Guy’s Guide to the Flipside,
The Other Vancouver, by Guy
Bennett, Arsenal Pulp Prass,
110 pp., paper, $10.95

F ANY of the following
offends you do not read
Guy’s Guide: por-
nography; ethnic jokes;
bar-room talk; strippers; rot-
ting substances; anything
soiled.
Ah, good to know you're still
with me.
Guy's Guide to the Flipside is a
scatological scoot through the
back aileys and forgotten neigh-

[RAE FUTISC EG GE EO

Barbara Black
BOOK REVIEW

In ‘Food’ Bennett checks out
the tlesh at Save on Meat Inc. on
Hastings.

There he sees live carp in a
bucket which “move around ir

44 Things may get a bit ugly, but
Bennett keeps it in a light vein. 99

borhoods and niches of Van-
couver.

Accompanied by Guy’s ever-
observant and wise-cracking
commentary we visit infamous and
obscure locales, from the Niagara
Hotel to Kathy's Poodle Palace,
eavesdropping on the conversa-
tions that take place there.

Onily the truly debauched and
brave will actually visit some of
these places. :

For the rest of us pseudo-respec-
tables, it's a vicarious journey to
the seedy, or just plain ordinary
side of life where time trickles and

‘things ooze and smeil and gener- -
ally threaten your sensibilities ina
‘mildly frightening yet titillating
way. ; :

This updated edition tours

various Food, Drink, Skin, Dog
and Death establishments of Van-

couver, .

CLOSING OUT

lazy circles. I’ve seen women
move like that at parties, and
when they reach me | don’t trust
anything they say,” he quips.

Whence to Wo Fat and Co.
where he relates the fate of a
mysterious mandarin orange in a

+ display case, ‘‘shrivelled up like
an arctic testicle.”
"The satirical comments come
hard and fast. It’s a dangerous
book to read in public.

My guffawing managed to
distract a table of men discussing
the Blue Jays, and to my horror
one leaned over to look at the
page ! was reading ~ XXX Adult
Super Store!

Bennett gives a blow-by-blow
report on activities of bar, barber
and restaurant patrons, providing
details of their anatomy (at their
expense) such as “donkey-faced
kid,’ “elephantine buttocks”

and ‘“‘nose like a sea cucumber.”

Many of the places seem like
they’re in a time warp. At the Arl-
ington Cabaret couples keep the
dance-floor dust bunnies swirling
as they move to Latino ballroom
lunes.

We tour dog-grooming facilities
and hear the drawbacks of the
trade (deating with non-function-
ing anal glands}.

One groomer describes thasa
apsos as ‘‘the kind of dog that'll
sneak up on you and start hump-
ing your leg when you're trying to
say something important.”

What's weird is, at first you have
the impression of peering at
marginal places, watching
marginal people. But as you get
deeper into the bcok you begin to
feel like you are the marginal one
protected from life's stink and
squalor, ignorant of the rituals that
keep these people ticking. °

Things may get a bit ugly at
times, but Bennett keeps itin a
light vein (figuratively, that is). No
trace of CanLit here.

The Hip List, an inside guide

to the city, from funky to .
fabulous, written and published
by Diane Patrick O’ Connor, 60
pp., $6.95 paper

it’s printed on recycled paper,
so it must be hip.

With no hype and lots of style
this pocket-sized guidebook
describes the strategically hip
iocales in the city.

North Shore author Diane
Patrick O'Connor lists in very brief
form, interspersed with casual
comments, over 280 places to
dine, drink, shop and gallery-visit
ull your vel skin wallet is empty.

it’s a relief to read somebody's
trusted opinion (O’Connor was a
lecation manager in the local film
industry} rather than some smarmy
tourist tripe about ‘unique’
places to see.

Outstanding gift certificates and credit
notes wili be honored until Nov. 30/92

entire

stock

We sincerely thank you and have

appreciated serving you and the
community for the lasc 10 years.

Wednesday, October 28, 1992 ~ North Shore News ~ 37

SHIP CONSPIRACY 3
ran 09085767 O-€
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