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Article: Books: Cold Water: Awash with pure talent
- Article from:
- The Scotsman
- Article date:
- May 18, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2002 The Scotsman. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Cold Water by Gwendoline Riley Jonathan Cape, GBP 10
THE central character and, in terms of the reader's regard and
affection, the heroine of Gwendoline Riley's beautiful debut novel,
Cold Water, is Carmel McKisco, working as a waitress in a cocktail
bar while she waits for something - life, love, a trip to Cornwall -
to give her some sense of direction.
Carmel is one of the most likeable characters in recent fiction:
intelligent, self-aware, self-questioning, she tries to live with
some kind of integrity in a world that values integrity at nil.
Prone to anger and impulsiveness, she guides herself with "life
rules": "lose your temper and lose the fight", "it's not good to be
the last ...