​6/6 BY RAY CLULEY - BOOK REVIEW

 
I picked this one up on the strength of it being a Ray Cluley title, and because I was intrigued by the relative lack of information surrounding it  - essentially just the cover art of a charm bracelet and the 6/6 title (and a release date of 6th June). I had no idea what to expect. My intrigue was deepened when I opened the parcel, to find, not a book, but a DVD case.
 
The presentation is just superb; a signed disk that’s fixed in the right hand side, with a note ominously advising this is for display purposes only, and that ‘for legal and safety reasons’ the ‘6/6 recordings’ have not been reproduced. And in the left hand side, the booklet that contains the actual… story? Essay?
 
I love writing that plays with form, and this is a flawless execution of an utterly ingenious conceit. I fully recommend going in as blind as possible, so if you already have this on order, or plan to pick it up and want to be completely unspoiled, stop reading now.
 
The booklet describes a series of short films, originally presented via YouTube, which have since been taken down, re-shared, discussed, colourised, and generally overanalyzed to death. In this sense, the work is in part a parody of the internet phenomena of ‘going viral’, but there’s a lot more going on than that. For starters, there's an unresolved argument about whether or not the films are ‘found footage’ genre or actual found footage. The essayist expresses healthy skepticism, but can’t quite dismiss entirely the notion that the films are somehow genuine.
 
The essay is extensively (and at times very wittily) footnoted, with real-world writers and genre enthusiasts appearing as charicters, chipping in with their own thoughts and theories - I especially enjoyed Stephen Volk’s cameo, as a man who may just be the world’s leading expert on presenting fiction as ‘reality’ on screen. Despite the fact that there seems to be almost as much text within the footnotes as within the essay proper, however, I was still given an incredibly clear picture of the content of the short films, as well as a satisfying sense of unease leading to creeping dread, as the events unfolded.
 
This an absolutely bravura writing performance, showing flair, style, horror and humour. The raw imagination of the conceit is impressive, but it’s the realisation of the idea, and the superb presentation, that come together to create something really, really special. Flawless. Highly recommended.
 
KP
10/6/19