tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502384851430936453.post6540564199588105255..comments2011-11-27T02:36:06.477-08:00Comments on Deep Fried Pizza, by Giulio Saggin: Giulio Sagginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16377244604561620041noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502384851430936453.post-14258871625403545132011-11-27T02:36:06.477-08:002011-11-27T02:36:06.477-08:00I never get any chance to read these days but I ha...I never get any chance to read these days but I had the weekend to myself and it was miserable outside, so I sat down with my copy of Deep Fried Pizza and read it cover to cover. Even though I no longer work in the UK, it bought back many memories for me. Your description of a death knock is spot on and the feelings, situation that went with it. Also the intense cold and misery of shooting football in the winter. It's something I don't miss at all! And the stories of puking through a small gap in the window and dodgy toilet encounters had me laughing out loud. Thanks for a great read and a walk down memory lane.D.T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00889299652815715504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502384851430936453.post-31848028297083232232011-10-21T01:21:36.012-07:002011-10-21T01:21:36.012-07:00An extremely funny and somewhat tragic story of li...An extremely funny and somewhat tragic story of life as a tabloid photographer. Steve, an Australian, is living the bachelor life in Scotland pursuing his interest in photojournalism, but he finds it's ultimately not as peachy as he thought it would be.<br /><br />The writing is funny and has an authentic, down-to-Earth voice. I thoroughly enjoyed Deep Fried Pizza. It gave me a window into another world. The book's excellent writing had me laughing out loud at some of the strange situations Steve Butcher worked himself into. I recommend the book to anyone (even those with no interest in photojournalism) who wants a a very funny account of the trials of bachelor life and paparazzi snapping.DB Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02741239368388562218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502384851430936453.post-21411729112419471272011-09-16T00:19:54.676-07:002011-09-16T00:19:54.676-07:00Speaking as a photographer, this is a brilliant re...Speaking as a photographer, this is a brilliant read! Some hilarious moments and spot on in every way when it comes to life as a photographer. It took me back to so many situations I'd encountered and I've never even been to Edinburgh. I wasn't sure what to expect when a friend gave it to me as a present - photographers aren't known for writing - but this is brilliant. I started reading and hardly put it down. It's great to see someone has finally put in words what it is we do. Well done!Bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06684501878167782839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502384851430936453.post-58320279905704661312011-09-12T23:35:11.516-07:002011-09-12T23:35:11.516-07:00As I am in the same business I can relate to this ...As I am in the same business I can relate to this book. If readers want to find out more about the lengths news photographers have to go to get a picture, how they operate and the camaraderie that exists between competing photographers (despite the best efforts of various editors) then read this book. It is funny and true to life.Al Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177536977024170739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502384851430936453.post-73498015806185247242011-09-06T22:36:49.833-07:002011-09-06T22:36:49.833-07:00Tears of laughter!
Deep Fried Pizza opens a windo...Tears of laughter!<br /><br />Deep Fried Pizza opens a window into Scottish life through the eyes of a seemingly familiar Aussie character, Steve. Steve's tales are rather enlightening for those who have never lived the bachelor's life! His drunken antics had me in tears of laughter. I loved it!Lana Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16431000315024014180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2502384851430936453.post-74049924832789322012011-08-23T01:38:58.316-07:002011-08-23T01:38:58.316-07:00The author, Giulio, lives at present in Brisbane, ...The author, Giulio, lives at present in Brisbane, Australia, where there is very little, if any, ‘Indecisive rain’. <br /><br />This is not the case in his book. The main character, Steve Butcher, a twenty year old tabloid photographer, leaves Brisbane two decades ago for an adventure in Scotland. Many a logic is ‘born out of beer’ for Steve in the early 1990’s and a coin toss lands him on the east coast in the ‘pomp and pageantry’ of Edinburgh. His friend Davo ends up on the west coast in the old shipbuilding giant of Glasgow. <br /> <br />“When he arrived at the phone box, he stopped and stared at it. It was large and red and unlike anything he’d seen”. Here, begins Steve’s honest adventure told through his young lens in a manner that shapes his story as a timeless one. It is from this phone box, in this historic city of Edinburgh, that Steve makes his first call to the pictorial editors of the Scotsman and the Scotland on Sunday. So begins his pint by pint, ‘snatch’ by ‘snatch’ journey of survival in the ‘media parasite’ life of the paparazzi.<br /> <br />The characters that Giulio brings to life are as cobbled as the innermost parts of the city. From Thistle Street to Cathcart Place the reader is introduced to characters who can be heard as clearly as if they were in the narrow lanes themselves. Giulio achieves this with the informal style of conversation that takes place in the pub, the flat and the workplace. There is plenty of direct speech packed with humour and the many different accents from all over the British Isles lift the characters right out of the page. There may be a potential film here!<br /> <br />Steve’s lens is not only his survival tool, it is also his witness. The day to day existence for a tabloid photographer is not easy. Even on the days that Steve thought it could not get colder or wetter, he must face people like ‘Weasel’, who work on the same side of the camera as himself. Then there are days when he has no choice but to face the ‘scum’ on the other side of his lens as he does in West Harmes, ‘Scum were easy to spot’. There are times Steve’s lens even witnesses clashes between Celtic and the Rangers, the ‘Old Firm’ of Scottish football, who have been around for as long as their opposing religious ideologies – longer even than Lagavulin and perhaps even tartan kilts. From the ‘centuries old high court’ to the ‘death-knocks’, it is both physically and ethically challenging for a young photographer to earn his quid. <br /> <br />It is with comic relief the reader is introduced to flatmate Malcy with his Y-fronts on his head, "do you wanna see the world’s biggest shite?" to which Olivia, the ‘calm and graceful’ neighbour from across the close replies: "Well, Malcy, that certainly is impressive" and heads to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. It is in this flat where the couch, known as the ‘smelly couch’, becomes a lens in itself as it witnesses the ‘distinct boy flavour’ of beer, cable TV, ‘footy’ and yes, deep-fried pizza.<br /> <br />After four years and possibly even one long winter in this country of intense beauty, Steve is no longer tangled in the logic of beer but more so in the clutches of yet another Christmas away from home: “For the first time in a long time Steve felt lonely”. Steve is still keen on adventure, but does he need a new city? Does he need a different climate? He is still young and his lens is still looking...<br /><br />One wonders of the coin toss had gone the other way, if it had been Glasgow, would the story have been the same?Reidunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12999726276647495903noreply@blogger.com