Oh dear. And I'm usually such a fan of Ian McEwan's work... What We Can Know was a real let-down. From my perspective, fundamentally flawed (and spoiler alert...) Setting the book in the middle of the twenty-second century: what was that all about? Not only completely unbelievable but distracting and unnecessary. The premise of the … Continue reading “What We Can Know”
Category: Books
“The Seasons of Cullen Church”
I confess I couldn't get particularly excited about Bernard O'Donoghue's The Seasons of Cullen Church; in the main the poems felt a little insipid and insignificant, and the topics lacked a certain relevance (not being Irish, nor religious, nor knowing some of the people referenced). But they should still work for all of that. However, … Continue reading “The Seasons of Cullen Church”
Virtual poetry reading event on Thursday 27th.
The 38th in a long-running series of events. Details in the link below: https://coverstorybooks.com/2026/08/23/contextual-38-in-four-days/
“After Fame”
We're told by the cover flaps that Sam Riveire's After Fame is a collection of 118 poems based - in some way shape or form - on Book 1 by the Roman poet, Martial. Which on the face of it is fair enough. However a significant proportion of the 118 are clearly not poems but … Continue reading “After Fame”
IMPORTANT – FOR ALL INGRAM SPARK USERS
I have just discovered there is an opt-out to help prevent your books being sold to AI companies (which presumably means the default is ‘opt-in’…) You can find the opt-out link here (pass it on): https://www.ingramcontent.com/page/ai-opt-out
“House of Lords and Commons”
If I struggled with Ishion Hutchinson's House of Lords and Commons that was because all too often I felt the poems sacrificed meaning in order to be 'poetic'. Often too poetic. For a large chunks of time I had no idea what was being said, getting lost in over-long 'sentences' and the tricky syntax. I … Continue reading “House of Lords and Commons”
“The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories”
I venture to suggest that The Melancholy Death and Oyster Boy and Other Stories (1997 in the US) was only published because Tim Burton was already famous. [Yes, the Tim Burton of 'Beetlejuice', 'Batman', 'Edward Scissorhands', 'Mars Attacks!' etc.] While the drawings are proficient, whacky and creepy, the writing isn't. Very few of the poems … Continue reading “The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories”
“Seascraper”
Benjamin Wood's Seascraper is excellent. On reflection, I think I was most impressed by its authenticity: you could believe the character and - perhaps just as important in this case - the environment Wood was describing. And I liked the fact that the novel ended on an upbeat note, one which allowed you to mentally … Continue reading “Seascraper”
Writing to Gisella and Other Stories
We are delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of Ian Gouge's latest collection of short stories, Writing to Gisella and Other Stories, due out on the 3rd October, 2026. The collection opens with an updated version of the 2017 novella, Writing to Gisella. Writing to GisellaIn many ways it was the perfect summer break: taken on impulse, and … Continue reading Writing to Gisella and Other Stories
July’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 July’s Substack highlights
Ian Gouge - Writer 