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Dangerous Parking
'The screaming ambulance slows down a fraction as it hits the junction of parkway and Camden High Street. It feels as if my bladder is in my head, and any minute now it will explode, and blast piss and blood at a million-foot-pounds pressure out of my coke-scarred nostrils.' Noah Arkwright has experienced too much. A filmmaker and now a dry alcoholic, he's lived life to the full - sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll his relentless backdrop - but now the stakes are even higher. In his struggle to survive, Noah's cancer forces him to evaluate his chequered past life, and as a picture builds of a brave and incredibly foolish man, gradually it becomes clear that he's a modern-day hero of truly epic proportions.
403 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 11, 2021
This is a novel/autobiography of an alcoholic life ,which is wild and sometimes wonderful and then he sickens with cancer and has to find a way to get sober and deal with this all.kind of a brutal book for me reading of hearing about medical things is very hard -this is graphic and upclose and frightening.That said i found it hard to stop reading since you go along for this mad ride willing or not. It goes from Connecticut toNew York to London to Africa to Cyprus and back to London.hang on tight its a brave tale-
June 27, 2010
A great book made even more poignant by it's autobiographical or at least personal experience. I wonder whether it would have felt this genuine written by someone else or earlier in his life. Was gutted to find this was his first and last novel.
February 9, 2025
I think I ‘got’ the overall aim of the book, but in parts it felt slightly clunky and I wasn’t always a fan of the formatting. However it was entertaining and funny. Clare was a right bitch though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2015
I was close to giving this a 4, even a 5 at one point, but by the end of the book it had sunk to a 3. It is about a film director with a drink and drugs problem with cancer. For me it went downhill when he was set up with Clare, the talented violinist as she continued the general theme that all women mentioned in the book automatically fell in love with our alchi friend. And what on earth was that stuff with the monkeys? The cancer aspect to the book was fairly horrific, I wouldn't say a good read exactly, but eye opening. I did enjoy the book though, it had a lot going for it too, but a firm 3 stars.
April 11, 2024
I love this book and have read it a few times - it will make you laugh and it will make you cry (especially as it's published posthumously)
It's about the life of a film maker, who has a very debauched lifestyle, about him finding the love of his life, going through rehab, and dealing with cancer.
it's sounds like an awful read, but it really isn't - give it a try!
It's about the life of a film maker, who has a very debauched lifestyle, about him finding the love of his life, going through rehab, and dealing with cancer.
it's sounds like an awful read, but it really isn't - give it a try!
May 29, 2012
The best British book i have ever read, aside from Zadie Smith's White Teeth!!!! The main character and commentator of the story is the most likable rogue you will ever encounter, but he is wonderfully anti-establishment, and this book is wonderful!!!!
Read
November 2, 2021too raw and continuously using low, hard to grip concepts which bring nothing much to the story. Unusual theme though and very honest.
January 17, 2015
Buy one get one free offers are quite possibly the greatest invention shops have given us. For all of us, it’s a chance to get something for nothing. But for the brave, it’s a world of opportunity. After all, if you already have one thing you’d really like in your hand, something you’d willingly pay the full price for anyway and they’re offering you something else, you’re getting it for nothing. So you have nothing to lose. It was this latter attitude that put Stuart Browne’s “Dangerous Parking” in my hand. Having chosen a book I knew I’d like, I could afford to take a chance on my other purchase and I had little to lose.
Noah Arkwright, unfortunately, does have something to lose. His life. Of course, we all have a life to lose, but for Noah it looks likely to happen sooner rather than later. Noah, you see, has cancer of the bladder. He’s beaten it into remission a couple of times already, but on each occasion the cancer has done nothing more than pause to get its breath back and return for another try, stronger than before. That’s not all, either. Noah has spent part of his adult life hooked on hard drugs and is also a recovering alcoholic. He might have escaped a small town background to become a famous and successful film maker, but he hasn’t escaped his demons.
Although the story is set in the present, it largely concentrates on the important parts of Noah’s past life. At the time of much of the story, he’s very ill, and frequently passing in and out of consciousness. It is during the periods where he’s drifted out of the present time that the past comes to the front of his mind. Mostly, this concentrates on the times he’s been happiest, of life with his wife and children, but there are plenty of other times – his rehab from drink and drugs and his earlier battles with cancer also feature quite heavily.
The plot makes the book sound a lot more depressing than it actually is. There are plenty of dark moments, as you might expect from someone suffering from a potentially fatal illness. But Noah manages to retain what he calls his “sense of tumour” throughout everything and there are some light hearted moments dotted around here and there. Noah seems to be able to look back on his life, even the toughest parts, with a wry smile, as if mocking himself for the idiot he’s been over the years. The belly laughs are fewer, but some still sneak in.
Strangely for something with such a depressing subject, it’s a very easy read. It’s written with a light touch that keeps the pages turning. It may be a difficult subject to approach, but it’s by no means a difficult read – there’s no real technical terms regarding either the illness or the film-making Noah has as a career and there’s a distinct lack of long and unusual words. What also helps is that there’s very little wasted story. The only parts of the life that are recounted are the ones that are required. And, as with any of us, it’s the significant parts of a life that spring most readily to mind, particularly when, as in Noah’s case, they are recounted during periods of unconsciousness.
The characters are beautifully formed, with none of them really seeming unreal. Which, given some of the strange situations they’ve been encountered in, largely thanks to Noah’s career and drug addictions, is impressive indeed. But no-one in reality is perfect and so no-one in “Dangerous Parking” is either. So much of modern literature seems airbrushed, failing to reflect the negative sides of either life or the people in it. “Dangerous Parking” recognises this and ensures it is left out. As strange as it seems to describe a book concerned with such dark subjects as cancer and addiction in this way, it’s actually quite refreshing.
If there are concerns about the novel, it would be that it does jump around in the time frame a little. Although this is understandable, given that’s the story line is almost following a stream of (un)consciousness, it can get a little confusing at times. The subject is a little darker than some people might like, and the language a little more colourful. If you object to swearing, I’d advise you to avoid “Dangerous Parking”. The bad language used does add to the basic reality of the novel, but there is rather a lot of it.
Essentially, “Dangerous Parking” is a trip through a man’s memories as he sees his end approaching. There is always a danger than something like this could be self-indulgent, especially as you can see where the novel may well be auto-biographical in many parts. However, it manages to stay away from those traps and instead proves to be a light-hearted, quite sweet novel and the journey, despite where it leads, is one you’re happy to share.
If you’ve had enough of stories where everything is wonderful and everyone is perfect, then this will make a welcome change. The novel this reminds me closest of is Tawni O’Dell’s “Back Roads”, as the characters aren’t have the best of times, but it’s a beautifully told story and doesn’t drown in pessimism. this is a read you can lose yourself in and become wrapped up in.
This review may also appear under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
Noah Arkwright, unfortunately, does have something to lose. His life. Of course, we all have a life to lose, but for Noah it looks likely to happen sooner rather than later. Noah, you see, has cancer of the bladder. He’s beaten it into remission a couple of times already, but on each occasion the cancer has done nothing more than pause to get its breath back and return for another try, stronger than before. That’s not all, either. Noah has spent part of his adult life hooked on hard drugs and is also a recovering alcoholic. He might have escaped a small town background to become a famous and successful film maker, but he hasn’t escaped his demons.
Although the story is set in the present, it largely concentrates on the important parts of Noah’s past life. At the time of much of the story, he’s very ill, and frequently passing in and out of consciousness. It is during the periods where he’s drifted out of the present time that the past comes to the front of his mind. Mostly, this concentrates on the times he’s been happiest, of life with his wife and children, but there are plenty of other times – his rehab from drink and drugs and his earlier battles with cancer also feature quite heavily.
The plot makes the book sound a lot more depressing than it actually is. There are plenty of dark moments, as you might expect from someone suffering from a potentially fatal illness. But Noah manages to retain what he calls his “sense of tumour” throughout everything and there are some light hearted moments dotted around here and there. Noah seems to be able to look back on his life, even the toughest parts, with a wry smile, as if mocking himself for the idiot he’s been over the years. The belly laughs are fewer, but some still sneak in.
Strangely for something with such a depressing subject, it’s a very easy read. It’s written with a light touch that keeps the pages turning. It may be a difficult subject to approach, but it’s by no means a difficult read – there’s no real technical terms regarding either the illness or the film-making Noah has as a career and there’s a distinct lack of long and unusual words. What also helps is that there’s very little wasted story. The only parts of the life that are recounted are the ones that are required. And, as with any of us, it’s the significant parts of a life that spring most readily to mind, particularly when, as in Noah’s case, they are recounted during periods of unconsciousness.
The characters are beautifully formed, with none of them really seeming unreal. Which, given some of the strange situations they’ve been encountered in, largely thanks to Noah’s career and drug addictions, is impressive indeed. But no-one in reality is perfect and so no-one in “Dangerous Parking” is either. So much of modern literature seems airbrushed, failing to reflect the negative sides of either life or the people in it. “Dangerous Parking” recognises this and ensures it is left out. As strange as it seems to describe a book concerned with such dark subjects as cancer and addiction in this way, it’s actually quite refreshing.
If there are concerns about the novel, it would be that it does jump around in the time frame a little. Although this is understandable, given that’s the story line is almost following a stream of (un)consciousness, it can get a little confusing at times. The subject is a little darker than some people might like, and the language a little more colourful. If you object to swearing, I’d advise you to avoid “Dangerous Parking”. The bad language used does add to the basic reality of the novel, but there is rather a lot of it.
Essentially, “Dangerous Parking” is a trip through a man’s memories as he sees his end approaching. There is always a danger than something like this could be self-indulgent, especially as you can see where the novel may well be auto-biographical in many parts. However, it manages to stay away from those traps and instead proves to be a light-hearted, quite sweet novel and the journey, despite where it leads, is one you’re happy to share.
If you’ve had enough of stories where everything is wonderful and everyone is perfect, then this will make a welcome change. The novel this reminds me closest of is Tawni O’Dell’s “Back Roads”, as the characters aren’t have the best of times, but it’s a beautifully told story and doesn’t drown in pessimism. this is a read you can lose yourself in and become wrapped up in.
This review may also appear under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
May 4, 2015
However much this book reflects the experiences of the author (drugs, alcohol, lover, father, cancer) it's not a memoir and it is a novel. The book contains a lot of other experiences too that he didn't live through, and I am sure with the right impetus he could have written the book without actually living any of it. It's really well written and has great pace and conducts the reader smoothly through a pretty complicated time and space structure. All the characters became real for me and the book kept me engaged and entertained.
April 8, 2019
I can't believe how underrated this book is, based on the number of reviews i see here on goodreads and on Amazon. Seriously, this book is so good, from the writing, the storyline, to the main character... I cannot recommend it enough! The story follows a man who has been through the whole sex drugs and rock-n-roll thing in his younger years as a promising director. When health disaster strikes, he is forced to reevaluate and look back reflecting on everything he has done and how it affected his life. Very, very good book! A very emotional, funny (dark humour mostly), gripping story.
January 25, 2011
Fantastic. I bought this book on the strength of a single sentence on the cover...'The strongest British novel since Trainspotting', and it wasn't wrong! Browne takes the reader on an adventure built by the memories of a cancer patient who has lived to excess and is now paying the price. The characters are believable and the protagonist is exasperating but remarkable.
February 6, 2013
This remains my all time favourite book. I found Browne purely by accident and loved every minute of it. I couldn't wait for his next Novel and then I read the last page. Gutted! A truly remarkable writer, a genius lost forever.
August 12, 2011
Fantastic book
July 1, 2012
Funny at thispoints - developed all the symptoms of bladder cancer while reading
February 23, 2012
It was an Airport purchase but I really enjoyed it!
November 26, 2012
One of those books I read years ago that I just remembered and had to give 5 stars to because I think it about it so frequently.
June 18, 2014
A favourite book of the time, read it 10 years ago and was possibly just in the perfect frame of mind to have 'got' it and loved it. Due a re-read.
June 24, 2013
LOVE this book. And such a sad story behind it.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews