Memoirs of a Master Forger [Hardcover]

W Heaney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2008

William is a dissolute book-forger. A talented writer in his own right he would rather scribble poems anonymously for an asian friend (who is becoming increasingly successful as a result), and create forgeries of Jane Austen first editions to sell to gullible collectors. He's not all bad. The money from the forgeries goes straight to homeless hostel and William's crimes don't really hurt anyone. And there are reasons William hasn't amounted to more. He did something he was ashamed of when he was a student, he drinks far too much and he can't commit to any relationships. Oh and he sees demons. Shadowy figures at the shoulder of everyone around him (except the woman who runs the hostel, she remains untouched), waiting for a moment's weakness. Or is just that William can see the suffering of the world? And then an extraordinary woman, who may just be able to save him from the world's suffering, walks into his life. This is William's own story. But who can believe a master forger?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Moody, poetic, sometimes angry, this is a beautifully written portrait of guilt, forgiveness, and the people who fall between the cracks. Intelligent and well crafted." -- Saxon Bullock SFX "This is an intriguing novel, and great fun." THE TIMES "Memoirs of a Master Forger is a morality tale about the angels of redemption and demons of suffering that inhabit a London whose contours were mapped more than two centuries ago by William Blake. Like Blake Heaney's London is a phantasmagoria of feigning and reality located along the embankments of the Thames and in its historic pubs. The tone is world-weary, cynical, compassionate, wry, always superficial." -- Kathryn Sutherland TLS "The novel is an ultimately unplifting feat of storytelling which grips the reader to the very last page. A sophisticated horror-fantasy." -- Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN "Warm, exuberant and very funny, full of both justified anger and determined optimism." -- Mat Coward MORNING STAR "He's engaging company is Heaney: amusing, urbane, perhaps verging on the pub bore. I had fun with Master forger." -- Paul Marland DEATHRAY

About the Author

William Heaney lost his twin brother at birth, an event which he says shaped him. Born and brought up in London he claims to have studied at Oxford, after which he played bass guitar in a rock band touring Germany and the Far East. The band had some success in Japan but broke up after three years on the road and a bad experience in Osaka. He then spent several years working for a project with homeless people in London. He lives in London but escapes at week-ends to a Leicestershire cottage with his girlfriend, who is a successful concert pianist. His two daughters from his previous marriage are currently at university "wasting their time" he says. Now working for a government agency, he is a discount wine connoisseur who doesnt like to make recommendations for fear that others might deplete his favourite stock. Inherently shy, he is unwilling to talk about the evil rock and roll years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz (October 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575082976
• ISBN-13: 978-0575082977
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,445,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars William Heaney = Graham Joyce, April 2, 2009

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Memoirs of a Master Forger (Hardcover)

I had high hopes for this, based on reviews. Those hopes were met-- at least they were sort of met. The great part about the book is that it has so many interesting ideas and angles that I spent many pages marveling at the coolness. The less great part about the book is that it has so many interesting ideas and angles that a number of them felt undeveloped and kind of thrown away.

So much to like-- Heaney's career as a master forger and how that works is great. I wanted more of that. I liked how he developed his demons-- always a little bit open whether they really existed or not. This is speculative fiction on the edge, more a landscape of the mind than horror. The subtlety and restraint is really well done.

There's so much that's nice here that I feel guilty about not loving it more wholeheartedly. It somehow just never knit together for me in a way that I wanted it to do. I'd still recommend it, perhaps just not quite as strongly.

(This was published in the UK under the name of William Heaney, the main character of the book and ostensible author of the memoirs. But it's really Graham Joyce.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The demon of enticement..., October 14, 2009

By 

F. Labutte "angellus" (Johannesburg, South Africa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Memoirs of a Master Forger (Hardcover)

'Memoirs of a Master Forger' grabs you from the blurb and pulls you into a story full of expectation.

William Heaney (Graham Joyce) writes a recount of his life in coming to terms with his demons and as these demons mostly stay just out of eyeshot the story captivates the reader in wanting to read more but not quite feeling satisfied.

Very well written with flashbacks being woven in successfully albeit tantalisingly fragmented. The book does a good job in wanting the reader to want more and I must admit that although not being too excited by this book I am keen to read more about William Heaney and his demons.

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll get caught up in it!, April 15, 2011

By 

Danel P. Olson - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Memoirs of a Master Forger (Hardcover)

Graham Joyce (William Heaney) has a rich, funny, superstitous, sexy, absurdist account of longing, mistakes, sacrifice, and of attempted redemption that should involve and stir most readers. The first book of Joyce's I read was _The Facts of Life_, and I must say his fiction only continues to delight and engage me.