Performance

by William Hughes

Genres: Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

William Hughes is Professor of Gothic Studies at Bath Spa University and a past Joint President of the International Gothic Association. His publications include Beyond Dracula (2000), That Devil's Trick: Hypnotism and the Victorian Popular Imagination (2015) and Ecogothic (2013), the latter co-edited with Andrew Smith. Hughes is also the founding editor of Gothic Studies, the refereed journal of the International Gothic Association.

Reviews

[John Anthony]

The book on which the film, starring Mick Jagger, James Fox, Anita Pallenberg et al was based.

Largely a day in the life....Plenty of action.

Compulsive read but several textual errors which were annoying.

[Manny Torres]

Probably taken from the original script as the ending is slightly different than the movie. Still, a very good British gangster story, in tune with the movie. The book does not capture the exquisite cinematography nor the smoky seediness as seen in the film nor the psychedelic editing. Nor the amazing soundtrack. It gives more depth to the characters than the film. Some scenes are slightly different than the movie. But I’m a huge fan of the film and collect every piece of paraphernalia that I can.

[John]

The third book in my recently read Trashy Rolling Stones Paperbacks Trilogy (the other two being Stanley Booth's The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones and Up and Down with the Rolling Stones by Tony Sanchez), Performance is William Hughes' "novelization" of Nicholas Roeg's film, which starred Mick Jagger and Anita Pallenberg (Keith Richards' ol' lady). The film is enjoyable, with a trippy and disjointed but visually engaging narrative presentation, not to mention a cool soundtrack. The novelization irons out some of the movie's vague and confusing aspects, for good or ill. Told straighforward, the story is a little hackneyed. In short, while on the lam from a murder rap, a sexually conflicted, deeply insecure gangster finds enlightenment while hanging out with a washed up rockstar, experimenting with drugs and free love. Can you dig it?

[lysa]

i remember watching the film sometime in high school and not getting it.
now i get it...man on-the-run meets hippy rocker, takes part in orgies and highs, and finally gets his comeuppance once he finds his conscience.

the film was better.