Reviews for "These Are Only Words"

'Simon R Biggam's debut with Edinburgh-based imprint Chroma takes one of the most compelling subjects - the mundanity of evil - for his creepy and thoroughly disturbing tale. His narrator is the kind we fear most: nameless, almost faceless, he exerts control over his victims by watching them, following them, fantasising about them and recording their lives, until finally that is not enough and he must actively interfere with them. There is, of course, a huge precedent for this kind of character, most famously in John Fowles's The Collector and Powell and Pressburger's Peeping Tom. Biggam updates the sociopath who steals other people's lives in this way... There are a lot of interesting ideas in Biggam's novel... It demonstrates beautifully the tension between public and private spaces that Biggam plays on constantly throughout his novel, and which gives it much of its narrative drive.'
Amy Mathieson, The Scotsman

'These Are Only Words is an intriguing first effort that brings to mind early McEwan, Fowles' The Collector, and the doyenne of prowlers, Particia Highsmith. Indeed you might even christen our anonymous narrator Peeping Tom Ripley.'
Colin Waters, Scottish Review of Books

'... a thought-provoking read.'
Vivian McKenzie, The Tribune

'Half a page into The Are Only Words you realise that something really exciting is going on: prose that is both wildly playful and brilliantly twisted, and a central character who is not only deeply disturbing, but whose wit and playfulness make him endearing. And that's the trick of this bold first offering from a writer so skilful and in control of his material that he only needs a few seemingly light-hearted passages to turn the reader into his anti-hero's accomplice. If you can put down this engrossing novel you're doing better than me – I finished it in the early hours of the morning and still wanted more. This debut novel deserves a wide readership and is one which announces the arrival of a powerful and accomplished storyteller.'
Graham Watson, Waterstone's

'In this tense and sparse debut, Simon R Biggam creates a narrator who is outwardly normal, but spends all his time and money watching people at their most intimate moments. The depiction of the character's motivations and secret pleasures seems authentic, and the prose ripples with tension.'
Doug Johnstone, The Big Issue