My new novel, "A Pattern of Sorts", is published early in August. We often encounter difficulty when trying to reconcile our memories of events with what actually happened. In the almost inevitable mis-match, our mind plays tricks on us, and what we have recently learned and how we have recently lived gets in the way … Continue reading A Pattern of Sorts
If you wanted to call a book 'hard-hitting', then Philip Roth's "I Married a Communist" would be right up there. Not necessarily in the sense of the message it conveys - though that in itself is naked and raw - but in the unrelenting and merciless power of the language. At times you feel as … Continue reading “I Married a Communist”
Perhaps it is inevitable that a novel which relates the experiences of a man spending his life entirely ensconced in a Moscow hotel is somewhat episodic, at times reading more like a collection of little vignettes than anything else. If so, then the fact that Amor Towles' "A Gentleman in Moscow" is c.450 pages long … Continue reading “A Gentleman in Moscow”
Perhaps to start with a caution. Even though "Tenth of December" is a collection of short stories, you are going to have to work at them. This is partly because of their gritty realism, and partly because of remarkably fluid style George Saunders chooses to write them in. Often you find a mixture of real … Continue reading “Tenth of December”
I can't quite decide whether or not I should recommend this small Vintage 'mini' as a suitable introduction to the work of Haruki Murakami. The stories in "Desire" are more or less typical of his style and - interestingly - they give each of his major into-English translators a run-out too. (Through experience, I've found … Continue reading “Desire”
If you're expecting 'weird' right off the bat because "The Porpoise" is written by Mark Haddon (the legacy, perhaps, of "The Curious Incident...") then the beginning lulls you into something of a false sense of security. Okay, the subject matter is undeniably dark, but the beginning feels like a straightforward narrative. But when the story … Continue reading “The Porpoise”
Perhaps it's an inevitable question. Having just completed the first stage (on-screen) of a three-cycle review and proofreading activity, the default question I always ask myself - perhaps more subconsciously than not - is do I like what I've written? Reasonably short at c. 140 paperback pages and around 52k words, my next novel represents … Continue reading After the first review: do I like what I’ve written?
Very good. Quite simply, Christy Lefteri's "The Beekeeper of Aleppo" is one of those books you should read; not just because it is well-written, but because of the subject matter. As an ex-NGO in a Greek refugee camp in Athens, filled with asylum seekers from various nations, Lefteri knows what she's talking about - and … Continue reading “The Beekeeper of Aleppo”
I am scheduled to be interviewed next week by the internet-based UK radio station, 'Chat and Spin'. They regularly interview writers, musicians, artists and the like, a ten-minute slot which gives you a chance to talk about your work. Looking forward to it - even if it is live and not pre-recorded! The slot is … Continue reading Radio Interview next week!
I confess to being slightly confused and ambivalent about Ian McEwan's "Machines Like Me". It seemed to vary between being good, and not so; between generating empathy for its characters, and then nothing at all. The only constant perhaps was my distaste for the android / synthetic human, Adam. But perhaps that was the point. … Continue reading “Machines Like Me”
Ian Gouge - Writer 