Publisher's Synopsis
A man is sucked into the classic movies he loves. Why? And who or what is Rosebud?
"An elegiac and seductively melancholy tale of life lived and loved through cinema. If you're a sucker for movie references (and in particular Blade Runner) you'll love it" - Chris Brookmyre
Amazon bestseller; Recommended by BookBub; Scotsman Magazine Book of the Week
Described as "compelling", "breath-taking" and a work of "mad metaphysical genius", The Man in the Seventh Row: The Movie Lover's Novel attracted praise from Ian Rankin, Andrew Marr and Barry Norman on first publication in 2011...
The true meaning of Rosebud may be found in the definitive extended version The Man in the Seventh Row and Related Stories of the Human Condition, a work that transcends the novel and is now acclaimed as "a masterpiece".
From an award-winning writer... To lovers of old movies and old cinemas, The Twilight Zone, and Fever Pitch (but with movies), and to those who loved Cloud Atlas and Field of Dreams, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Paul Auster and to "all enthusiasts of original fiction" (as Andrew Marr said).
Acclaimed by the critics in its original version in 2011, it is literary fiction, with a lot of nostalgia in Scotland and more than a dash of magical realism in California. It now transcends the confines of the novel, as the narrative concludes in a story with new characters that brings a whole new meaning and depth to everything that has gone before.
Ultimately The Man in the Seventh Row is about childhood and adulthood, about love and loss and the possibility of redemption. It is about cinema and the nature of reality, built layer upon layer, like an onion. And like an onion it may just bring a tear to your eye before the end. Reaction on first publication...
"I loved it... a terrific read" - Janice Forsyth (BBC)
"A strange and beguiling novel about films and those who love and live them" - Ian Rankin
"A very nice blend of the real, the fictional and the dream world and I really don't think I've read anything quite like it before." - Barry Norman
"Pacy, sharp and witty... it is a novel that baby boomers and film buffs will strongly relate to, and all enthusiasts of unusual - of original - fiction will take great pleasure in." - Andrew Marr
"Mad metaphysical genius" - Donna Moore
"Strange, he thought, how so much in life connects, so many disparate elements come together, and make some sort of sense in the end."
Just as the story's protagonist, Roy Batty, observes in the quote above, both the novel and its plot can be described as 'many disparate elements come together'. And while it does, for a time, seem as if these elements might run the length of the novel in parallel lines, it is to tremendous effect that they do ultimately find each other. "In the '60s, young Roy experiences a fully realised and vibrantly elucidated childhood. The reader is treated to rich, detailed prose which leaves little doubt that there is some of the author in these stories. When the story returns to Roy's present, we find a shell of a man, shattered by a tragedy to be revealed in due time, certain that his fate draws nearer with every torn ticket stub. The novel remains thoroughly compelling throughout, so powerful is the author's ability to craft each narrative. The culmination of the author's efforts is truly breath-taking, The reader is likely to find the occasional swelling of the throat, eyes filling slowly with a threat of tears. Pendreigh's infectious love of cinema and brilliant wordcraft combine to make for a singularly enthralling tale." James La Salandra, Literally Jen
