There is an almost irresistibe temptation to see the thread of TRP’s progress as some sort of narrative, maybe a film. This would be the point where they do one of those terrible montages with stirring music – like Rocky going back into training for the big fight and having to get really fit in 4 days. When we all know it takes at least a week.
In a similar fashion, we are just gearing up for a summer of big fixtures. Two launches in Glasgow next week, then Cleave kicking off in early June, in Glasgow again, dove-tailing straight into a trip to Cambridge and London then the Edinburgh Book Festival in August. All of these events need flyers and show-cards and wine and glasses and stock moved as efficiently as possible. It’s like one of those ‘fix up a garden in a weekend while the owner is away’ programmes. It is all a lot of fun, for sure. A long way from that focused state of crafted contemplation that I have always associated with literature. But that has always been the mystery with TRP – how far to you have to meet the commercial pressures on their own turf and how much will a good book shine through and sell itself? The answer seems to be that you have to go slug it out with the window displays and the flyers. Well, so be it. We’ve got a good 5 days to get fight-fit. Plenty.
David
