James manages to redeem himself often.
If you enjoy a read that requires close attention and a sometimes meandering storyline, by all means read it. Even when I wasn't completely sure I was enjoying it, I could not give it up. I'm very glad I didn't. I enjoyed the author's obvious love of words immensely.
This compelling, confusing, maddening, hopeful, did I say compelling? book was quite a journey.
The characters drew me in and repelled me time and time again. James often struck me as an upscale bumbling fool reminiscent of Ignatius J Reilly in John Kennedy Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces". In fairness, James manages to redeem himself often.
If you enjoy a read that requires close attention and a sometimes meandering storyline, by all means read it. Even when I wasn't completely sure I was enjoying it, I could not give it up. I'm very glad I didn't. I enjoyed the author's obvious love of words immensely.
March 14, 2016
This book takes place over three successive Augusts and charts the mid-life crisis of the hero, James. James is famous as an obituarist and is known for his skilful use of euphemism when writing of the newly departed. During the two year span of this story, he begins to suspect his wife of having an affair, moves out of the marital home, moves back in again, and then suspects his wife’s fidelity once more. The feeling is that of an eternal cycle, due to his own insecurities. Is June actually having an affair? More than one? – We never really know as the story is written from James’s perspective and June remains a shadowy figure - the eternal feminine – throughout.
The story is full of humour and the main characters extremely complex and well-written. June, James’s wife is the best-selling author of sexually explicit feminist fiction – ‘posh porn’, and the nature of her writing can only add to James’s insecurities, as he keeps wondering if the men who feature in the stories are based on him. My favourite character in the book is James and June’s young son, Josh, who at 15 is the most sensible in the family. His straight talking about his sex life had me laughing aloud.
The story is full of humour and the main characters extremely complex and well-written. June, James’s wife is the best-selling author of sexually explicit feminist fiction – ‘posh porn’, and the nature of her writing can only add to James’s insecurities, as he keeps wondering if the men who feature in the stories are based on him. My favourite character in the book is James and June’s young son, Josh, who at 15 is the most sensible in the family. His straight talking about his sex life had me laughing aloud.
March 29, 2017
Not what I expected!
I'm not sure what I expected when I selected this book, but certainly that expectation was exceeded! The story is rich and nuanced. The characters swirl together and apart to show perspectives that exist in everyone. It was almost a fable of some sort. I will figure out the morale of the story.
I'm not sure what I expected when I selected this book, but certainly that expectation was exceeded! The story is rich and nuanced. The characters swirl together and apart to show perspectives that exist in everyone. It was almost a fable of some sort. I will figure out the morale of the story.
October 19, 2016
A brilliant satire, clever, fresh, hilariously funny. Some people have a very different opinion, they find most of the characters repugnant, get confused by the jerkiness of the protagonist's obsessive compulsive narration, and the humor of the book goes straight over their heads. Books are like that, what to one reader seems like a mess to another comes across as an interesting way of telling a story.
By the way, I think it's very possible to empathize with people who are dysfunctional. None of us are perfect, so why should we be offended by imperfection? Trying to understand why people behave as they do is much more interesting than just dismissing them.
It's in the nature of Satire to blow everything out of proportion.
By the way, I think it's very possible to empathize with people who are dysfunctional. None of us are perfect, so why should we be offended by imperfection? Trying to understand why people behave as they do is much more interesting than just dismissing them.
It's in the nature of Satire to blow everything out of proportion.
July 3, 2016
Five stars for its cynical sense of humour, scathing but human.
October 22, 2016
If you manage to get inside James's head, you're in for quite a journey.
Some brilliant insights, and some very funny bits, but maybe just a bit over the top? But then what satire isn't.
Great father - son conversations.
All very "tongue-in-cheek", in a big, celebratory way.
Some brilliant insights, and some very funny bits, but maybe just a bit over the top? But then what satire isn't.
Great father - son conversations.
All very "tongue-in-cheek", in a big, celebratory way.
September 10, 2016
Ironically, what makes this book so good is also what makes it hard to 'like'. Unlikeable characters don't endear a book to its readers, but a satire is a satire, and not much of a satire if all is as it should be. In fact most of the characters do have redeeming features, but I don't think that's the point. I enjoyed it for its boldness and its humour. It's a bit unhinged, like its protagonist, but I quite liked that too.
August 28, 2016
Maybe not a very 'happy' book, but very smart, and also very funny if you like acerbic humour. The characters are not as unreal as they may seem at first sight.
March 20, 2016
Midlife crisis story for an obituary wordsmith in London married to a leading feminist short stories and novel writer. They have one teenage son who is a precocious young author seemingly wise and mature beyond his years as well. There are no characters to identify with or like here, as beneath the veneer everyone seems shallow or a self-indulgent sham. The humor is of the very dry, British sort, the writing style on point and praiseworthy, and the cultural critiques very, very clever. People will either like this unusual novel for what it offers in attacks on pretensions and superficialities and its deft appraisal of human banality, or they will not. I enjoyed it myself.
February 7, 2017
I'm always up for a satire, which is essentially what this book was. A satire of the intellectual elite in London, centered around a married couple (she an author of radically feminist erotica, he an author of trendy obituaries) and their precocious teenage son with writing aspirations of his own and then, of course, there's their circle of friends and acquaintances. I've just finished the book and I'm yet to decide if I really liked it or not. Initially it was very entertaining, but eventually the book's greatest strength, its droll wit, became its greatest weakness, turning into a relentless one note sort of a joke. It's quite an entertaining read and a clever one, even a vocabulary builder, but at some point it tired me out. There is only so much enthusiasm one can muster up for a bunch of pretentious snobs and they circle through their pretentious motions...even for an intellectual snob. Of course, it is a satire, so one can't really expect to have likeable characters and things like that, but there should still be something, something extra, to compensate for the lack of emotional engagement. It may very well be that the book was simply too long for what it was and it stretched its sarcastic charm too thinly. The dynamic of a marriage between two intellectuals popular in their own rights was an interesting one, but was often diverted from by lesser tangential plotlines. In the end, much like its cover art, it just lacked any sort of wow factor, for all the brains it was low on charm. Or really heavy on a very specific sort of charm and only that. Decent, especially for a debut, especially for a Kindle freebie, though doesn't quite live up to its potential. Fairly quick read too.
January 6, 2015
The Dead of August is a fitting title as "dead" plays a major factor in how the "living" relate and readjust their lives. James and June Linthwaite, both writers, enter the scene with a complacent 17 year marriage and a teenage son named Joshua. James, a lover of detail, seemingly detached from reality in his writing of obituaries for the Herald, is contrasted with his wife, a novelist, who gained popularity through "Susan's" episodes of sexual exploitation. In time they will discover it was more than their writing styles that pull them apart.
A wealthy one time artist recluse named Max invites James to Wiltshire as 1 of 3 to write an obituary about him as it might have been if he was dead. One would eventually be chosen and reinacted. This eccentric mission will change James perspective when meeting him in person and his impact would have far more implications than imagined.
Suspicion will surface from James wondering if June was having an affair with his boss Douglas. In a strange twist of circumstances the tide would shift, blame would be exchanged, and life forever vastly different in a way unimaginable. The "claim to fame" you will discover, comes with a cost both literally and figuratively. It's more than a question of "can this marriage last"; rather, it extends to "How on earth can this go on."
Author Panayotis Cacoyannis takes this uncanny novel to multiple levels of drama that will fool you at every turn. Come beside each character and discover their test of affections in a master plot you don't want to miss.
A wealthy one time artist recluse named Max invites James to Wiltshire as 1 of 3 to write an obituary about him as it might have been if he was dead. One would eventually be chosen and reinacted. This eccentric mission will change James perspective when meeting him in person and his impact would have far more implications than imagined.
Suspicion will surface from James wondering if June was having an affair with his boss Douglas. In a strange twist of circumstances the tide would shift, blame would be exchanged, and life forever vastly different in a way unimaginable. The "claim to fame" you will discover, comes with a cost both literally and figuratively. It's more than a question of "can this marriage last"; rather, it extends to "How on earth can this go on."
Author Panayotis Cacoyannis takes this uncanny novel to multiple levels of drama that will fool you at every turn. Come beside each character and discover their test of affections in a master plot you don't want to miss.
March 14, 2016
At the centre of this story is an art’ happening’; the author has used his own experience of the modern art world to very good effect. The hero, James, is coerced into taking part in this ‘happening’ and the planning, execution and aftermath of it span the three Augusts of the title. Whilst this is going on, James is living his mid-life crisis, in danger of losing both his wife and his job as a popular obituarist. James is full of insecurities and, as the story is written in the first person, we never quite know if his wife is being unfaithful or not. His wife, June, is a writer of radical feminist fiction, with feisty emasculating heroines and submissive men. James can never shake off the feeling that some of these men are based on him and this, of course, weakens his self-esteem.
The book is very funny and all the male characters in the book are extremely well-drawn. In particular, Josh, the 15 year old son, is old and wise before his time and frequently called upon to be the voice of reason in his father’s increasingly unravelling life. Scenes of drunkenness and general bad behaviour are rife but you can’t help rooting for James throughout.
The book is very funny and all the male characters in the book are extremely well-drawn. In particular, Josh, the 15 year old son, is old and wise before his time and frequently called upon to be the voice of reason in his father’s increasingly unravelling life. Scenes of drunkenness and general bad behaviour are rife but you can’t help rooting for James throughout.
October 13, 2016
This book would make a fabulous movie. Cut down on James' internal monologues and home in on his fights: with his wife June (plenty of sex there as well, on and off), with Douglas (the hideous tabloid editor, who June may or may not be having an affair with - hence all the internal ramblings), with his friend Pete (the gay football reporter), with two-faced Lance (the networking entrepreneur), and not least with ex-lesbian Amanda (the ruthless curator). And then there's the dramatic performance at The Unmade Gallery, James' endless sequence of dreams, June's semi-pornographic fiction (and that's another movie in itself), and Douglas' "misadventures" at the hands of Miss Hard... This is definitely one for Almodóvar, who James just so happens to be a fan of.
I honestly can't remember laughing so much in a long time, and that was probably watching a movie. It's all there: sex, dead people, irony, toilet humour, slapstick. But if you don't find it funny you'll probably hate it. A satire of our times, as people have said.
I honestly can't remember laughing so much in a long time, and that was probably watching a movie. It's all there: sex, dead people, irony, toilet humour, slapstick. But if you don't find it funny you'll probably hate it. A satire of our times, as people have said.
January 30, 2017
The Dead of August, a debut novel, by Panayotis Cacoyannis strikes one with quirky, almost slapstick humor. James writes obituaries for The Herald, and his wife June writes "posh erotic" short stories. Although the novel has a plot, it is really a novel of character. The characters are flawed as all people are, and this keeps the plot moving and adds to the quirkiness of the plot.
After 17 years of marriage James and June's relationship is losing inertia. Although the two seem to talk, they don't talk about the important subjects. This lack of important conversation leads to mistrust, accusations, and eventually estrangement. Both characters have undue pressures caused by their careers. James is involved in a special performance art project with Max in an estate outside London. When the project is brought to Amanda's gallery, a sinister plan is put into action that affects all involved.
Even with some inconsistencies in plot, the novel is very enjoyable.
After 17 years of marriage James and June's relationship is losing inertia. Although the two seem to talk, they don't talk about the important subjects. This lack of important conversation leads to mistrust, accusations, and eventually estrangement. Both characters have undue pressures caused by their careers. James is involved in a special performance art project with Max in an estate outside London. When the project is brought to Amanda's gallery, a sinister plan is put into action that affects all involved.
Even with some inconsistencies in plot, the novel is very enjoyable.
February 28, 2016
The Dead of August is one of those books that leaves noone indifferent; you either love it or you hate it, but you can't deny it is exquisitely written. It's just not for everyone.
This time around Panayotis Cacoyannis tells us the story of James and June, a disfunctional couple like a lot out there, with a lot of problems. She is a feminist writer and he is a bored lad in his middle age crisis who has serious problems coping with reality. It's amazing how the author captures the caracter's personalities and shows their missery in full detail while still being absolutely captivating. The hardest thing about reading this novel is realizing that we all have a little of June and James in us, and it makes you either very uncomfortable or very curious about what happens next with their lives.
As I said, this is not for everyone, but it is 100% worth it at least giving it an opportunity to see for some instants the life of two fictitious yet very real persons, their dramas and struggles, and enjoy an intelligent novel, sprinkled with fine dark humour, while being happy we're not either of them.
This time around Panayotis Cacoyannis tells us the story of James and June, a disfunctional couple like a lot out there, with a lot of problems. She is a feminist writer and he is a bored lad in his middle age crisis who has serious problems coping with reality. It's amazing how the author captures the caracter's personalities and shows their missery in full detail while still being absolutely captivating. The hardest thing about reading this novel is realizing that we all have a little of June and James in us, and it makes you either very uncomfortable or very curious about what happens next with their lives.
As I said, this is not for everyone, but it is 100% worth it at least giving it an opportunity to see for some instants the life of two fictitious yet very real persons, their dramas and struggles, and enjoy an intelligent novel, sprinkled with fine dark humour, while being happy we're not either of them.
July 6, 2015
Superbly developed story.
James and June Linthwaite are the main two characters in this, the first novel, The Dead Of August, by Panayotis Cacoyannis. This interesting book is a contemporary satire set in London.
Both James and June are complex characters; Cacoyannis has superbly developed them in this unique story. You as the reader will be anxious to turn page after page to follow the ups and downs of this raw and emotional family drama. There are several side stories that will also increase your appreciation of the skilled writing ability of the author. As plot after plot is revealed, you will not want to put this down. Readers are sure to smile at the witty and entertaining sexual relationships that occur.
This is definitely a book to be remembered for the uniqueness and quality of the written word.
I would recommend the reading of The Dead Of August, you will not be disappointed, it is a great read.
James and June Linthwaite are the main two characters in this, the first novel, The Dead Of August, by Panayotis Cacoyannis. This interesting book is a contemporary satire set in London.
Both James and June are complex characters; Cacoyannis has superbly developed them in this unique story. You as the reader will be anxious to turn page after page to follow the ups and downs of this raw and emotional family drama. There are several side stories that will also increase your appreciation of the skilled writing ability of the author. As plot after plot is revealed, you will not want to put this down. Readers are sure to smile at the witty and entertaining sexual relationships that occur.
This is definitely a book to be remembered for the uniqueness and quality of the written word.
I would recommend the reading of The Dead Of August, you will not be disappointed, it is a great read.
August 30, 2017
Brilliant, totally brilliant! It veers off in so many directions and holds it together in all of them. I loved it, really did.
June 25, 2017
Having come across Polk, Harper & Who, which I read without knowing what to expect, I moved backwards to The Dead of August and then to Bowl of Fruit (1907). The three very different books have in common the author's love of language, his affection for and insights into complex, often contradictory characters, and an over-the-top sense of humour. Internal worlds that bend to the absurdity of the human condition take the place of more familiar plot lines, as they often do in literary fiction. This makes them more demanding but also potentially more satisfying, as long as we are able and willing to tune in to the qualities that make each one of them special - the satire of The Dead of August, the magical realism of Bowl, and the wounded love story of Polk.
July 2, 2017
"Humour, love and some heavy-going family drama, it's an odd combination. But it works." I wrote that about Polk, Harper & Who. I then wrote that I'd started reading The Dead of August, and that it had a very different feel, a coldness I was also enjoying.
Again the same odd combination, and again it works. The humour here is centre stage, but the story at the heart of the book is incredibly sad.
I don't share in the general dislike of the characters, especially James. He may be weak and indecisive, but he also stands up for the things he believes in.
The idea of an obituary writer who celebrates inadequate celebrity lives in unique "discobituaries" is brilliant, as is the radical feminist pretence of June's poshly pornographic short stories...
Again the same odd combination, and again it works. The humour here is centre stage, but the story at the heart of the book is incredibly sad.
I don't share in the general dislike of the characters, especially James. He may be weak and indecisive, but he also stands up for the things he believes in.
The idea of an obituary writer who celebrates inadequate celebrity lives in unique "discobituaries" is brilliant, as is the radical feminist pretence of June's poshly pornographic short stories...
April 19, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is original, witty, and intriguing. I love dark British humor, this definitely delivers. By the end, I had forgotten this was a fictional story and was wondering what the characters are doing now. The last sentence really cracked me up.
August 29, 2017
I loved this book, because the characters are so familiar to me. A wonderful imagination and a very authentic sense of humor.
October 4, 2017
Tremendously intelligent satire. I obviously share the much maligned author's pointed sense of humor!
I wonder how many people liked any of the character's in Nabokov's Lolita....
I wonder how many people liked any of the character's in Nabokov's Lolita....
October 12, 2017
I agree with the enthusiasm of all the enthusiastic reviews and don't get the vehemence of any of the negative ones. Packed with intelligent stuff, really made me laugh.
February 10, 2015
Quirky and thought provoking, The Dead of August holds up a mirror to urban angst that strikes a chord somewhere. With its dark and somewhat cruel humour, the book will delight and at times shock its readers.
Set in contemporary London, this satirical story features James Linthwaite as the protagonist. He comes across as a typical big city dweller dealing with paranoia and anxiety and frequently in the danger of losing his head and hurting people he loves in the process.
Funny and absorbing, the story runs all over the place and still manages to remain a gripping read. Go for it if you’re looking for something delightfully different.
Set in contemporary London, this satirical story features James Linthwaite as the protagonist. He comes across as a typical big city dweller dealing with paranoia and anxiety and frequently in the danger of losing his head and hurting people he loves in the process.
Funny and absorbing, the story runs all over the place and still manages to remain a gripping read. Go for it if you’re looking for something delightfully different.
September 20, 2017
Hilarious, but poignant too. I love it how it gets on people's nerves!
January 6, 2015
"And you've never understood my work."
British author Panayotis Cacoyannis was born and grew up in Cyprus, studied Law at Oxford, and then moved to London and qualified to practice at the Bar. The Legal landscape was not to his liking so he changed careers and entered Art School. Winning a Degree in Fine Art, and an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, he spent his next years painting and sculpting. Another career step directed him to courses in Creative Writing. So in his debut novel be tosses in all prior experience and out come a novel that is a delight to read on many levels. Cacoyannis seems to have a penchant for satire and parody and has absorbed that inherently British sense of comedy touched with Cyprian flavors that makes his writing not only entertaining but lightens our own lives a bit - seeing how absurdity just may be the best medicine for surviving at the moment!
How best to meet a mismatched couple than in the morning upon waking - where James Linthwaite is enduring his wife June's snoring pattern. Returning to bed with burnt toast, `June had turned under the sheet and was sleeping perversely in absolute silence. All I could see of her was the sweep of her hair, and the exposed angle of one bare buttock, one thigh, the joint of her knee and her long upper calf. I chomped on the toast and took a sip of the coffee, but it was still too hot. I put the tray on the floor and I tugged at the sheet and manoeuvred it over the both of us. I snuggled in behind June and buried my face in her hair, and then, very gently I started to rub with my crotch against the invisible small of her back . When my pulse quickened, my breathing shortened abruptly - it was hoarse already from the wanton cigarettes of a weekend with too many arguments - and I started to cough. It was then, as I took away the pounding in my chest and gagged on a mouthful of sheet so I wouldn't wake her, that it struck me she might have a point after all. It wasn't exactly the point that my wife had been making (and lately been making persistently); on the contrary, as it would implicate also herself, it was one she would probably never concede. Even if the tenor of her grievance was too general, too unfairly non-specific, the thrust of June's accusation had always been clear enough. I was too abstract, she said. My focus was soft. My perception was fuzzy. I never paid attention. (There were several variations to this: I never paid attention to what I should pay attention to; I never paid enough attention; I never paid the right kind of attention. Or if I did pay attention, I did something wrong with it, I somehow perverted it.)` This fabulous patter runs the length of the book, more laughs per page (unless you do not find marital disparity amusing), and a terrific storyline.
James, June and 15-year old son Joshua live in London: James writes `unconventional takes on middling celebrities' lives and `fairy-tale' obituaries' while June writes violent and sexually explicit Radical Feminist fiction: disparate bookends in the world of prose. Their perception of each other is equally at odds - James is convinced their rather sterile sex life may indeed be due to June's acting out of the literature she pens. And as the author summarizes, `Over three successive Augusts, and distracted by scandals and colourful deaths, James drifts in unlikely directions while he tries to decide whether June can be trusted or his marriage has finally fallen apart.' This may not seem like ingredients for a comedy but in Cacoyannis sure hands it is hilarious - if noir. This man now in this third career seems to have found his niche. Though spend some time and look at his collected drawings, paintings, collages, and constructions and see the same quality of tongue in cheek and sensitive humor (the telling cover of his book is doubtless his own creation - two rather funky corsets - or armor!). The man has talent! Highly recommended
British author Panayotis Cacoyannis was born and grew up in Cyprus, studied Law at Oxford, and then moved to London and qualified to practice at the Bar. The Legal landscape was not to his liking so he changed careers and entered Art School. Winning a Degree in Fine Art, and an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, he spent his next years painting and sculpting. Another career step directed him to courses in Creative Writing. So in his debut novel be tosses in all prior experience and out come a novel that is a delight to read on many levels. Cacoyannis seems to have a penchant for satire and parody and has absorbed that inherently British sense of comedy touched with Cyprian flavors that makes his writing not only entertaining but lightens our own lives a bit - seeing how absurdity just may be the best medicine for surviving at the moment!
How best to meet a mismatched couple than in the morning upon waking - where James Linthwaite is enduring his wife June's snoring pattern. Returning to bed with burnt toast, `June had turned under the sheet and was sleeping perversely in absolute silence. All I could see of her was the sweep of her hair, and the exposed angle of one bare buttock, one thigh, the joint of her knee and her long upper calf. I chomped on the toast and took a sip of the coffee, but it was still too hot. I put the tray on the floor and I tugged at the sheet and manoeuvred it over the both of us. I snuggled in behind June and buried my face in her hair, and then, very gently I started to rub with my crotch against the invisible small of her back . When my pulse quickened, my breathing shortened abruptly - it was hoarse already from the wanton cigarettes of a weekend with too many arguments - and I started to cough. It was then, as I took away the pounding in my chest and gagged on a mouthful of sheet so I wouldn't wake her, that it struck me she might have a point after all. It wasn't exactly the point that my wife had been making (and lately been making persistently); on the contrary, as it would implicate also herself, it was one she would probably never concede. Even if the tenor of her grievance was too general, too unfairly non-specific, the thrust of June's accusation had always been clear enough. I was too abstract, she said. My focus was soft. My perception was fuzzy. I never paid attention. (There were several variations to this: I never paid attention to what I should pay attention to; I never paid enough attention; I never paid the right kind of attention. Or if I did pay attention, I did something wrong with it, I somehow perverted it.)` This fabulous patter runs the length of the book, more laughs per page (unless you do not find marital disparity amusing), and a terrific storyline.
James, June and 15-year old son Joshua live in London: James writes `unconventional takes on middling celebrities' lives and `fairy-tale' obituaries' while June writes violent and sexually explicit Radical Feminist fiction: disparate bookends in the world of prose. Their perception of each other is equally at odds - James is convinced their rather sterile sex life may indeed be due to June's acting out of the literature she pens. And as the author summarizes, `Over three successive Augusts, and distracted by scandals and colourful deaths, James drifts in unlikely directions while he tries to decide whether June can be trusted or his marriage has finally fallen apart.' This may not seem like ingredients for a comedy but in Cacoyannis sure hands it is hilarious - if noir. This man now in this third career seems to have found his niche. Though spend some time and look at his collected drawings, paintings, collages, and constructions and see the same quality of tongue in cheek and sensitive humor (the telling cover of his book is doubtless his own creation - two rather funky corsets - or armor!). The man has talent! Highly recommended
October 18, 2017
An ambitious undertaking, speaking with the unreliable voice of a narrator permanently on the verge of a breakdown, but the author has used satire as a way of lightening what would otherwise have been a dull and unrewarding journey. Instead it's quite a spectacular ride, full of ideas and pockets of sheer brilliance - "Susan's Phallacy" (is it feminist or is it just porn?), The Unmade Gallery and Invisible Art (is it cutting edge or is it nonsense?), not to mention unforgettable characters like Douglas and Max... I could go on and on. And it offers quite a take on fashionable life and modern marriage, hilarious but also depressingly real, which is how I'd describe the whole book.
January 25, 2021
The Dead of August. Panayotis, Cacoyannis.
In this slyly amusing, exquisitely written stream-of-consciousness gentle satire, we experience, through his somewhat bewildered eyes, James’ highs and lows, doubts and insecurities as he negotiates married life with June, his relationship with his clever son Joshua, and his difficulties with Douglas, the odd and difficult editor of The Herald, a newspaper for which he writes hugely popular anodyne obituaries about slightly famous people.
Derisive of her husband’s literary efforts, June writes intellectual pornography for adoring cognoscenti—including Amanda, whose “Unmade Gallery” hosts “Happenings” and other oddities such as “Invisible Art” in a glass box.
James, who scarcely ‘knows’ himself, let alone his other acquaintances and friends among the Cultural mafia of his social milieu, begins to wonder about his marriage and fidelity, and that leads to unfortunate consequences, which he accepts with the humility of a truly decent man who knows he is not perfect, so constantly tries to be better.
What sets James apart from his fellows is his ability to take the blame for things that go wrong… ‘I should leave June alone for a while; stop continually attempting to decipher her as though she were a curse in hieroglyphics. Instead, now that my bruises had cleared, I should more introspectively look for my share in the source (and my hand in perverting the course) of the changes (in June, in me, in the circumstances of our marriage) that had culminated so abruptly in physical conflict.”
James’ disarming honesty in an article for The Herald, results in a meeting with Wiltshire, who prefers to be called Max.
“Max…I liked him from the very beginning. An intelligent, chain - smoking, hard - drinking amalgam of incongruities and half - naked fashion anachronisms, with a plum in his mouth and a sailor’s tattoos, Max was the most hospitable semi – recluse.”
James agrees to write a premature obituary for Max, to be read out during a Happening at Amanda’s Art Gallery. In Max’s words, it’s ‘Self - indulgent claptrap, that’s what it is, so I suppose it must be Art, mustn’t it, James!’
In the end, Max is the only one to take control of his life, presenting James with a gift to help him muddle through as best he can.
This isn't a book to read quickly; it’s a tale to be savoured, re-read and enjoyed without haste, so as not to miss the creative, surprising, precise, witty and sharp descriptions of people, place, emotion and thought in wondrously convoluted and complex sentences that would grace the best 19th century novel, sprinkled with clever witticisms, wise words and pithy observation.
‘- the whiff of success makes for a gullible conscience.’
‘Loose ends should sometimes be left untied.’
‘I had always harboured a visceral loathing of scandal, on those tribal occasions, at least, when it drew on misfortune for no other purpose than sport, glibly traducing the lives of atypical others in the name of a brutalized norm.'
In this slyly amusing, exquisitely written stream-of-consciousness gentle satire, we experience, through his somewhat bewildered eyes, James’ highs and lows, doubts and insecurities as he negotiates married life with June, his relationship with his clever son Joshua, and his difficulties with Douglas, the odd and difficult editor of The Herald, a newspaper for which he writes hugely popular anodyne obituaries about slightly famous people.
Derisive of her husband’s literary efforts, June writes intellectual pornography for adoring cognoscenti—including Amanda, whose “Unmade Gallery” hosts “Happenings” and other oddities such as “Invisible Art” in a glass box.
James, who scarcely ‘knows’ himself, let alone his other acquaintances and friends among the Cultural mafia of his social milieu, begins to wonder about his marriage and fidelity, and that leads to unfortunate consequences, which he accepts with the humility of a truly decent man who knows he is not perfect, so constantly tries to be better.
What sets James apart from his fellows is his ability to take the blame for things that go wrong… ‘I should leave June alone for a while; stop continually attempting to decipher her as though she were a curse in hieroglyphics. Instead, now that my bruises had cleared, I should more introspectively look for my share in the source (and my hand in perverting the course) of the changes (in June, in me, in the circumstances of our marriage) that had culminated so abruptly in physical conflict.”
James’ disarming honesty in an article for The Herald, results in a meeting with Wiltshire, who prefers to be called Max.
“Max…I liked him from the very beginning. An intelligent, chain - smoking, hard - drinking amalgam of incongruities and half - naked fashion anachronisms, with a plum in his mouth and a sailor’s tattoos, Max was the most hospitable semi – recluse.”
James agrees to write a premature obituary for Max, to be read out during a Happening at Amanda’s Art Gallery. In Max’s words, it’s ‘Self - indulgent claptrap, that’s what it is, so I suppose it must be Art, mustn’t it, James!’
In the end, Max is the only one to take control of his life, presenting James with a gift to help him muddle through as best he can.
This isn't a book to read quickly; it’s a tale to be savoured, re-read and enjoyed without haste, so as not to miss the creative, surprising, precise, witty and sharp descriptions of people, place, emotion and thought in wondrously convoluted and complex sentences that would grace the best 19th century novel, sprinkled with clever witticisms, wise words and pithy observation.
‘- the whiff of success makes for a gullible conscience.’
‘Loose ends should sometimes be left untied.’
‘I had always harboured a visceral loathing of scandal, on those tribal occasions, at least, when it drew on misfortune for no other purpose than sport, glibly traducing the lives of atypical others in the name of a brutalized norm.'
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