Ahead of the publication of Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium, we sat down with Alan Cumming to find out about some of the books that have played a significant part in his life so far.

Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium
By Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson
Published by 404 Ink

The book as . . . memory. What is your first memory of books and reading?  

Books were always about escape for me in my childhood. I remember devouring Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series as a child. They seemed like an alternative reality I could connect to, a rural idyll where adventures happened all around you. There was even a trans person among them! For a little boy growing up in Angus countryside they were both relatable and unimaginable. 

The book as . . . your work. Tell us about your latest book Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium. What did you want to explore in putting together this book?   

This book all came about because we realised it had been 40 years since we had made up Victor and Barry! We still cannot compute that number! And when it is released it will be the 40th anniversary of Victor and Barry’s first ever appearance at the Edinburgh fringe, where they found their feet and eventually their fame. So the book is a celebration of the characters and also Forbes and I’s friendship and artistic collaboration. It’s also us as older men looking back at ourselves in our early twenties dealing with this cultural explosion we were at the centre of and recollecting how insane and overwhelming it all was. But mostly it is a laugh. We uncovered old scripts and sketches and shows and photos, and we also managed to snag an exclusive interview with Victor and Barry themselves!! 

The book as . . . inspiration. What is your favourite book that has informed how you see yourself? 

I know it might sound egocentric and navel-gazing, but honestly my own books about my life have been incredibly illuminating. The act of standing back and analysing my own actions and choices and patterns through the process of writing has been revelatory and therapeutic to an incredible degree, and I think I have such a higher level of self-knowledge both for having committed to writing them but also for hearing the feedback from those who have read them. I think I might need to do another!  

The book as . . . an object. What is your favourite beautiful book? 

I just love photography books that you can pick up and browse. Some of my favourites are Waiting for the Magic by Oscar Mazzaroli, a Taschen book on the architect Zaha Hadid, and I also love the colour and queerness of David Lachappelle’s books. 

The book as . . . a relationship. What is your favourite book that bonded you to someone else?  

It’s not so much about books bonding me with other people who have read them, but more reading a book then getting the chance to meet and even become friends with the author. So I have relationships with writers that have come directly because of their writing. Like Douglas Stuart, Danny Ramadan (whose Foghorn Echoes blew my mind), Amy Bloom. It’s really one of my favourite things about being me that I have access to artists I admire. I can geek out with impunity! 

The book as . . . rebellion. What is your favourite book that felt like it revealed a secret truth to you? 

When I was quite young I read Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story and I recognised a queer desire that I shared with the narrator. At the time I think it was even a secret to me, but it allowed me to embrace and feel comfortable with it. 

The book as . . . a destination. What is your favourite book set in a place unknown to you?  

After Leaving Mr Mackenzie by Jean Rhys is set in Paris and London. I don’t really know Paris very well, and I lived in London for ten years and still don’t know it very well. But this is set in a time between the wars and an epoch that is both fascinating and terrifying to me. It’s also about someone having a breakdown and I seem to be drawn to books that make you feel you are inside someone’s mind. Shuggie Bain, Catcher In the Rye, The Trick Is To Keep Breathing, they are all immersive experiences, and so is this one. 

The book as . . . the future. What are you looking forward to reading next?  

As I write this I am looking at Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan, waiting on my desk for me to pick up and begin. I love Andrew both as a person and a writer, and everything I have read of his has been both magical and earthy, and always compelling. I can’t wait. 

Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium by Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson is published by 404 Ink in July, priced £12.99.