The cover has "The funniest novel in decades - GQ" emblazoned on the cover, which over-promises. It's mildly amusing, the humour coming from the perceptions and misperceptions of the protagonist Ray Midge. He's very well characterized, and while fussy is still sympathetic: his basic good nature shows in the way he doesn't judge others harshly: soberly reporting their bizarre eccentricities.

However, didn't enjoy it as much as True Grit. His situation isn't as intense and he's not as seemingly vulnerable, so it seems less dramatic.

It seems to have rave reviews, so possibly you have to be American to really get the humour. There may well be subtle social observations I'm not getting.

Overall, a pretty good read.

What I'm Watching
Saw the much acclaimed French prison/gangster movie A Prophet at the cinema. A young man imprisoned for the first time gets more and more involved in the underworld.

Very good film. It's intense and claustrophobic, with a very gritty feel: much less romanticized than Mesrine. Found some scenes hard to watch: very brutal and bloody. Even though it's two and half hours long, there's plenty of plot development so it still feels taught.

Definitely one to watch.

Computer problems
Yet more computer woes with the dire Dell XPS420. It's out of warranty now as well.

This time it just doesn't boot at all. The power light comes on, and the fan whirs at its maximum setting, but the monitor never activates at all. Most of the time the keyboard never lights up. Occasionally though all the keyboard lights come on and stay on.

Problem started after I put it in sleep mode, and did some vacuuming (from a socket across the room). Could be some kind of power surge fried something, or just a coincidence.

Any ideas?

Could take it back to the repair shop where they might fix it for a fee. Have had so many problems with it though, I'm tempted to just buy a new machine and see if I can rescue data from the drives.