Compression

Sure, it’s a little cheesy and it’s a little crass, a profile for a book that is, but so is the internet, where porno and consumerism rule the roost, and you’re never more than a click away from the next big thing or a picture of another drunk celebrity in the middle of a mental meltdown sans underwear.
Anyway…’Compression’ features something for everyone – murder, drug abuse, sex, betrayal and punk rock. It’s an all rounder, a coffee book for the disenfranchised and it’s perfect for those wet afternoons when you’re sitting around blasting The Lunachicks on the stereo. It’s the debut novel by Tim Cundle, editor of Mass Movement (www.myspace.com/massmovement and www.massmovement.co.uk ), has an introduction by that thoroughly nice chap Matt Davies the singing dude with both Funeral For A Friend and The Secret Show and has been published by the amazing folks at Open Book Press (www.openbookpress.com)
Here’s the official blurb about ‘Compression’ from Open Book Press
"In one furious, brutal split second the lives of Michael Flanagan and his high school friends are changed forever. The event leaves Michael's friend Elliot guilty of an unspeakable crime, and Michael and his friends all accomplices. In that split second Elliot shows his true colors and makes a pact that will pull the strings of all of his friends for the rest of their lives, no matter how far they become or where life takes them. Ten years later Michael and Elliot are punk rock celebrities. Michael, now simply known as "Flanagan" must face his demons as the duo return to their home town for their high school reunion and he confronts his former friends"

And you can pick it up from amazon.co.uk by just clicking the link below , or from amazon.com, from Borders (www.bordersstores.com) or you can order it from any book shop by going on in there and giving them the ISBN Number (which just happens to be 1-897290-21-7).
Compression: A Novel of Sex, Drugs, Punk Rock and Dark Hidden Secrets ..
Want to know more? Check out the reviews below…
Though many people have tried to record the definitive punk rock record, and even film, relatively fewer attempts have been made to write the Great Punk Rock Novel. Which is all the better for Tim Cundle, as he has had a go. And a bloody good go it is. Compression tells the story of Flanagan, a man who, having cracked the music biz with the punk band he started while at school, returns to his old school reunion in the small town he grew up in. However, returning to his old stamping ground brings back a lot of memories, many of them disturbing, and some pertaining to his part in the death of a homeless man. Things get really complicated when it transpires that the police investigation has just re-opened… Cundle’s long stint as both zine journalist and punk musician has informed the novel in a way the outsider could never achieve, and his prose is deliciously descriptive and compulsive. My one reservation is that it could really have done with being twice as long, but I hope he’s saving it up for the next novel. Buy a copy for everyone you know, they make great Christmas presents and are a right cracking read - nice one Mr C! Keith Thomas, Subba-Culture (www.subba-culture.com)

There have been innumerable attempts to write the definitive punk rock record, and a fair number to sum up the spirit of punk ..uloid. Far fewer attempts, however, have been made to sum up the spirit of the punk movement in a fictional novel. Tim Cundle, editor of underground punk fanzine Mass Movement and veteran of numerous punk and hardcore bands, has thrown his hat into the ring to do just this with his debut novel Compression. It tells the tale of Flanagan, who having forged a successful music career in the US with the band he started with his mates as a teenager, returns to his hometown for his high school reunion. The familiar surroundings bring back some long-suppressed memories surrounding his involvement in the death of a homeless man as a teenager. His return coincides with the re-opening of the police investigation into the incident and. well, if I say any more I'll ruin it for you! Originally self-published (under the nom de plume Martin Crisis), the fact that Compression has been picked up by a commercial publishers demonstrates it's quality. Immensely readable, with authentic characterizations informed by Cundle's background in the scene, it is a compelling read. It is somewhat on the short side, and could perhaps have been improved somewhat with a little more fleshing out, but then that could have detracted from it's impact. The Ramones never wrote any fifteen minute epics, after all. Compression is a riveting and original read, just the right size to fit into a Christmas stocking for the be-mohawked one in your life. As for Cundle, I await his next work with great interest. Good stuff! Eddie Thomas, Caught In The Crossfire webzine

“The debut from writer Tim Cundle has been released by independent publisher, Open Book Press ‘ cos it would be a tragedy if this book was left to rot on the shelves of a big time publisher while they figured out how to market it to Guardian readers. Author Cundle probably wouldn’t want them touching his book anyway, y’see Compression is built around punk music and it’s author has a passion for it that stretches way beyond name checking Black Flag within the novels pages. The book begins with it’s hero Flanagan returning to the seaside dump of his youth for a school reunion. Having escaped the town to become a famous punk rocker with a major label deal and a home in the States, it becomes obvious that the singer is returning for more than a chance to see old school chums. Witnessing the murder of a mentally disturbed man haunts him and Flanagan returns to seek redemption after drugs and music have failed him only to find that the murder case has been reopened. With excellent characterization and a rawness that’s hard to find in the bookshelves of WH.Smiths, Compression raises questions about the power of music to change one’s life, the validity of being ‘punk’ in the new millenium and what it means to be truly honest with oneself. Fully recommended” Big Cheese Magazine.

“The debut novel from Tim Cundle, Compression, is the story of Michael Flanagan, A successful. Contemporary British punk musician (okay, this is a novel) whose past – and present – hides many secrets, some murkier than others. The story unfolds over the space of 24 hours, with more and more being gradually revealed, as Flanagan seeks redemption, and eventual freedom, from the long carried burdens of his youth. Although the ‘action’ starts less than promisingly with the long, rain-sodden tedium of a motorway journey, things soon pick, and the reader really starts to care about Flanagan’s fate. Mr.Cundle has a definite way with words and this is a promising debut. I’d recommend you seek this out” Virginia Black, Rock Sound Magazine

“Tim Cundle, is one pissed-off individual. His hatred for himself and everyone around him is smeared across every page of his debut novel like so much blood and shit. ‘Compression’ is a high-octane mixture of autobiography, wish fulfillment and twisted fantasy; the sordid tale of a punk rockstar returning to his home town for his school reunion, to confront a dark secret from his past that he has struggled to keep buried ever since he left there in the first place. Several painful home truths have to be exhumed and dealt with en route; not least of all the fact that he is in love with the wrong woman – and that for most of his adult life he has been living a lie! This has been written with tremendous feeling, and the anger of the author reaches out to grab the reader by the throat and doesn’t let go. And as someone who refused to attend my own school reunion – mainly out of disinterest than to make any concerted point to anyone – I can certainly relate to the frustrations of the book’s nihilistic anti-hero. Worth checking out”. Ian Glasper, Terrorizer Magazine
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