I am delighted to be publishing Zanna Beswick's debut poetry collection, Sensitive Information, under my Coverstory books imprint. For more information on the collection, please visit HERE.
“The Year’s Afternoon”
In reading Douglas Dunn's The Year's Afternoon I was struck by just how dated the poetry seemed. Though it was published in 2000, I wouldn't have been surprised had it been written fifty years earlier. I make this assessment based on language, rhyme and the layout of the poems on the page. And some of … Continue reading “The Year’s Afternoon”
“Poundland Rimbaud”
I picked up Johny Fluffypunk's Poundland Rimbaud in the Waterstones' remainders section. And what a whacky thing it is: a mixture of stories, poems, jokes (kind of), and the text of a stage performance. If you're looking for something off-the-wall I doubt you'll get much more weird than this - but you'll have to find … Continue reading “Poundland Rimbaud”
“Lord Malquist & Mr Moon”
The only novel by the playwright Tom Stoppard - and a completely bonkers one! Surreal, off-the-wall; you choose the phrase - but it's also funny and poignant, and I suspect says quite a lot about the young 1966 Stoppard who wrote it just after finished Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Stoppard offers us a cast … Continue reading “Lord Malquist & Mr Moon”
“Twist”
Twist is the fifth novel from Colum McCann I've read - and I daresay it won't be the last. A fluent narrative with just enough in terms of 'teasers' to keep you reading. Interestingly, many of these come at the beginning of chapters rather than at the end; a kind of trailer for what could … Continue reading “Twist”
“Life A User’s Manual”
I should start by confessing that it has taken me more than two years - if not three or four! - to finish reading Georges Perec's novel, Life A User's Manual. And why is that? Although it weighs in at 500 pages (in my 2008 Vintage paperback edition), it's not the size of the book … Continue reading “Life A User’s Manual”
“Small Comfort”
Ia Genberg's Small Comfort is something of a smorgasbord: five stories which, we're told are 'interconnected'. Indeed, from the perspective of broad subject - money - they are; but in solid narrative terms the 'overspill' between one story and the next is limited perhaps to the first two stories. Style and format is a different … Continue reading “Small Comfort”
Now published: “The Extra Shot”!
Having taken four years to write, I am pleased to announce that my latest novel, The Extra Shot, has now been published in both paperback and ebook formats. The Extra Shot
May & June’s Substack highlights
"when you see anything of mine that you don’t like remember that I’m sincere in doing it and that I’m working toward something." - Ernest Hemingway A selection of recent posts from my Substack site. Also, on the same site, don't miss the free serialisation of my magic realism novel, The Big Frog Theory. If … Continue reading May & June’s Substack highlights
“The Second Chance Convenience Store”
I really must stop trying to read Korean novels (in translation). It seems to me that they are too simple, repetitive, predictable, moralistic, and positive. If that generalisation is correct then I suspect it must be a cultural thing - allied to the fact that I don't like my novels written that way. Indeed, I … Continue reading “The Second Chance Convenience Store”
Ian Gouge - Writer 