This book is a must for anyone interested in American folksongs. It ranks right up there with the Lomax, Beldon, Hunter, and Randolph collections. It may be hard to find, and a bit pricey, but well worth the effort. I'd give it ten stars if the rating would go that high. You will enjoy this collection.
Michael Breid, a.k.a.Arkansas Red-Ozark Troubadour
Ozark Mountains, Arkansas

You may go to this book to find out about the Warner's fascinating song-collecting trips begun in western North Carolina in 1938 and lasting into the 1960s, but you'll find an amazing repertoire of songs waiting to be sung.

Tom Dooley is the song Frank Proffitt sang to the Warners long ago. The Kingston Trio heard Frank Warner sing it in the 1950s and made it their signature song. But it is only one of hundreds of songs that the world is waiting to hear.

Read the words of rural America in the voice of Lee Monroe Presnell, Yankee John Galusha or Grammy Fish. These are singers the Lomaxes would have spent a lot of tape on.

The songs themselves would be enough, but this is a book full of Anne Warner's scholarship and thoughtful treatment of her subject. Frank Warner's photographs will take you to a far off place.

The book is simply excellent

This is worth reading just for the extended interview with Alan Warner alone - one of the most interesting and revealing discussions with a novelist I've read in ages. He's incredibly forthright about his own thoughts on the novel, like this: 'I see her boyfriend as a sort of existential figure, who was well travelled. Although he came from the middle classes, I don't think he was bourgeois. He was leading something of a double life - she didn't know how much money he had and so on, I suppose it was a dishonest relationship in that sense, but I think it was happy nevertheless.' If you're into this novel at all, or the movie (which is AWESOME), then try to track down a copy of this book. Don't be put off by the ... phrase 'reader's guide' on the front cover, it's much much better than that.

Great book! really broke down the notes help me look at the art of guitar playing in a different way. I really uderstood it I would recomend it to anyone! Even a beginner could understand it. Sincerely, Pete.E.Ramirez

Not a book on opera, definitely! But a book on life, sex, questions,religion, booze and the depressing landscapes of Scotland. Definitely much different than Morvern Callar, but it stays with you just the same. The best scene has to be the one with the Yankee tourists in the toilets -not sth to show back home! All the girls are hilarious and real towards what they feel and experience - a nice change from all the misery of youngsters gone astray... An excellent handling of language and a poisonous sense of humour. An excellent read thegether (as the author himself might say....)

Wow. The girls in The Sopranos are both wild and endearing. The author handles their exploits in a masterful way -- the reader understands what they are doing is plausible, even though you wouldn't think these girls are just any Scottish girls you might meet. They are all well-rounded and satisfying characters -- and whether they're screaming obscenities in a McDonald's bathroom or prowling for men or discussing sexual topics -- you will be rooting for their success. You will nearly forget the real event which brings them to the big city, and believe they are there for no other reason than to fulfill their own desires.

This book is screaming to be made into a movie. While it doesn't read like a screenplay, the characters and events are so vivid it seems cruel to not show this story visually.

The writing takes a bit of getting used to (unless you can automatically adjust to Scottish slang and [Scottish]-phonetically spelled words), you'll find yourself reading this with a Scottish narrating voice in no time. Once you become accustomed to the language, this is quite a quick and highly enjoyable read.

This was one of the best books I have ever read. If you are not used to the dialogues and accents used, then you might want to think of someone speaking the words as you read them--it helped me a bit. It may seem confusing or fragmented the first time you read it, but it's well worth reading again, and makes more sense the second time round besides. It really is a remarkable work of fiction--like you are reading the girls' diaries or looking over their shoulders. And, I definitely agree with the reviewers who said it would make a greatr movie, but only if it is filmed verbatim as written. Hurray for Warner! For this is truly one of the best works of our era.

Being an avid reader of all Irvine Welsh novels I was intrigued by Morvern Callar (being a recommendation book from the amazon.com scottish fiction library). Heck, there is a brilliant quote from Irvine right on the cover...I thought this would be right up my alley. Unfortunately it only meandered around the alley...the abrupt start throws you headlong into Morvern's life which was a bit bizarre as it becomes glaringly obvious that this book was written by a man who doesn't quite know how to write convincingly as a girl (the reader from Maryland has it right...enough with the baths). Aside from the [small] character glitch, the story is a smooth progression of random events and as my faith in the novel begins to rise it grinds to a screeching halt and I'm left with questions which go unanswered...as if Warner was getting a bit bored and decided to call it a day.

Morvern has a crappy wee job in the supermarket which she hates, she's skint but her blokes got a bit more dosh and so when he kills himself having jist completed a novel Morvern firsts hides his body in the loft and raids his bank account and then publishes his book under her name and lives the high life off the proceeds partying on the Spanish costas. Alan Warner has with this novel produced an update on Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting; the heroin culture in Scotland's inner cities is no more the drug culture has spread to even the most rural towns of Scotland but it has changed from the destructive heroin to the free love of ecstacy. We also see the ravages of society post-thatcherism; where Trainspotting's Rent et al knew they were a subversive element in society Morvern ill- educated and with weakened family links seeks only hedonism and doesn't view herself as the destructive element in society she is. Warner has a new novel published soon and I look forward to more from him and the rest of the rebel inc.crew.

Three years ago, I wrote the following report on this book for a major film company...

When her novelist boyfriend commits suicide, a Scottish girl uses his inheritance to escape her menial existence and find fulfilment in the Spanish rave scene. At heart a coming-of-age story, this novel holds our attention by presenting us with a gruesome opening and a spunky heroine who confounds expectations by seizing her opportunity with both hands.

Like a lot of good literary fiction, the novel is character rather than plot-driven. Morvern, the heroine, is a brilliant creation, and her voice carries the novel forward. Plot takes a back seat, and the novel fizzles out towards the end, amid pages of Morvern's observations of Spanish holiday resorts. As far as film potential goes, this is a critical stumbling block. Films need to ask questions, then answer them. This novel leaves the reader pondering many unanswered questions. For example, why did Morvern's mysterious boyfriend commit suicide? Does his novel, appropriated by Morvern, contain clues about him? What was their relationship like? Finding the answers could provide a number of intriguing movie scenarios. Perhaps the boyfriend was murdered, and Morvern finds the answers in Spain. Perhaps Morvern is the killer, and the boyfriend's novel explains everything. I can see this working as a cross between Sunset Boulevard and The Last Seduction, set among Scottish ravers. But this is all my own feverish speculation.

The novel has great characters, and Morvern's quirky eye for detail is a hoot. Possibly because the author is a man writing with a woman's voice, there are a few overlong descriptions of cuticles and nail varnish. There are too many lists of different rave records, put in I suspect as a self-conscious sop to a "hip" readership. Overall however, it is an engrossing read. I particularly liked the descriptions of Scottish binge drinking, and the ghastly Club Med group activities. On a deeper level, there some great symbolic strands which run through the book.

To conclude, this is an excellent work of literary fiction, and works well on its own terms. I unreservedly recommend it as a good read. But there is no obvious film premise lurking within its pages, and though it is fun using the novel's setup as a springboard for possible movies, I don't think that justifies buying up the rights.

What a mess this is... This "darkly intoxicating brew" (The Guardian) picks up the story of young a young Scottish lass (see his debut, "Morvern Callar") as she returns from the continent. She comes to a wee little island where honeymooners stay at a weird hotel, and there's a cast of supporting bizarros. Really tough to get through and none too rewarding despite occasionally clever language at times. Warner's got talent, but try his much more accesible "The Sopranos" before trying this.

This highly praised book was extremely well-written but not as well plotted as I expected it to be. I realize the story was more surrealistic than realistic, but I feel both the Drome Hotel and the character of DJ Cormorant should have played a larger role in the story.

The characters were as twisted and demented as the story of which they are a part. I felt distanced from them but I think this is to be expected when reading a story such as this one.

I enjoyed this highly-imaginative book as a change of pace and it's obvious that Alan Warner is an innovative, original and brilliant writer. I think These Demented Lands will appeal to those who enjoy surrealistic, hallucinatory, postmodern literature. Those who require more conventionally plotted stories will probably be disappointed. Nevertheless, if you're looking for something different, give this well-written book a try.

These Demented Lands, Alan Warner's second novel is a sequel of sorts to his highly praised first novel, Morvern Callar. These Demented Lands is a dark, eerie, surreal and sometimes hilarious journey into the landscape of postmodern literature. Warner's characters are carefully crafted and highly memorable and posses many of the qualities of archetypes. The novel, itself, is somewhat of a dark and stormy post-apocalyptic fantasy.

The book's protagonist is Morvern Callar, herself. As the novel opens, Morvern is swimming away from a sinking ship, a small girl in tow. After returning the child safely home, Morvern begins her own strange journey across the island. Rumors concerning the fate of the other passengers on board the ship abound and, as they do, a host of newcomers descends on the island. Morvern meets, and is immediately attracted to, a mysterious man known only as the Aircrash Investigator. Although he seems to be pillaging the island's makeshift fences and sheds for crash debris, his real purpose is something of a mystery.

Warner has peopled his novel with an odd assortment of characters, yet each one is perfect and perfectly-drawn. Besides Morvern, herself, and the Aircrash Investigator, there is Devil's Advocate, a cigar-smoking fat man who assesses candidates for sainthood; there is Brotherhood, the owner of the Drome Hotel, a popular honeymoon resort; and a DJ who is determined to put together the biggest party the island has ever known. The myriad of minor characters that live in the pages of this novel are just as perfect.

The prose in These Demented Lands can be difficult at times, especially for those who prefer a more flowing style. Warner, however, is one of the most talented writers now at work and this book is superbly told with Morvern's own independent and unflinching frankness. The dialogue is sometimes as absurd as is the character speaking, but this only enhances the book's believability and its appeal as well as its strangeness. Warner's story does parallel certain Christian myths, in a surreal sort of way, as should soon become apparent, from the characters' strange names, if nothing else. And, although this is a dark book, some of the dialogue is hilariously funny.

These Demented Lands is a complex story about complex characters. It is too bad it has been somewhat overlooked in favor of more commercial but far less polished books. Alan Warner is an extraordinarily good writer and These Demented Lands is an extraordinarily good novel.

I have used this book for the past three semesters in my MBA class Organizational Theory and Behavior at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. Students like the book because it is written as a novel. They identify with the main character and see the types of dilemmas that change brings for the leader of an organization. They also appreciate that the book is international taking place on England. Some of the cultural aspects of the company's culture become evident and are central to the change story. Students also like the fact that personal and business issues are illustrated causing us to discuss relocation, stress and family balance issues. I like the book for these reasons as well. In addition, I appreciate that Warner presents change as an imporatant business process with a language, tools, concepts and steps like other important business processes.I recommend this book to faculty who teach organizational behavior courses, to students of change and to business leaders caught up in thge dilemmas of change.

I think that this book is a great childrens book. The author takes a story we all know to well, The Three Little Pigs and makes it have a new story line. The Three Little Pigs now have children of their own and how they try to out smart the wolf, just like their fathers. What a novel idea. Not to many authors would think of taking a bedtime story and making it into something more, especially a second generation. I think any child would like this book because it has a new story line to it. All children are use to hearing and reading the same old bedtime stories that this would definietly be something new and different for them to hear or read. I recommend this book to anyone who has children.

Warner's fourth book bears many marks of similarity to his first three, both in subject matter, imagination, setting, and unevenness. Set in the same part of Scotland's Western Highlands, the story revolves around the port town of Oban. As in Morvern Callar and to a lesser extent These Demented Lands, there's a central figure wandering the landscape in semi-picaresque fashion in pursuit of a large sum of cash. The protagonist is "The Nephew" a semi-homeless tinker whose legendary wild uncle (the title character) has stolen a pub's World Cup pool money. As he wanders the highlands a step behind his uncle, the Nephew (who is a bit of an oddball himself) manages to get in situations where he has weird sex, takes odd drugs, pukes, drinks, urinates in a doll's head, feasts with nobility, and gets mixed up with an inordinate number of total weirdoes. Warner's fictional Highlands are a sort of rural New York where every time you turn around there's some madman who's all to happy to include you in his world.

Warner's first two books, especially These Demented Lands, exhibited a kind of wild borderline surrealism that sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. These Demented Lands didn't really have enough of a narrative line and ultimately fell apart, however here he's got just enough of a plot to keep everything together. The Nephew's quest is often hilarious, often horrifying, and wholly imaginative, while at times veering off course and just barely holding together. Warner's clearly a talented writer and this is one of his better efforts, but I'd still suggest trying his much more accessible The Sopranos before you delve into this.