Film-maker John Boorman is going in a different direction with his debut novel

Humanity has a disastrous record when it comes to taking care of our fellow man and the planet, but there is a kind of redemption in nature, film-maker John Boorman tells Rita de Brún

‘Write about what you know’ is sound advice for any debut novel writer and in penning Crime of Passion, John Boorman has done just that. His is a cracking book about film-making, one in which the legendary director features fleetingly, in a token, almost Hitchcockian cameo way.

He’s in good company when he does, as so too does Quentin Tarantino and a host of other Hollywood names. While the primary characters are fictional, there’s a ‘Brad Tullio’ among them. While he shares nothing more than an Italian heritage and a surname with Boorman’s late great friend, Paulo, the inclusion emphasises the personal nature of this hugely informative and engaging novel.