P roving that even prodigies have to grow up, Ed Harcourt has got married and given up trying to be the next Tom Waits. roving that even prodigies have to grow up, Ed Harcourt has got married and given up trying to be the next Tom Waits. No child should ever be put in that position, so the reversal involved is unfair and deeply poignant. But the brother proves harder to control, and of course the growing chaos in the town eventually threatens to topple the whole edifice of Bilal's "beautiful lie". Tony Bradman's books include The Orchard Book of Swords, Sorcerers and Superheroes. Published: 17 Jul 1998 Israeli triumph for Italian Holocaust film The wonderfully woozy Late Night Partner is Harcourt at his broken-hearted best, but he loses focus on this overlong, under-achieving album. This means he has to keep his father isolated from the outside world until it's all over, for India or his father. Available for everyone, funded by readers. Bilal's father hates the idea of India being torn in two; as he is dying of cancer, Bilal decides to lie to him about the political situation, fearing that the truth will break his heart. Of course, the source material is considered by many to be the greatest novel ever written. And obstacles don't come much bigger than death and political upheaval, the challenges young Bilal has to deal with in this engaging debut novel. "The Beautiful Lie" is a brilliant reimaging of Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina." Our heroine's self-imposed mission is to spice up the lovelife of her droopy mum (Natalie Baye) and initially it seems to work a treat. Hyperventilating update of Jane Austen's Emma sees Audrey Tatou scampering about trying to spice … First published on Thu 11 Aug 2011 16.55 EDT. You can usually also expect such a tale to generate plenty of drama – there will be obstacles to overcome, tricky dilemmas to face, personal growth to be achieved. The village idiot running amok to an anxious melody, a hurricane survivor contemplating his romantic future as another storm brews around him. The setting is India before partition in 1947, and Bilal's home town is riven with tensions that soon erupt into violence. Visit from the Dead Dog is a mass of loose ends, the modern barbs of You Only Call Me When You're Drunk are blunted in the sea of old-fashioned orchestration. There's the suicidal girl and soon-to-die soldier puffing away gravely in The Last Cigarette. A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master - review. That tends to make the story episodic, and although some of the big set-pieces are terrific – particularly the massive riot at a cockfight in the cemetery – there's no ultimate sense of resolution. Bilal himself is a charming creation with that most engaging quality, a chirpy optimism that he can do the impossible with no resources other than his courage and the help of his friends. The wonderfully woozy Late Night Partner is Harcourt at his broken-hearted best, but he loses focus on this overlong, under-achieving album. Only Sami Bouajila, playing the bemused, overeducated handyman-in-the-middle, emerges with his dignity relatively intact. I wanted to yell at the rioting factions – "Hey, leave those kids alone!". There are few references to the very specific date looming over the story, so no ticking clock, and no sense in the plot that a major revelation or reversal will deliver a final surprise. There's the suicidal girl and soon-to-die soldier puffing away gravely in The Last Cigarette. Tony Bradman. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. A tale of the partition of India has some terrific set-pieces. But wait: Tautou's ornate schemes are about to come a cropper, and before long everyone is saucer-eyed and hyperventilating, essaying whiplashing double-takes and skipping through town like imbeciles with weak bladders. Proving that even prodigies have to grow up, Ed Harcourt has got married and given up trying to be the next Tom Waits. These are little Chota the Hindu, Sikh Manjeet, and Bilal's fellow Muslim, Saleem. Audrey Tautou plays stupid cupid in this excitable comedy, a cut-price, candy-coated update on Jane Austen's Emma that bounces along the marina at Sete with its blood sugar through the roof. You can usually also expect such a tale to generate plenty of drama – there will be obstacles to overcome, tricky dilemmas to face, personal growth to be achieved. A tale of the partition of India has some terrific set-pieces . I've always been a sucker for stories about children looking after inadequate, sick or just plain useless parents. 've always been a sucker for stories about children looking after inadequate, sick or just plain useless parents. The prose also needs more work, with far too many hanging participles for my liking, especially in the second half. Thu 11 Aug 2011 16.55 EDT All rights reserved. Visit from the Dead Dog is a mass of loose ends, the modern barbs of You Only Call Me When You're Drunk are blunted in the sea of old-fashioned orchestration. Beautiful Lies – review 2 / 5 stars 2 out of 5 stars. Sadly, though, I don't think the book is entirely a success, the main problem being a lack of tension. The story is at its best when the friends are together, their innocence and sheer boyishness leaping off the page and subtly making the point that they get along perfectly despite their different faiths. But Harcourt is so keen on his tawdry cast that his songs descend into mushy music hall. And obstacles don't come much bigger than death and political upheaval, the challenges young Bilal has to deal with in this engaging debut novel. Well-meaning visitors are the main problem in the early chapters, along with Bilal's estranged older brother, a political activist who believes their father shouldn't be protected from the truth. No child should ever be put in that position, so the reversal involved is unfair and deeply poignant. Bilal cleverly enlists his friends as an early-warning system, allowing him time to head visitors off at the pass, inventing ever more complex reasons why his father can't see them.