Deep Hanging Out - Tapa blanda

"Gwyn's writing, immediate but with a runic quality, is engaging. Many readers who do not normally respond to the term 'philosophical love story' should enjoy this one." Nicholas Clee, The Guardian "The difficult second novel has proven no stumbling block to Richard Gwyn, as his rich, dark and beautiful novel so aptly proves. The preposterously named Cosmo Flute is a painter practising "deep hanging out" on the isle of Crete, when his foundations are shaken as he and his friend, Argentinean photographer Ruben Fortune, witness cold-war US undercover military shenanigans. Drinking and painting give way to drinking and espionage, and lead Gwyn's eclectic cast to the encierro in Pamplona and a date with an angry bull. Sinister humour and Gwyn's understated prose poetry renders a Crete resplendent in history and mystery." Western Mail Review "In the midst of the Cold War, two young friends seek refuge on the island of Crete. Their hedonistic retreat turns sour when deadly secrets begin to unfurl. In this compelling read, Gwyn reveals a world where chance meetings change lives and nothing is ever as it seems." The Big Issue "The difficult second novel has proven no stumbling block to Richard Gwyn, as his rich, dark and beautiful novel so aptly proves. The preposterously named Cosmo Flute is a painter practising "deep hanging out" on the isle of Crete, when his foundations are shaken as he and his friend, Argentinean photographer Ruben Fortune, witness cold-war US undercover military shenanigans. Drinking and painting give way to drinking and espionage, and lead Gwyn's eclectic cast to the encierro in Pamplona and a date with an angry bull. Sinister humour and Gwyn's understated prose poetry renders a Crete resplendent in history and mystery." Western Mail Review "In the midst of the Cold War, two young friends seek refuge on the island of Crete. Their hedonistic retreat turns sour when deadly secrets begin to unfurl. In this compelling read, Gwyn reveals a world where chance meetings change lives and nothing is ever as it seems." The Big Issue

It is 1981 and while Britain enjoys the full impact of Thatcherism, Cosmo Flute, a brilliant and dissolute young painter, and his friend Ruben Fortuna, a street-wise Argentinian photographer, flee to the Greek island of Crete to indulge in alternating spells of painting, drinking, and some really Deep Hanging Out. Much of their leisure time is spent in local bistro The Unspeakable, where waiter Igbar Zoff serves squid, pig's testicles and dodgy wine to the local loafers, and sows confusion in the minds of unsuspecting customers with his improbable tales. Events turn serious when Cosmo and Ruben accidentally witness secret US military activity on the island and are drawn into a shadowy world of espionage and counter-espionage. When Cosmo becomes involved with a young woman who carries an explosive secret, the fallout will propel Cosmo and Ruben through the death throes of the Cold War, and Crete's bloody history of sacrifice and betrayal, to a stunning climax amid the running of the bulls in Pamplona.