Interior monologue

     Here is a very original novel which wryly satirises the pretentious aspects of the interior design world, and sharply describes our ability to take ourselves too seriously and to fail to see ourselves as others see us - ouch!
    The narrator of Matthew Reynolds' Designs for a Happy Home is Alizia Tame (imagine an acute accent over the 'e', and remember as we go on that her given name was actually accentless Alice Tame). Alizia is rising star of the fabulously successful, world-renowned design practice IntArchitec. It was her vision that was behind Cornwall's famous Dawson House, a converted lifeboat station in which the sofas run on tracks across the living space as the boat formerly ran down to launch. She lives the concept of Design with a capital 'D' but also developed Home-is-Harmony, "a brand that was Feeling-Focused, a little bit Humorous, comparatively Inexpensive; and that very much put People First". Do you 'get' Alizia now?
      The harmonious home of Alizia, her husband Jem - a postmodern potter, and their daughter Poppy is a Space she has Designed for Life. The trouble is that Life has a habit of changing, and the reader can see what is coming long before Alizia does. So much for the Spiritual Landscape sofa, the Wirkkala coffee table suspended from the ceiling and the famous Hallway Bridge when the world turns upside down.
     Sad, funny, a clever conceit pushed as far as it will go (though I did have a sneaking desire to see Alizia finally espousing magnolia walls and something off the peg from DFS), but if you want to know what your chair says about you or to acquire a selection of Magic Mottoes to help you with your own Interior, here's the place to look.

Comments

[adele geras]

I love the sound of this! And I hadn't heard of it before. One to look out for, definitely!

[susan01]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Susan

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