Product Description

Dr Alex Seymour seems to have it all - with a solid marriage of twenty years, two teenage children, a new baby and an unblemished career as a London GP, his life seems perfect - but then a simple trip to the local supermarket changes things irrevocably. As he witnesses a shoplifter foiled by a combination of the owner’s beady eye and the surveillance camera under the counter, Alex Seymour starts thinking about the reality and the fragility of his own seemingly perfect domestic situation, and what he does not see. With a son he suspects is stealing, a daughter whose first boyfriend may be going too far, and a wife he thinks is being unfaithful, Alex needs something to help him find out the truth and put him back in control. Enter Sherry Thomas, the mysterious Managing Director of Cyclops, a surveillance shop, and the catalyst for Alex Seymour's descent into a world ruled by cameras, tapes, lies and deceit, with devastating consequences. A gripping story of suspense that mirrors modern preoccupations with surveillance, tabloid voyeurism and morality.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #373084 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Seymour Tapes confirms what readers of Tim Lott have long known: he is one of the most subtle and sensitive writers at work today. In such books as White City Blue and Rumours of a Hurricane, the author has demonstrated a masterly command of subtle and allusive prose, along with a refusal to repeat himself in terms of subject matter.

The conceit of the new novel is that Lott is examining a real-life case: at the request of the widow of the late Dr Alex Seymour, he has decided to put certain facts in the public view. Seymour had experienced a life change after seeing a shoplifter caught on a surveillance camera: what was he missing in his own life that surveillance could reveal? He decides to enlist the Cyclops organisation and undertake a revealing overview of his own life--all at the behest of the charismatic American Sherry Thomas. An embarrassing scandal follows, know as the Skin Tapes. And it's this which is (we are told) the basis of Lott’s investigation, as the author interrogates Seymour's widow Samantha. As with the novels of John Fowles, Lott becomes drawn into his own narrative, as Samantha Seymour puts the author himself in the limelight, obliging him to be equally as frank about things he'd rather conceal about his own life.

Sex and dark psychology are always a good recipe for a compelling novel, and Lott is as adroit as ever at marshalling the combustible elements of his narrative into a fascinating whole. His self-involvement is a dangerous gambit--and if Lott doesn’t entirely pull it off, the final effect is exhilarating. --Barry Forshaw

About the Author
Tim Lott's previous books are The Scent of Dried Roses, which won the JR Ackerley Prize for Autobiography, White City Blue, which won the Whitbread First Novel Award, Rumours of a Hurricane, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread novel of the year, and The Love Secrets of Don Juan. He lives in London NW10.

Customer Reviews

The Seymour Tapes
Lott's new book is all about surveillance. It's central point is that omniscience brings neither the truth nor an accurate representation of reality. Indeed, a reliance on it as a means of gaining power over others or ascertaining their motives to action is apt ultimately to lead to disaster, whatever the intention.

Lott sets himself as the narrator, pretending to be writing a faithful account of a factual event at the behest of the widowed Mrs Seymour. The relationship between them is interestingly developed throughout the book, and allows the author both to play with the reader's unease at not knowing whether what is going on is based on fact or not and add a feasible if easy to anticipate twist at the end.

There are times when reading the book that belief needs to be temporarily suspended, but this is vindicated by later revelations in the narrative. The one criticism I do have is of the very end, where what has been implicit throughout the novel is made explicit in a way that feels rather patronizing. Overall, though, this book is an pleasurable and worthwhile, if a little undemanding, read.

Somebody's watching you....
I do like Tim Lott, but this novel was a real departure from his other novels.
The basic idea behind the novel is that Lott has been approached by the widow of a Dr Alex Seymour (who has been involved in a highly publicized scandal.) Seymour's widow wants to set the story straight and so wants a book written.
The scandal involved Seymour using covert CCTV in his own home to watch his wife and two children, which leads to a romantic involvement and ultimately his death (I haven't given anything away by telling you he dies....but I won't tell you how!)

What follows are transcripts of coversations with the widow, Samantha and Lott's own intrepretation of what he is seeing on the video tapes.

This is a highly original novel, written as if it is fact. It plays with modern day paranoia about being watched and who is watching. It also deals incredibly well with power in realtionships and how people can be manipulated /manipulative.

Tightly plotted and can be read on several levels.

If you like this book also try 'Blood data' by Lurey Gibson...you may never sleep again!

thrilling!
I just finished this in more or less one session. It is excellent. The form is original and gripping. A page-turner with a nice twist in the tail.