Dr Mukti and Other Tales of Woe

Dr Mukti and Other Tales of Woe is Will Self's third collection of stories. (The "other" in the title being four tales of woe or woeful tales, as the ungenerous may be inclined to dub them.) Self's visceral, urban fictions have long been described as Swiftian. They are grotesque, scatological and, like Swift, rely on absurd premises being taken to their absurd yet logical conclusions. Dr Mukti, a novella that resurrects Dr Busner from The Quantity Theory of Insanity, certainly conforms to type.

It's a tale that depicts a battle between two rival psychiatrists: Dr Shiva Mukti of St Mungo's in Fitzrovia, an Indian "of modest achievement but vaulting ambitions" (ambitions he is convinced are being thwarted by a "crypto-psycho-Semitic" cabal) and the Jewish Dr Zack Busner, father of the Quantity Theory of Insanity and consultant at Heath Hospital. Their weapons, missiles really, are damaged patients that they fire back and forth across the Hampstead Road in a dual for supremacy. Busner sends "Creosote Man", a schizoid "with a mission to bring creosote ideas to the rest of mankind" to Mukti for a second opinion. Mukti counters with Rocky, a "Humanoid time bomb with a frontal-lobe lesion" and dreadlocks that gush "from his high forehead like jets of gingerish flocculent water". And so it goes on until Darlene Davis, an anorexic Goth with "a haemoglobin level of six", turns up at St Mungo's. From hereon in things go from bad, to very, very much worse for the Mukti.

London's topography, or a grisly hallucinatory version of it, is etched in lurid detail, the doctors' ambits echoing their contrasts in status. Mukti, his neurosis, his home life and the Hindu community in London's north-western suburbs are observed with acuity. But Self's self-conscious style--the profusion of extraneous similes, metaphors and his recondite vocabulary--is draining to say the least; mouths are "pink baskets", cabbage is "craven" and even a lowly potato is "pusillanimous". Self aficionados, and those who relish seeing words such as "flocculent" liberated from the mustier nooks of the dictionary, won't fail to be delighted. --Travis Elborough

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One of Self's best realised works of fiction to date - Rated
This is one of Self's best realised works of fiction. While in many of his other works of fiction the plots and characterisation can be seen as promising, interesting but ultimately could have been developed more. This collection of stories is spot on.

The effect is that Self's ideas are fully realised in the midst of an elegant writing style. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone with a bad experience of reading Self or those infuriated at his ideas not being fully realised.

Could do better - Rated
The title story, taking up half the book, is Self at his deadpan best - a tale of spiralling absurdity with a conclusion so simple and devoid of morality it stops you in your tracks. No contemporary writer gets to the heart of life's meaningless like Self. The rest of the book however is a so-so affair: "Walks with Ord", a story that has been published as an exclusive twice in the Independent on Sunday - which his wife edits - is particularly boring and pointless. "Dr Mukti" shows that Self still has the twisted genius that led to "Grey Area" and "Great Apes", but the rest of the book left me thinking that he just isn't trying hard enough.

a talentless writer with a large lexicon - Rated
does Will Self ever have anything to say, really? he always harps on about texts being 'Existentialist', but if the truth be known, i don't think he understands what existentialism is. every essay or book i have read of his is longwinded, pretentious, overly smug, and i never feel that he makes a point. its frustrating reading Self, and not in a good way- not in a way which would imply negativity (needed for renewal). i find myself bored by him and his works.
he introduces Marianne Faithful's latest album, and in my mind it ruins it, and i hate that everytime i listen to the album, i am reminded of him.
perhaps i am wrong, and i would am willing to accept that i am, but what conclusions does he ever make? none! my advice would be to read William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac etc- the original and authentic voices of 20th century alienation.

Exquisitely deranged - Rated
I sincerely hope that Will Self doesn't become one of those "urban chic" autors, niched into a corner where only pseudo-intellectuals, beatniks and non-conformist liberals will bother to seek out, while the rest of the UK just remember him as the 'gaunt weird one' who filled Mark Lamarr's seat on "Shooting Stars".

Will Self is indeed a fine writer of high calibre, with a rich extensive vocabulary, and prose that can paint vivid pictures of the pomp and squalor of the urban environment and human condition all in the breadth of a single paragraph. Simultaneously reverential and scatalogical regardless of his subject matter.

Dr. Mukti and other tales of woe offer a collection of humorous and disturbing tales, simultaneously eccentric and eclectic as well as vulgar, yet always beautifully crafted (as is the prose). "Dr. Mukti" serves up a wide variety of subjects, in bite-size chunks, with a rich and dark sense of humour and a twisted but yet lucid and very real perception through the eyes of his characters.

An excellent introduction to a very verbose and far-reaching author who does not flinch at anything, but who, at times can be also a little confusing, but certainly a recommended read to anyone who would like something a little more cerebral in their novels. Newcomers to Mr. Self will be stunned that the guy who outweirded Vic and Bob can display such savage intelligence, and readers well-versed in Self's books will appreciate the return of such characters as Dr. Zack Busner. and more ascerbic observations on every aspect of human mentality.

Miss out on Will Self, and you're missing out on something very unique amongst the bookshelves.

Fantastic - A New Will Self Fan - Rated
I'm almost embarassed to admit it but my introduction to Will Self was the BBC's Grumpy Old Men series. In the interview(s) with Will I was captivated by his use of language and ability to express an opinion with force, humour and clarity. Here, finally, I had discovered an educated, articulate, challenging and passionate personality that captivated me with every sentence.

So, to Waterstones I hurried (sorry Amazon - I am a big customer of yours but nothing beats actually picking up a book, buying it and then reading it in store with a coffee). Dr Mukti reinforced my impression of Will. The dialogue is fantastic, there are messages throughout, true reflections of culture and society and, for me at least, an education. And when it comes to this last point I am elated. Finally, here is someone who seems to have no hesitation in expressing a view with no spin. The British media (inc. Newspaper, radio, TV) worries me intensely. I feel a victim to news management. In Will Self there is perhaps a chink of daylight through which reality can be observed.

Hanging on his every word (his back catalogue on order),

Julian.