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The Paper Cell
From the publisher of Graeme Macrae Burnet's His Bloody Project, the first in a new series of distinctive, standalone crime stories, each with a literary bent. In 1950s London, a literary agent finds fame when he secretly steals a young woman's brilliant novel manuscript and publishes it under his own name, Lewis Carson. Two days after their meeting, the woman is found strangled on Peckham Rye Common: did Lewis purloin the manuscript as an act of callous opportunism, or as the spoils of a calculated murder?
122 pages, Hardcover
First published June 10, 2017
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39 people want to read
About the author
Louise Hutcheson
1 book1 followerLouise Hutcheson has a PhD in Scottish Literature from the University of Glasgow. She works in broadcast and digital media and is a freelance editor who has edited a number of crime novels and other fiction. Louise also created and runs a highly respected review site for new fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 28, 2021
I enjoyed this atmospheric book of layered, unspoken crimes. It takes a prismatic view of infidelity, across a smokily disavowed rainbow, with colours of love, sexuality, creativity and appreciation tragically smoked out by envy, fear, power struggle and shame. With a strong theme of not being true to oneself, one ultimately sees how a cascade of infidelity can be the fallout, in love, in work and ultimately a sense of loss of personal freedom.
Lewis Carson's life has taken a sad trajectory towards an entrapment he names his paper cell. A particularly unlikable protagonist - though compellingly so - the fleshing out of his backstory in 1950s London, contrasted with his current tetchy frailty in a late 1990's native Edinburgh, clearly maps out his present-day bitterness. The map, we notice, shows no road beyond his difficult beginnings, though a crossroad of opportunity does now appear.
His meeting with Barbara the journalist appears to have awoken him to the narrative of his failures. (The narrative of his successes are indeed thinly veiled.) She admires his first work, the so-called 'Victory Lap' and he's always basked in the worldly success of it, but his first work is a secret lie; it's based on a stolen manuscript entitled 'Infinite Eden'. A manuscript, no less, about 'the young widow of a disgraced soldier struggling with sexual, political and social exclusion.' We know little more about it. But intriguingly, we do learn it's a manuscript he changed considerably, and which, it seems, had formed only the basis of his resultant classic. No matter the end glory, and his clear talent and personal life experience one imagines gave it such poignancy: it is marred.
I wondered if our protagonist is blind to his own gifting; driven more by the fear of how he would be received rather than seeing his creative success as bound up with self-revelation. We might wonder, too, if it wasn't so much a lack of talent which meant all subsequent publications paled in comparison, but that he disavowed his own truth as 'too rash' or '...rushed. A bit teenaged... Hot-headed. As I was!' That was incredibly self-recriminating. The real crime was not, of course, his sexuality (and which society would have doubtless punished him for, and over which he felt held to ransom by a work colleague) but the many actions he took in response to his underlying shame and sense of inferiority.
Enabled by the historical time switching, I perhaps understand Lewis Carson more. I can see more clearly the way his next moves always seemed to follow along the trajectory of bitterness, much less growth, tainting everyone in his wake. A heterosexual marriage doomed to failure, an imploding career as a writer, his health problems and blackouts, and hence, the pitiful character we see before us in the opening pages.
There is powerful metaphor in both the manuscript and resultant book title. A sense of Eden lost, followed by the 'sibling' rivalry of other authors, but a hint of it being infinite somehow - a world of creativity, celebration and full acceptance, perhaps? And a victory lap in celebration of a triumph. Something in this book points to a freedom from Carson's paper cell. It's very unclear what this will look like for him, however. Something of a reclaiming of his own narrative, perhaps?
Lewis Carson's life has taken a sad trajectory towards an entrapment he names his paper cell. A particularly unlikable protagonist - though compellingly so - the fleshing out of his backstory in 1950s London, contrasted with his current tetchy frailty in a late 1990's native Edinburgh, clearly maps out his present-day bitterness. The map, we notice, shows no road beyond his difficult beginnings, though a crossroad of opportunity does now appear.
His meeting with Barbara the journalist appears to have awoken him to the narrative of his failures. (The narrative of his successes are indeed thinly veiled.) She admires his first work, the so-called 'Victory Lap' and he's always basked in the worldly success of it, but his first work is a secret lie; it's based on a stolen manuscript entitled 'Infinite Eden'. A manuscript, no less, about 'the young widow of a disgraced soldier struggling with sexual, political and social exclusion.' We know little more about it. But intriguingly, we do learn it's a manuscript he changed considerably, and which, it seems, had formed only the basis of his resultant classic. No matter the end glory, and his clear talent and personal life experience one imagines gave it such poignancy: it is marred.
I wondered if our protagonist is blind to his own gifting; driven more by the fear of how he would be received rather than seeing his creative success as bound up with self-revelation. We might wonder, too, if it wasn't so much a lack of talent which meant all subsequent publications paled in comparison, but that he disavowed his own truth as 'too rash' or '...rushed. A bit teenaged... Hot-headed. As I was!' That was incredibly self-recriminating. The real crime was not, of course, his sexuality (and which society would have doubtless punished him for, and over which he felt held to ransom by a work colleague) but the many actions he took in response to his underlying shame and sense of inferiority.
Enabled by the historical time switching, I perhaps understand Lewis Carson more. I can see more clearly the way his next moves always seemed to follow along the trajectory of bitterness, much less growth, tainting everyone in his wake. A heterosexual marriage doomed to failure, an imploding career as a writer, his health problems and blackouts, and hence, the pitiful character we see before us in the opening pages.
There is powerful metaphor in both the manuscript and resultant book title. A sense of Eden lost, followed by the 'sibling' rivalry of other authors, but a hint of it being infinite somehow - a world of creativity, celebration and full acceptance, perhaps? And a victory lap in celebration of a triumph. Something in this book points to a freedom from Carson's paper cell. It's very unclear what this will look like for him, however. Something of a reclaiming of his own narrative, perhaps?
January 10, 2021
Louise Hutcheson's debut novel, The Paper Cell, was a highly anticipated read for me, after seeing snippets of reviews sprinkled around the Internet, but not much more. The Paper Cell was published in 2017, and is part of the Contraband Pocket Crime Collection - which provides 'distinctive diversions for discerning readers'. I received a copy of the lovely miniature Contraband hardback edition for Christmas, and dug in on Boxing Day.
In the London of the 1950s, a publishing assistant named Lewis Carson 'finds fame when he secretly steals a young woman's brilliant novel manuscript and publishes it under his own name'. Two days later, the woman's body is found on Peckham Rye Common; she has been strangled to death. The blurb posits, rather intriguingly, 'did Lewis purloin the manuscript as an act of callous opportunism, or as the spoils of a calculated murder?'
The Paper Cell begins in 1953, in a London-based publishing house. When Fran Watson, the young author in question, first pays him a visit, Hutcheson immediately sets the scene, showing how manipulative Lewis can be: 'Lewis shifted behind his desk, aiming to look uncomfortable and achieving it. He affected a grimace as her eyes flitted up, then down. It was a pleasing dynamic, he thought. Though she had arrived when he was at the height of a bad temper, her obvious defects made him feel rather good about himself by comparison.'
At this point in time, Lewis has not read Fran's manuscript, but rejects it - and her - regardless. After she has left, he then spends the next two hours 'pored over its pages - once, twice, three times - returning compulsively again and again to the first page with a growing sense of horror.' In London, Lewis belongs to a 'ramshackle writers' group with not one published piece between them and a tendency to get drunk before they get constructive'.
The narrative then shifts forward in time, and we move to Edinburgh. Here, an ageing Lewis is living, and in 1998, he is about to give his first interview for over a decade, to a sharp newspaper journalist. The novel which he stole was published under the title of 'Victory Lap', and is highly regarded as a classic of the twentieth century.
One of the real strengths of The Paper Cell is the control which Hutcheson has over her scenes and characters. She showcases a lot of emotions which flash and seethe within her cast. I very much enjoyed the vintage setting, which feels realistic; several period details are signposted throughout the novel, which embed it in time and place. Most of the narrative takes place in 1953, and the portions which occur in 1998 are, of course, heavily concerned with the earlier period. I really enjoyed Hutcheson's descriptions, many of which are brief, but almost tangible; she writes, for instance, 'The faintest whisper of daylight was beginning to creep through the drapes, but the room was mostly dark, and heavy with cigarette smoke.'
Hutcheson writes throughout with a practiced hand, and The Paper Cell, in consequence, feels like a very polished debut novel. It is not quite what I was expecting, and takes a lot of wonderful twists and turns as it goes on. The LGBTQ+ element to the plot was well handled too, and the entirety moves along nicely. Despite the brevity of the story, I felt that I really got to know the characters and their world. I was so enthralled by the novel, in fact, that I read it in a single sitting.
I have been careful not to give too much away in this review, as I very much enjoyed coming to The Paper Cell and knowing very little about it, aside from the stolen manuscript element of the plot revealed on its blurb. In my opinion, The Paper Cell is a book best to read without knowing the entire plot; it offers up many surprises in consequence, and there is far more to it than initially meets the eye. I very much look forward to reading more of Hutcheson's work in future, as it certainly seems as though she has a promising writing career ahead.
In the London of the 1950s, a publishing assistant named Lewis Carson 'finds fame when he secretly steals a young woman's brilliant novel manuscript and publishes it under his own name'. Two days later, the woman's body is found on Peckham Rye Common; she has been strangled to death. The blurb posits, rather intriguingly, 'did Lewis purloin the manuscript as an act of callous opportunism, or as the spoils of a calculated murder?'
The Paper Cell begins in 1953, in a London-based publishing house. When Fran Watson, the young author in question, first pays him a visit, Hutcheson immediately sets the scene, showing how manipulative Lewis can be: 'Lewis shifted behind his desk, aiming to look uncomfortable and achieving it. He affected a grimace as her eyes flitted up, then down. It was a pleasing dynamic, he thought. Though she had arrived when he was at the height of a bad temper, her obvious defects made him feel rather good about himself by comparison.'
At this point in time, Lewis has not read Fran's manuscript, but rejects it - and her - regardless. After she has left, he then spends the next two hours 'pored over its pages - once, twice, three times - returning compulsively again and again to the first page with a growing sense of horror.' In London, Lewis belongs to a 'ramshackle writers' group with not one published piece between them and a tendency to get drunk before they get constructive'.
The narrative then shifts forward in time, and we move to Edinburgh. Here, an ageing Lewis is living, and in 1998, he is about to give his first interview for over a decade, to a sharp newspaper journalist. The novel which he stole was published under the title of 'Victory Lap', and is highly regarded as a classic of the twentieth century.
One of the real strengths of The Paper Cell is the control which Hutcheson has over her scenes and characters. She showcases a lot of emotions which flash and seethe within her cast. I very much enjoyed the vintage setting, which feels realistic; several period details are signposted throughout the novel, which embed it in time and place. Most of the narrative takes place in 1953, and the portions which occur in 1998 are, of course, heavily concerned with the earlier period. I really enjoyed Hutcheson's descriptions, many of which are brief, but almost tangible; she writes, for instance, 'The faintest whisper of daylight was beginning to creep through the drapes, but the room was mostly dark, and heavy with cigarette smoke.'
Hutcheson writes throughout with a practiced hand, and The Paper Cell, in consequence, feels like a very polished debut novel. It is not quite what I was expecting, and takes a lot of wonderful twists and turns as it goes on. The LGBTQ+ element to the plot was well handled too, and the entirety moves along nicely. Despite the brevity of the story, I felt that I really got to know the characters and their world. I was so enthralled by the novel, in fact, that I read it in a single sitting.
I have been careful not to give too much away in this review, as I very much enjoyed coming to The Paper Cell and knowing very little about it, aside from the stolen manuscript element of the plot revealed on its blurb. In my opinion, The Paper Cell is a book best to read without knowing the entire plot; it offers up many surprises in consequence, and there is far more to it than initially meets the eye. I very much look forward to reading more of Hutcheson's work in future, as it certainly seems as though she has a promising writing career ahead.
June 15, 2017
The plot centres around a very topical area in the book world, plagiarism and tells the story of Lewis Carson who steals a manuscript and passes if off as his own work! Switching effortlessly between London in the 1950s with Carson as a young man and Edinburgh in the 1990s where he is reflecting on the choices he made and the prison that those choices built for him, “A Paper Cell” is a fascinating narrative exploring guilt, secrecy and the impact of lifestyle choices in a very different 1950s society. I found myself pondering for a long time over Carson’s motivation for making the choice that he did and found it more fascinating as the author is involved in the publishing world which gives this book that certain extra little Je ne sais quoi!
If you are looking for blood, terror and fast paced then this is perhaps not the read for you – or maybe you should take a wee leaf out of my book and take a step off the rollercoaster for just a couple of hours and try something different – I did and I was not disappointed!
At just over 100 pages, this is one that you can curl up on the sofa with a cuppa and some cake and just lose yourself in the midst of what felt like a modern-day Charles Dickens meets Agatha Christie with a little twist of Oscar Wilde thrown in to spice it up!
If you are looking for blood, terror and fast paced then this is perhaps not the read for you – or maybe you should take a wee leaf out of my book and take a step off the rollercoaster for just a couple of hours and try something different – I did and I was not disappointed!
At just over 100 pages, this is one that you can curl up on the sofa with a cuppa and some cake and just lose yourself in the midst of what felt like a modern-day Charles Dickens meets Agatha Christie with a little twist of Oscar Wilde thrown in to spice it up!
March 24, 2019
This was an unexpected joy. I've never heard of it, and only got it because I had an hour to fill, it was on sale, and it's a beautifully produced small hardback. I loved the 1950s setting, that it was about writers, and the complex gay love story.
September 6, 2017
The Paper Cell is a novella from the new Pocket Crime Selection from Contraband Books. It is a beautifully crafted tale of life in the literary circles of 1950’s London. We begin in the modern day, an author meeting with a journalist after the author grants a rare interview. It becomes clear that there are reasons the author has been reluctant to speak with the press – once we are transported back to recollections of the author’s life as a young man in London the shocking truths start to spill out.
Louise Hutcheson keeps the story slick, her characters leap off the page and you can easily imagine the smoke filled reading rooms and fussy publishers office meetings.
There is a darkness running through The Paper Cell and the reader gets a fly on the wall view of some terrible behaviours and sinister actions. Yet those dark scenes are in the background as much of the story follows young writers pursing their dreams or and young lovers enjoying their blossoming relationship.
Louise Hutcheson keeps the story slick, her characters leap off the page and you can easily imagine the smoke filled reading rooms and fussy publishers office meetings.
There is a darkness running through The Paper Cell and the reader gets a fly on the wall view of some terrible behaviours and sinister actions. Yet those dark scenes are in the background as much of the story follows young writers pursing their dreams or and young lovers enjoying their blossoming relationship.
March 18, 2024
An editorial assistant frustrated with his stumbling career sees the opportunity of a lifetime when he is handed a manuscript which is his ticket to publication.
Weaved in is murder, sex, a secret romance and self-pity, it's a really good premise executed strongly. It does begin slightly clumsily in certain passages and ultimately deserves a much larger word count to fully explore everything which it touches upon. I can imagine a limited series being made of this as I think it would really suit the format, there's too many unanswered questions. Also it's not what I would deem a "crime" novel, but definitely worth a read either way!
Weaved in is murder, sex, a secret romance and self-pity, it's a really good premise executed strongly. It does begin slightly clumsily in certain passages and ultimately deserves a much larger word count to fully explore everything which it touches upon. I can imagine a limited series being made of this as I think it would really suit the format, there's too many unanswered questions. Also it's not what I would deem a "crime" novel, but definitely worth a read either way!
July 9, 2017
I'm grateful to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.
This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of pocket crime from Contraband. It really is pocket sized and handy for a commute (I read it in a day, slightly annoyed by having to break off for work and such) as well as being a lovely little book.
As you'd expect, given the length, it's a focussed story, with few characters, alternating between 1953, where young publishing assistant Lewis Carson is struggling to establish himself in a London publishing house, to Edinburgh in 1998 where, as a Man of Letters, he's alternately encouraging and swatting away the inquisitiveness of reporter Barbara.
The two segments proceed in parallel, neither giving away too much too soon about what has happened nor dragging out the mystery. It's clear there is a dark secret and the suspense comes as much from waiting to see how it will be revealed as from its nature: I should say that this book isn't really crime in the "whodunnit" sense. There is crime in it, but while there's a bit of teasing, there's never really any doubt about the perpetrator and even less business over detection. Rather the strength of this book is in the build up, and it is really a character study of those involved - and a study of how they (I'm being a bit cagey what I say here, to prevent spoilers, such as they may be) unravel afterwards over time: of the effect of the crime on the guilty.
The Paper Cell is good on the social hierarchies in the publishing firm and in 50s London: the slightly desperate outsider trying to find their way, the boarding house, the heroic drinking sessions and forbidden passions. Not new ground by any means, but very well done.
Throughout, there's a bit of a sense of distance to Lewis.
1953 Lewis doesn't seem to initiate much. Through most of the story things happen to him and he takes advantage or suffers, his emotions always a bit ahead or behind what's happening. Even in a group he's alone. Not a sympathetic man but perhaps one who attracts sympathy. When events are made clear, his stance becomes, maybe, more understandable. In a sense, as an author, he's a thief, something of a hollow man, trying on styles and friendships for size both in his writing and his life.
1998 Lewis is a slightly different fish but to say more about that would risk giving too much away.
It's a well told story, the 50s atmosphere done well (perhaps with one or two slips: to me, 'What does that even mean?' is a very 2000s expression) and evoking those characters well in what is, as I said, a very short book (at least by the standards of modern crime).
A good debut for both Contraband Pocket Crime and for Hutcheson - I hope to see more from both soon.
This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of pocket crime from Contraband. It really is pocket sized and handy for a commute (I read it in a day, slightly annoyed by having to break off for work and such) as well as being a lovely little book.
As you'd expect, given the length, it's a focussed story, with few characters, alternating between 1953, where young publishing assistant Lewis Carson is struggling to establish himself in a London publishing house, to Edinburgh in 1998 where, as a Man of Letters, he's alternately encouraging and swatting away the inquisitiveness of reporter Barbara.
The two segments proceed in parallel, neither giving away too much too soon about what has happened nor dragging out the mystery. It's clear there is a dark secret and the suspense comes as much from waiting to see how it will be revealed as from its nature: I should say that this book isn't really crime in the "whodunnit" sense. There is crime in it, but while there's a bit of teasing, there's never really any doubt about the perpetrator and even less business over detection. Rather the strength of this book is in the build up, and it is really a character study of those involved - and a study of how they (I'm being a bit cagey what I say here, to prevent spoilers, such as they may be) unravel afterwards over time: of the effect of the crime on the guilty.
The Paper Cell is good on the social hierarchies in the publishing firm and in 50s London: the slightly desperate outsider trying to find their way, the boarding house, the heroic drinking sessions and forbidden passions. Not new ground by any means, but very well done.
Throughout, there's a bit of a sense of distance to Lewis.
1953 Lewis doesn't seem to initiate much. Through most of the story things happen to him and he takes advantage or suffers, his emotions always a bit ahead or behind what's happening. Even in a group he's alone. Not a sympathetic man but perhaps one who attracts sympathy. When events are made clear, his stance becomes, maybe, more understandable. In a sense, as an author, he's a thief, something of a hollow man, trying on styles and friendships for size both in his writing and his life.
1998 Lewis is a slightly different fish but to say more about that would risk giving too much away.
It's a well told story, the 50s atmosphere done well (perhaps with one or two slips: to me, 'What does that even mean?' is a very 2000s expression) and evoking those characters well in what is, as I said, a very short book (at least by the standards of modern crime).
A good debut for both Contraband Pocket Crime and for Hutcheson - I hope to see more from both soon.
February 14, 2020
Like another reader here, I hadn't heard of this book and only bought it because I saw it in a sale and it was such a lovely looking small hardback. And I have to say I was really pleasantly surprised. Very well written, with some well drawn characterisation, this was a riveting tale of love, lust, literature and death that might be a little slow for some folk but which I thought moved along nicely at its own pace. Definitely four plus stars x
June 14, 2017
A less than satisfactory star rating for this one, because as much as I loved the setting, and the evocation of time and place, I kept feeling that I was watching the players on stage at all times. Would have made a great drama script, but engaged me less as a work of crime fiction. Beautifully packaged though in a bijou hardback...
March 12, 2019
This is more accurately a 3.5 star rating for me.
There are really enjoyable moments, with interesting character development and shifts between time and setting. However, there was never a true point of conflict and resolution for me. In many ways it's a subversive murder mystery, perhaps it's the blurb that misleads but ultimately it didn't quite meet my expectations.
There are really enjoyable moments, with interesting character development and shifts between time and setting. However, there was never a true point of conflict and resolution for me. In many ways it's a subversive murder mystery, perhaps it's the blurb that misleads but ultimately it didn't quite meet my expectations.
March 5, 2018
I enjoyed this book. Although I picked it up because it looked like a murder mystery, I was pleasantly surprised. The story was well told and kept me interested throughout. Considering that it’s only 120 pages long, it was well thought out and excellently told. Not what I expected at all.
March 3, 2018
Not quite what I was expecting, having heard the author speak about it recently. But that made it a bit more of an intriguing read.
March 25, 2018
Not at all what I was expecting, will be very interested in this author’s next book.
March 9, 2020
This was probably a 3.5 for me. I didn't go in to it expecting much and I almost put it down in the first few pages. However, it did get better and i ended up being pleasantly surprised by it!
March 24, 2024
Mum would love this. The writing was wonderful. The love story was beautiful, if not doomed and the mystery, although not so mysterious, was fun. The main character was so robust and easy to connect with. Though he was not a nice person he was easy to understand.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews