HENNESSY, Val. In The Gutter

(London): Quartet books, 1978. First edition. 4to. Val was a fleet street journalist who while making a TV programme about punk thought she would go one better and write a book as well. What she achieves is the most unintentionally funny book about punk ever! Val doesn’t understand her subject so tries to ridicule it. At the same time someone came up with the bright idea to juxtapose tribes who practice self mutilation and piercing with pictures of punks as if to make some sort of correlation. Its tasteless and honestly unbelievable. For example. On one page we have a picture of a man at a Hindu ceremony and on the other Cherry Vanilla in a leotard pubes showing thrusting to the camera! And the point is? Worth it for the pictures of punks and punkettes and the priceless bad prose! A very good copy. A nice copy.