Fiction
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Eimear McBride’s A Girl is a Half-formed Thing is a difficult book to read. Firstly this is because of the style in which it is written: fragmented, jerky, linguistically inaccurate, often illiterate. It seems like stream of consciousness with about a quarter of the words removed. And with stuttering where there are words. Impossible for…
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Ian Gouge has written a delightful novel that reminded me of the writing style of Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway. I’m my opinion this novel deserves to be up there with these literary greats. – Persephone Sometimes a house is even more than a home. Have you ever visited a house that shines so brightly it…
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“Books talk to the inner person, the secret person; they can make direct contact with all those subterranean feelings and desires you speak of.” Vincent edits books. It is a modest and quiet occupation – yet one which is about to be thrown into turmoil thanks to the arrival of woman, her gift to him,…
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William Golding’s The Paper Men made me feel uncomfortable; no so much from the subject matter, but because it didn’t ‘feel’ like Golding (who I generally think is superb). The main character’s drunkenness didn’t seem uniformly portrayed and in some places was unconvincing – though in others, brilliant. In too many places the book felt…
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This was a very deep and descriptive novel that analyses the memories that houses hold and its told through fictional characters. I have great admiration for the way Ian Gouge writes and the wisdom he shares throughout this book. If you like a reflective novel that is a relaxed read then this is the book…
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“Books talk to the inner person, the secret person; they can make direct contact with all those subterranean feelings and desires you speak of.” Vincent edits books. It is a modest and quiet occupation – yet one which is about to be thrown into turmoil thanks to the arrival of woman, her gift to him,…
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It’s difficult to know what to say about Samuel Beckett’s fiction. Bizarrely – and counter-intuitively – the obvious choices might tend toward the trite: “it’s hard”, “it’s rubbish”, “I didn’t understand a word”, “utterly profound” etc. You may know where you stand on this spectrum. And Malone Dies is no easier or harder than anything…
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Really excited to have my virtual book tour starting soon – and to read the reviews of the tour’s hosts. I will ensure I post the highlights here and on my Substack site!
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The thing that strikes me the most about Philip Roth’s “The Humbling” is how totally inappropriate the title is. Simon Axler, the lead character, isn’t humbled – he’s crushed. ‘Humbling’ suggests someone merely cut down to size, made to see the reality of their situation (but gently perhaps); it even hits at the possibility of…
