Skirt and the Fiddle

Tristan Egolf

If reading is often about escaping into another world this one works in reverse! The picture conjured up of Charlie and Tinsel's world definitely provokes laughs but I wouldn't want to live there. Be prepared to be revolted and repulsed but on Charlie's side all the way.

Extract

At some point I knocked a rat from the ceiling. It fell to my head and clung on. Tinsel reacted, clubbing me sideways, then managed to cleave it in two on the drop. He followed with an overhand swing, killing three more in a single blow, soon to be joined by a pair in the trench, and, lastly, a loner in flight from above .... And with that, I realized, lo and behold, that Tinsel really did have the goods. Surprise, surprise. The Anarchist Greetz - a first rate slaghand. Who woulda thunk it?

Parallels