Book review: Lucia by Andy Hixon - pictures from a dystopian near future
Before we begin, two quick things: the first is that Lucia by Andy Hixon should really come with some kind of health warning, for it certainly isn't for the faint-hearted.
by Andy Hixon
Jonathan Cape
Before we begin, two quick things: the first is that Lucia by Andy Hixon should really come with some kind of health warning, for it certainly isn't for the faint-hearted.
Yes, it's sometimes darkly funny. But it's also grim. The second is that I can't remember the last time I saw artwork so disorienting or weird. I've no idea how Hixon does it - is a computer involved? - but his pictures are both deeply macabre and disturbingly realistic, like photojournalism gone badly wrong.
We are in a dystopian near future. Lucia is a seaside town that's down on its luck: everything is closed, everyone is unemployed, and all the while the cliffs are falling into the sea.
Our guides in this hell are Brick and Morty. The former is a fantasist shadow boxer too poor even to own any clothes, the latter a heartbroken disabled divorcee. Together, they take us to Lucia's various "hives": the Job Hive, which can be reached only by rowing a boat; the Money Hive, a pawn shop; and the Video Hive, where a small bag of ancient VHS tapes is yours for £5.
Brick and Morty earn a living collecting scrap from along the side of the motorway. Their idea of a treat is a trip to Wendy's Cafe, a filthy hole on whose "menu" there is only one dish that is safe to eat: chips with gravy. (The "seafood" will kill you.)