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DAMIEN MOLONY FANSITE → DAMIEN MOLONY FORUM → Radio & Audio → Damien Molony reads darkly comedic tale 'Bottle Man' on BBC Radio 4 | 26 February 2017
 

Topic: Damien Molony reads darkly comedic tale 'Bottle Man' on BBC Radio 4 | 26 February 2017

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fifi
Damiac
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RE: Damien Molony to read darkly comedic tale 'Bottle Man' on BBC Radio 4 | 26 February 2017
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Damien Molony Forum wrote:

fifi. Damien's reading was light, but the story itself wasn't for me, apart from the funny bits (and i did find it funny in places), that juxtaposition of a light reading against an increasingly disturbing story gave the words more power.

 Absolutely!

I took the bottle to be a metaphor for disconnection/detatchement too....but i guess that kinda goes along with denial - an inability/refusal to accept reality.

It took me a little while to make the connection with 'crawling into a bottle' - perhaps because of the milk bottle image that radio 4 used.....although the author obviously obscured that association too by refering to a ship in a bottle. Initially I considered the bottle to be much less real and more alagorical. Now I'm not sure whether his psychosis is the result of alcohol or not. Either way I'm quite disconcerted by the amount of sympathy I feel for this man! And this story has definitely rattled around inside my head since i first heard it....

 



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Maghat
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fifi wrote:

It took me a little while to make the connection with 'crawling into a bottle' - perhaps because of the milk bottle image that radio 4 used.....
Either way I'm quite disconcerted by the amount of sympathy I feel for this man!



Not as long as it took me since I hadn't even thought of that! It's an interesting thought and I'm now scouring my recollections of the story for evidence of alcohol-related moments. The fact that it's a drinks cabinet his dad wins and that he's interested in "all it holds" could feed in to that, I guess.

Do you think your sympathy for the character might be influenced by how you feel about the reader? I found the character deeply creepy and disturbing in so many ways!

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EllieForster
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Well, I've listened to it a few times now (mainly because I love to hear Damien's voice).

I didn't like it at all at first but it has grown on me with repeated listenings. I found it funny in parts and more than a little creepy. To me it was about someone having a nervous breakdown, probably something to do with the unnamed girlfriend. I found that odd, actually - he only seemed to see her in relation to him, she was 'my girlfriend' and we never got to know her name. The reactions of the receptionist seemed weird till near the end, when the mentions were made of the hair catching fire and her face being burned on one side. Then I started wondering if there had been some kind of tragedy - was she still alive? was she actually there in the flesh when she came to visit? His 'bottle' did seem like a metaphor and for a while I wondered if it meant he was an alcoholic; but then I realised that one of the ways I describe how I feel after a bad migraine attack is that I seem to have a thick glass wall between me and the rest of the world; this slows down everything I hear and see and my response to them - I usually feel detached (or disjointed!) for a couple of days. He seemed trying desperately to make sense of what was going on around him and not having much success.

I do wish Damien would do more readings, his pace is perfect. 'A book at bedtime' or the serial on Women's Hour would be ideal. A few talking books, too (I have 'Raven' and he reads it beautifully).

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Maghat
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I suspect everyone who's going to listen has done so now so we won't be at risk of spoilers if we share some theories! I suspect there are different ways of interpreting this and that's what makes it interesting as a story, there's no "right" way to look at it!

I came away with the thought that the girlfriend has suffered abuse at the hands of the narrator and that he's in denial about it. His family is dysfunctional and that has influenced his ability to form normal relationships.

The pace and inflection make such a difference to how easy something is to listen to, doesn't it Ellie? I agree that Damien gets it just right!

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domino l - l - l
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RE: Damien Molony reads darkly comedic tale 'Bottle Man' on BBC Radio 4 | 26 February 2017
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Still 11 days left to listen to Damien reading Nicole Flattery's thought provoking 'darkly comic' short story!

Hit the link below to listen - works internationally

The Bottle Man read by Damien Molony | BBC Radio 4



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domino l - l - l
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Molonians!

Just 5 days left to listen to Damien reading Bottle Man!

Hit the link below to listen - works internationally

below.gif

The Bottle Man read by Damien Molony | BBC Radio 4



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Damien Molony Forum
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Last chance to listen to Damien read Bottle Man

JUST 1 DAY LEFT!

The Bottle Man read by Damien Molony | BBC Radio 4



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