The literary debut of one of rock's most critically acclaimed singer/songwriters. For 25 years Graham Parker has rocked our world, releasing more than 20 albums, including the fabled Squeezing Out Sparks, considered to be one of the great rock and roll albums of all time. Now Graham stakes his claim in the literary world with Carp Fishing on Valium. Carp Fishing on Valium is the story of one Brian Porker, our Everyman if you will, told in a kaleidoscopic series of episodes from Brian's life: from a nature-loving lad who collects bird eggs to a wannabe musician enduring distasteful jobs; from a husband with a different kind of relationship problem to a high-living rock singer auditioning as the replacement for the "newly deceased" Mick Jagger; and from a homeowner negotiating with country workmen to his final guise as an ornithologist-comedian (yes, you read that right). Witty, absurd, keenly insightful and full of a wistfulness for what once was and what might have been, Carp Fishing on Valium establishes Graham Parker on the literary scene in the same wickedly incisive way he turned rock on its ear.

Carp Fishing on Valium and Other Tales of the Stranger Road Traveled

Literature & Fiction

Parker, Graham

United States

St.Martin's Press

The literary debut of one of rock's most critically acclaimed singer/songwriters.
For 25 years Graham Parker has rocked our world, releasing more than 20 albums, including the fabled Squeezing Out Sparks, considered to be one of the great rock and roll albums of all time. Now Graham stakes his claim in the literary world with Carp Fishing on Valium.
Carp Fishing on Valium is the story of one Brian Porker, our Everyman if you will, told in a kaleidoscopic series of episodes from Brian's life: from a nature-loving lad who collects bird eggs to a wannabe musician enduring distasteful jobs; from a husband with a different kind of relationship problem to a high-living rock singer auditioning as the replacement for the "newly deceased" Mick Jagger; and from a homeowner negotiating with country workmen to his final guise as an ornithologist-comedian (yes, you read that right).
Witty, absurd, keenly insightful and full of a wistfulness for what once was and what might have been, Carp Fishing on Valium establishes Graham Parker on the literary scene in the same wickedly incisive way he turned rock on its ear.

Carp Fishing on Valium

St. Martin's: Griffin

The great trouser mystery

Humor & Entertainment

illustrated by Willy Smax

Humor

Stiff Records Book[s]

CARP FISHING ON VALIUM

Contemporary

Scribner

Gay London

Travel

Europe

Metro_Books

Garden gnomes mysteriously vanish from suburban lawns... a momentous force enters a 13-year-old boy from the third rail of a train line and gives him powers that he uses to harass a local fishwife... Mick Jagger is killed when a bus runs over him and the most unlikely of prospects is interviewed for his replacement. These are just a few of the predicaments in this eccentric collection of tales, placed in the “desolate southern suburbs” of England as well as Morocco, New York, and Cleveland, all featuring the Zelig-like protagonist Brian Porker. First published by St Martin’s Press in 2000, this new edition of Carp Fishing on Valium by rocker Graham Parker now includes “Kernley Days,” an interconnected trilogy of previously unpublished stories. “a splendid literary debut.... Gruesome and laconic in the tradition of Roald Dahl, Parker’s shorts are equal parts wit, invention and sweet cruelty.” -- Publishers Weekly “A book you should read... a rollicking chronicle of one man’s journey from struggling musician to irascible rock’ n’ roll star...”  — Esquire

Carp Fishing on Valium: stories by Graham Parker

Humor & Satire

Tangible Press

Some might call Brian Parker's musical career washed up. As the acid-tongued front man for the Soulbilly Shakers, a 1970s one-hit-wonder, he penned the hit single "Knee Trembler," a sweet little ditty about having sex while standing up. But sales for his newest record are miniscule and his concert crowds have been steadily dwindling. This being said, it's not hard to figure out why Brian is angry with just about every person who has the misfortune of drawing his attention. The brunt of most of his vitriol is his manager, Tarquin Steed, who in an attempt to broaden his client's fan base, has just signed Brian up for consecutive tours of the nether regions of Scandinavia, Tasmania, and the Arctic Circle. Just when Brian thinks things can't get any worse, he has separate encounters with a group of cultists who believe him to be their prophet reincarnate, a rare marsupial dog, and a group of Nordic cryptozoologists who will do anything to get their hands on the beast! But then again, who said the life of a rock star would be uneventful?

The Other Life of Brian

Thunder's Mouth Press

The Thylacine's Lair

The fascinating back stage world of a very nearly famous rock star, Brian Porker, as hebumps and seethes his way along on an international tour that includes the Down Under,the Up Above, and several points in between. The characters that populate Brian Porker’sworld resonate with personalities so oddly different from one another…An ex-magistratecrazed manager who books tours to far flung venues, a tour manager with connections,the long-legged roadie who seems to know everyone at every tour stop, the StewardessFrom Hell, and an electronics nerd who wires guitars so they will sound great at sub-zerotemperature…All working toward a goal: Brian Porker’s world tour. A tour fraught withstress, sea eagles, suspicion, poison dart frogs, anger, lizards, antediluvian flash-backs,and Vodka Icebergs.

Graham Parker reviews all of London¹s gay social clubs, political organizations, health services, restaurants, and night spots, ensuring that gay men and women will enjoy their visit to the capital. With maps and travel directions to all the key areas of interest, this is an essential guide to the city¹s gay scene.

Gay & Lesbian London

Metro Pub Ltd

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