Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose (8): A Memoir of Love, Exile and Crosswords

Sandy Balfour, South African by birth, but foreign in other countries since his 21st birthday, writes his memoir which he links inextricably with crosswords. It has a strange disembodied quality to it. It is almost as though Balfour is narrating someone elses life. It is reflective of the crosswords he adores, that sometimes the clues have layers to them, just like his life seems to be. Nothing, like a cryptic crossword, is straightfoward. It is a slow and layered biography which seems to be at times oa series of interlinked anecdotes about what happened in his life and how it fits in with the crossword clues of that time. Even the title of the book is a crossword clue and reflects his life. For those clues he doesn't solve, or even the ones where the answer is in the text there is a page in the back which talks about how to solve the particular clue, in case you didn't understand how the answer of reached. So you get the double benefit of learning to solve cryptic crosswords, if you didn't already know. I quite liked this book. It was quite a different type of read but enjoyable and I found it oddly compelling. It wasn't that Balfour was a sympathetic character, or even Oprah-like in his confessions. It was such an unusual book and well written which made it so interesting. My only distraction was the at times jerky connection of events which, in the context of a crossword are fine, but didn't work as well for the connection of a series of life events.

This is a clever, quirky little book. The cover says it is a memoir of love, exile and crosswords, but it actually defies categorisation. It isn't really a memoir - the writer is quite selective about which doors of his life are opened to the reader. We know he becomes a crossword afficianado and has a deep fondness for his adopted country (England, he is an ex pat South African) and for his "girlfriend", a title that becomes somewhat grating as the book progresses and she becomes central to his life and the mother of his chidren. But along with a few snippets about his professional life, that's about all he gives away about himself. The story is more a series of recollections of moments in time which he describes for their life importance and for their association with where he was at the same time, in his development as a crypiic crossword afficianado. The originality and cleverness of the book is in the way it is a history of the development of cryptic crosswords and and their setters, and a "how to do them" guide, (arguably a fairly dry subject) which is flavoured up with human interest by being embedded in some important events in the writer's life. Definitely recommended for those who love doing cryptic crosswords and those who aspire to do them. Probably of less interest to those who consider crosswords to be only for nerdy types who need to get a real life. (Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose - answer, rebelled - if you can't work it out and are itching to know why, buy the book!!)

At first impression this seems to be a wandering memoir focussed on the author's love of crosswords with a few personal details thrown in. But as you read on, it becomes clear Balfour is writing a long love letter to his girlfriend, who introduced him to crossword puzzles. As he explains lucidly how he slowly began to understand the way the puzzles were put together, he slips in more and more details about his girlfriend. As you wonder whether they stayed together, you learn that she is pregnant with their first child. Time passes on, he gets better and better jobs, and suddenly she is giving birth to their third child. This is a wonderful piece of writing and one I cannot recommend highly enough.

I wish Balfour had concentrated more on his love of crosswords and less on the memoir. The crossword discussion and examples were fascinating and educational. I've learned a great deal on the art of solving the cryptic variety of crosswords. By the end of the book my chances of solving these clues had gone from none to slim. The deciding factor now is a matter of culture. So many of the clues in the British puzzles relate to British culture and/or slang as well they should. I'm fairing better with the clues in the Games Magazine cryptic crosswords which is a huge step forward for me.

What can one say that will accurately describe this book?That it's a marvelous memoir that reads like a novel? Yes!That it's a special treat for cruciverbalists of the cryptic kind? Most definitely!That it's quite unlike anything you've ever read? ProbablyThat Sandy Balfour should just keep writing more and more? Most assuredly!But, to sum it up in a phrase...?O.K. *A truly fun read (reed)!!![.]