BRIAN MARLEY (2)

Introduction: This is from the Scottish version of The Shenanigans which is completely different from my book that was published last year bearing the same title (The Shenanigans, Grand Iota, 2020). Once I realised that the Scottish version wasn't working, I abandoned everything about it apart from the title.

 

From

Scottish Shenanigans

[The Abandoned Tale of a Flea Circus]

 

 

Whenever I’m feeling low, I take the trousers of Pappalardi’s best ringmaster suit out of the wardrobe, press the crotch against my face and wallow in the skunky testosterone imbued in the fabric, which, sadly, is becoming less pungent by the day. Sometimes I drape the legs over my shoulders and tie them in a fat knot behind my head. If I hook the crotch onto the bridge of my nose, I can wear the trousers like a bandanna mask, as movie outlaws in the Wild West do when they’re setting out to rob a bank.

 

 

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Brian Marley has published books of poetry, music criticism and fiction. His novel, Apropos Jimmy Inkling [Grand Iota, 2019], revealed that when gangsterism meets showbiz the possibilities are limitless and all bets are off. A palimpsest novel, Crime, My Destiny, set largely in Soho, will follow in due course.