Review Books: psychological thriller | A Nasty Piece of Work. By Graham Bendel. Fortune Teller Press£7.99

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Published: 6 November 2008

Graham Bendel

A best book that was born out of bitterness

A Nasty Piece of Work. By Graham Bendel.
Fortune Teller Press £7.99

THE most frightening aspect of Graham Bendel’s psychological thriller/ murder mystery A Nasty Piece of Work is his nightmarish vision of the art world.
A macabre Faustian pact is made between a young agent and a Machiavellian modern artist, and what follows is a frightening series of events that question the brutality of an out-of-control marketplace.
Bendel is a 34-year-old film director, DJ and co-founder of independent publishers Fortune Teller Press who lives in Shepherdess Walk at the Angel. He says that publishers these days are only interested in celebrity memoirs or chick-lit fodder and he blames greedy literary agents for that.
“The industry has killed fiction by constantly publishing books that aren’t worth the paper they’re written on,” he says. “People don’t even finish reading them anymore.
“All the different industries are the same in this way. Whether in music, art or literature – it’s an exclusive world where people at the top actively discourage you and put you down. This book was born out of frustration, from my own experience working for companies I absolutely hated.”
Bendel, who directed the 2005 cult documentary Billy Childish is Dead, has much experience in the creative industries and reports many instances where his ideas have been stolen or he has felt ostracised.
“I really think this is the best book I’ll ever write,” he said. “My best creation – of course I do want to make a success of it. I’m an outsider who’s not so stupid that I want to remain permanently on the outside, but if I did make it I’d probably hate myself. Writing this book made me realise how bitter I am,” he added.
The book asks which is worse: to be stupid or to be simply morbidly evil? But Bendel’s answer is not altogether clear. A Nasty Piece of Work is a compelling read – the ambiguous confession of an unexceptional man who is driven to commit despicable as well as commendable acts.
SARA NEWMAN

• A Nasty Piece of Work. By Graham Bendel. Fortune Teller Press £7.99

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