Simon Rumley started life at the bottom of the film-making industry, and it was while working as a runner that he began writing film scripts that led to him directing those scripts and being noticed by people who admired his work. But after suffering personal trauma his writing took on another aspect and explored the darker side of life where, it would be fair to say, people do end up dying, writes Michael Holland.
Over several feature films Simon has covered crime, the rape of a nun, insanity, suicide and even worse if he can find it. His name has now become associated with the horror genre and he has won many awards and garnered much critical acclaim for his films, so I was surprised to hear that he has taken his writing in a new direction and written a novel – The Wobble Club – about two happy people who like their food. Too much, perhaps.
I could see by the book’s blurb that this tale, which seemingly starts out as a jolly romp, eventually takes morbid turnings, which didn’t surprise me knowing Mr Rumley’s past work, but I was intrigued by it being set in a SE London that I grew up in. Intrigued enough to find out more.
Why SE London? I asked. ‘In 2002 I bought a flat in the Borough, just a few minutes walk from the tube station; I always liked its centrality but also its anonymity and proximity to the Thames… Back then the area was residential and business only, with a few pubs, an Indian, Borough Market and not much else.’
You’ve made it sound quite ordinary.
‘Yes,’ he rasped as a shadowy figure floated past the frosted window that had ‘Fine Wines & Spirits’ etched into it, ‘but after 6.30ish the streets were practically deserted, which I loved and always marvelled at, given how slap-bang in the middle of London it is.’
I felt I was getting closer to the real Simon Rumley.
Why did you decide to write a book?
‘I’d had too many bad experiences making feature films and needed a break from the heartbreak of putting all my energy, time and passion into projects only for them to be recut badly or buried or mismanaged…
‘I had written a novel (unpublished) back when I left university and always wanted to return to the medium, so after my last film was released in 2019, I decided to take a sabbatical from film-making and concentrate on a novel. This coincided with the pandemic so the timing was good.’
I checked the blurb once again:
“Gill and Brolly live happily together off the Walworth Road. They share a content, happy existence, unremarkable except for one thing; their excessive food intake. They rely on mobility scooters and their friend Rob, a taxi driver with an unusual fetish, to help them live the life they want: an orgy of takeaways, fast food and non-stop snacking. After witnessing their best friend, the morbidly obese Tiny Tim, eat himself to death, Brolly decides he and Gill should lose weight before suffering the same fate – but Gill refuses.”
Unconsciously, I pulled my stomach in. Where did the idea come from?
‘At some point I was probably about 20kg heavier than I am now and as I started to lose weight whilst fasting, the idea came to me. It was very much a high concept Hollywood pitch: “What happens when one member of a morbidly obese couple decides to go on a diet but the other refuses?” I loved the drama and the psychological intrigue that sprang from the idea and just went with it.’
Who is it based on?
‘It’s not based on anyone specific, just figments of my imagination. That said, I did do a ton of research online about people who weigh over 40 stone…’
I felt his eyes burn into me. They were telling me I was overstaying my welcome… I needed to get to the sanctuary of home so had to bring this to a close. Anything else you’d like to add?
‘Well, I hope people appreciate The Wobble Club. It gets quite dark and there are a lot of adult themes in it but I’ve tried to treat everything with sensitivity and it really doesn’t seem like our relationship with food and what it does to us is going to change any time soon so I hope it provokes some interesting thoughts and conversations…’
I wondered out loud if Arments, the legendary pie and mash shop off the Walworth Road becomes part of Gill and Brolly’s downfall but the interviewee turned the questions on me:
‘Would you go out for some fast food in Walworth Road with me?’ Only for lunch, I replied.
‘Would you walk down an empty street with me after dark?’ Probably not, I whimpered.
‘Are you going to read my book?’ Yes! I said almost too quickly and loudly.
‘Well, that’s when you’ll find out about your beloved Arments,’ Rumley snarled after putting his face close up to mine.
And with that, Simon Rumley stood up and slid smoothly into his black cape. As he opened the door a wave of smog rolled in, cloaking the writer in mist before he walked off into the dark night without looking back. Me, I summoned an Uber to take me the 250 metres to the station as it was, er… very dark.
As his footsteps drifted away into the distance I read the next part of the blurb:
‘This debut novel from agent provocateur and cult-film director Simon Rumley veers from the humorous to the bathetic. The Wobble Club is a unique, thought-provoking and unforgettable debut which investigates society’s final taboo: whether people should be allowed to do what they want with their bodies.’
I looked on the front: Nigel Planer says it is ‘Darkly comic’!
I wasn’t scared. I was just pretending…
Further details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Rumley
The Wobble Club will be available at all good bookstores and on kindle.
The book doesn’t come out until 26th October but you can pre-order here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wobble-Club-Simon-Rumley/dp/1915635543/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1690212230&refinements=p_27%3ASimon+Rumley&s=books&sr=1-1
£10.99
