COMPRESSION

Tim Cundle (Earth Island)

Compression, the debut novel by Welsh author Tim Cundle, was originally going to be released in the mid-2000s, but the publisher died. Then it was due to be released a second time by another publisher, whose business went under. So, Earth Island might be worried about this “cursed” book they’ve released. They needn’t be. It’s a story of the small-town boy who makes it big in the world of punk rock, only to come home years later to be confronted by the demons of what he left behind. Cundle, himself part of south Wales’ punk scene for almost 35 years, draws from his experience to great effect in the book, lending an autobiographical feel to this quasi-true crime novel. Laced with dark humour as well as brutal trauma, this tale leaves you asking whether we can ever really escape our past. CA

Price: £7.99. Info: www.earthislandbooks.co.uk