Review of The Singing Detective

This is a unique form of storytelling - the only things close are "Last Year at Marienbad" & "Billy Liar" but that is just the starting point. Reality and fantasy overlap and intertwine, irony and selfishness all contribute to a story told in flash backs / forwards and alter egos. Stunning visual images (telephone poles become crucifixions along the railway) are frequent. You will have to pay attention or you will miss out on abrupt shifts of a very original story as the central character who is confined in a hospital ward, rejects his current reality (as much as he can) and reexamines his memories of his past and is also working on ideas for his next novel. Whew. It is hard to follow at first but if you persist and learn the "grammar" of this show you will be richly rewarded.