Title: Oswald’s Apartment
Author: Joseph Ridgwell
Date: February 2010
Publisher: Blackheath Books
Website: www.blackheathbooks.org.uk
ISBN: ISBN-10: 1-906099-16-2 / ISBN-13: 978-1-906099-16-9
It is with great pleasure that Blackheath Books introduce their third Joseph Ridgwell publication, the long awaited debut collection of short fiction - Oswald’s Apartment.
Oswald’s Apartment follows on from Where Are the Rebels and Load the Guns and readers familiar with Ridgwell will find him at his very best, redefining deadbeat philosophy at breakneck speed. This stunning collection kicks off in the hand to mouth world of Australian lowlife, careers into tales of beach bars in Thailand, and culminates in the drugged and somewhat depraved world of London nightlife.
In between there are tales of impending insanity, human frailty, malicious transsexuals, homicidal eggs, time travel, deadbeat jobs, relationship breakdowns, boozing, chemical transmutations, smelly sex, soulless orgies, women rebels and even a 21st century end of the world apocalypse!
With the use of short, sharp sentences, raw language, sparse adjectives and honed-to-the-bone description, Ridgwell has created a style he himself has labelled cosmic realism and in doing so defines the times he lives in.
The collection is available in an edition of 26 signed and lettered (A-Z) copies with ridiculous handmade woollen tassels (£10) and a signed numbered edition of 100 'au natural' (£7.50). Front cover linocut print by Brighton Stuckist Dan Belton.
Quotes about Ridgell’s work:
“With Oswald’s Apartment, Joe Ridgwell once again hits the bullseye. Whores, transsexuals, seedy adventures, and no matter what happens you find yourself laughing all the way. Ridgwell is a damned great writer. I wish I could do what he does.”
Mark SaFranko
Author of Hating Olivia
and Lounge Lizard
“Ridgwell is a finely tuned observer, plucky in exploring seedy subjects wherever they may lead him….usually into a dump of a hotel or a bar!”
Sean McGahay
Editor of The Beat.
"From Sydney to Thailand to London, from mucky realism to flights of fantasy to razor-sharp memoir, Ridgwell's tales take no prisoners, give no mercy, and break all the rules. If you've never had a fuck, never had a fight, never had a friend, then this book will provide all three. This collection makes you drink, think, and wink. Ridgwell is an honest writer and the truth sometimes offends - be brave, take the plunge."
Steve Finbow
Author of Balzac of the Badlands
"dull rendering of misogynistic ramblings which should never have troubled ink to page"
Marek Kazmierski
Bike Magazine
philosopher of the year