OK. Let's get a couple of things clear up front... This post isn't about speed-datingActually I've never had any experience of speed-dating, so if you hear anything to the contrary they are just vile rumours So, speed-dating. The 'topic' - or at least the title of the topic - comes from a recent post of … Continue reading Speed-dating
Category: Fiction
“Grand Union”
There is a tremendous degree of variety in Zadie Smith's short story collection, "Grand Union". Variations in style, theme, tempo. There is also (for me at least) considerable variation in terms of what one might euphemistically - and dangerously! - bracket as 'accessibility'. Some of the writing is breathtaking; some less so. A number of … Continue reading “Grand Union”
“Lanny”
If you're the kind of person who flicks through a few pages of a book before you decide to buy it, then you might be put off by Max Porter's "Lanny". The way one of the character's contributions are printed is, shall we say, a little 'esoteric'; the font is variable, and the words bend … Continue reading “Lanny”
“The Nickel Boys”
Simply stunning. Having read "The Underground Railroad", I confess to being a little reticent about deciding to read Colson Whitehead's "The Nickel Boys". I wasn't sure that it would be quite 'me'. Perhaps I was nervous that - as a white, middle class Brit - the book wouldn't resonate with me, that I'd fail to … Continue reading “The Nickel Boys”
Searching for good writing…
I am currently working my way through two-hundred-and-seven submissions for an anthology of poetry and prose I plan to publish early in 2021. It's an interesting experience. As a first stage I've taken to dividing pieces into three groups: Shortlist - those that are clearly good and likely to make the final cut; Longlist - … Continue reading Searching for good writing…
“So how’s the not working / writing more thing going…?”
I confess to have been prompted to this mini self-assessment by Andrea Badgley's post Writing More Means Doomscrolling Less, and as a follow-up to my own Missing Work Already? It's not the kind of thing I normally do; I'm not a natural "look at me" kind of person - though I am belatedly realising that … Continue reading “So how’s the not working / writing more thing going…?”
“The Offing”
I really liked Benjamin Myers' "The Offing". It's a gentle, inoffensive coming-of-age tale; romantic with a small 'r'. Like most things, "The Offing" is far from perfect: perhaps it tries a little too hard early on before it gets into the swing of itself; and most sixteen-year-olds simply wouldn't have the nouse to do some … Continue reading “The Offing”
“The Shell Collector”
I daresay a case could be made to argue that it is only when a novelist is writing short stories that you get a true measure of their abilities: the need to be economical but not too sparse; the creation of a plot that is coherent but not over-blown; the establishing of character without having … Continue reading “The Shell Collector”
The 4 a.m. alarm call…
Sometimes you can do nothing about it. Unbidden a phrase or a sentence will pop into your head and not let go. It could be something new, or the need to change something old - but let's hope not borrowed!! Today gifted me one of those mornings. Reeling a little from a writers' group the … Continue reading The 4 a.m. alarm call…
Missing work already..?
Today is the first 'new Monday'; the first whole week where I can decide what I do with my time, how much I write. Staggeringly it is a month since I wrote The Daunting Prospect of Reinvention - and what's more bizarre is that it feels as if I have been footloose and fancy-free for more … Continue reading Missing work already..?
Ian Gouge - Writer 