Overview

'Sometimes I wonder, if I had known that it was going to take me fourteen years to paint this painting of the Crucifixion with Douglas as Jesus, and what it would take for me to paint this painting, would I have been as happy as I was then?' Susan Alison MacLeod, a Glasgow School of Art graduate with a dark sense of humour, first lays eyes on Douglas MacDougal at a party in 1988, and resolves to put him on the cross in the Crucifixion painting she's been sketching out, but her desire to create 'good' art and a powerful, beautiful portrayal means that a final painting doesn't see the light of day for fourteen years. Over the same years, Douglas's ever-more elaborately designed urine-based installations bring him increasing fame, prizes and commissions, while his modelling for Susan Alison, who continues to work pain and suffering on to the canvas, takes place mostly in the shadows. This Good Book is a wickedly funny, brilliantly observed novel that spins the moral compass and plays with notions of creating art.

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9781913724191

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Reviews

'Nineteen-eighties Glasgow is evoked well… [and] the realisation of where the duo’s commitment to their art is taking them is genuinely chilling. Hood’s debut has a dark, compelling urgency.' (Alastair Mabbott, The Herald) 'The work of a true poet, this book is as dark and psychotic as it is beautiful and delicate… No book has ever reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Gray quite like this…' (Amelia Bashford, The Publishing Post) 'Highly original, darkly funny… a compulsive read.' (Leigh Chambers) 'This Good Book works as a commentary on the ‘art is life, life is art’ idea… it’s also funny and has an offbeat writing style, which utilises Scottish dialect. Whether one is into religion or not, This Good Book’s innovative use of art is definitely worth a read.' (Robert Pisani) 'A novel about Glasgow, about art, and about obsession. This Good Book will have you gripped from the opening chapter to its disturbing conclusion. Iain Hood is an original new voice in Scottish fiction.' (Colette Paul)

'Nineteen-eighties Glasgow is evoked well... [and] the realisation of where the duo's commitment to their art is taking them is genuinely chilling. Hood's debut has a dark, compelling urgency.' (Alastair Mabbott, The Herald) 'The work of a true poet, this book is as dark and psychotic as it is beautiful and delicate... No book has ever reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Gray quite like this...' (Amelia Bashford, The Publishing Post) 'Highly original, darkly funny... a compulsive read.' (Leigh Chambers) 'This Good Book works as a commentary on the 'art is life, life is art' idea... it's also funny and has an offbeat writing style, which utilises Scottish dialect. Whether one is into religion or not, This Good Book's innovative use of art is definitely worth a read.' (Robert Pisani) 'A novel about Glasgow, about art, and about obsession. This Good Book will have you gripped from the opening chapter to its disturbing conclusion. Iain Hood is an original new voice in Scottish fiction.' (Colette Paul)

Author Information

Iain Hood was born in Glasgow and grew up in the seaside town of Ayr. He attended the University of Glasgow and Jordanhill College, and later worked in education in Glasgow and the west country. He attended the University of Manchester after moving to Cambridge, where he continues to live with his wife and daughter. His first novel, This Good Book, was published in 2021, followed by Every Trick in the Book in 2022 and My Book of Revelations in 2023.

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