On the 19th December I started work on something that - as is often the case - was no more than a vague notion, a few opening sentences. On Monday, just under four months later, I finished the first draft of a new, relatively small novel (c. 52k words, about 150 paperback pages). I have … Continue reading The result of four months’ work…
Normally I would argue that a Booker Prize winning novel (or even finalist) would be a pretty decent yardstick for the oeuvre of an author, a good place to start. But having read "On Chesil Beach" and "Black Dogs", I have to say Ian McEwan's "Amsterdam" is far from that. Indeed, had I read "Amsterdam" … Continue reading “Amsterdam”
Whether some elements of the central post-war event re-told at the end of Ian McEwan's "Black Dogs" have any basis in reality is potentially irrelevant - and if you've read the book, you'll probably have a good idea of the specific element I'm talking about! True or false, it doesn't diminish the power of the … Continue reading “Black Dogs”
Ever since I read Graham Swift's wonderful "Waterland" I've been completely hooked; his writing is something I can always reliably turn to. There are a few authors in that bracket for me - Murakami certainly, Julian Barnes, Donna Tartt, Swift himself - with a few others 'coming up on the rails': Ishiguro, Ali Smith, McEwan. … Continue reading “Here We Are”
This week - Monday 30th March to Friday 3rd April - Amazon are giving away free Kindle copies of my collection of short stories, "Secrets & Wisdom". So today's the last day! Recently I read one of the stories from this volume, "Welshman" (see the link below). Now you have the chance to get the … Continue reading Free e-book this week – last chance!
This week - Monday 30th March to Friday 3rd April - Amazon are giving away free Kindle copies of my collection of short stories, "Secrets & Wisdom". Recently I read one of the stories from this volume, "Welshman" (see the link below). Now you have the chance to get the whole collection absolutely free! Partly … Continue reading Free e-book this week!
There is a particular skill in taking a relatively small narrative episode and weaving an entire novel from it. In "On Chesil Beach" Ian McEwan displays such talents. The incident of the title - short, climactic, tense, complex, emotional - is perhaps the natural outcome of the story as it is laid before us. How … Continue reading “On Chesil Beach”
Considering all that he's written, I find it somewhat remarkable that "Paris Echo" is the first Sebastian Faulks I have ever read. Was that a good place to start? I suspect I'll never know. Without doubt, there is much about the book to admire, but the question I'm wrestling with at the end of it … Continue reading “Paris Echo”
I have always wanted to read my short story "Welshman". Written a while ago, it was published in 2017 in my collection of short stories "Secrets & Wisdom". I hope you like it.
Having loved "The Miniaturist" and, off the back of that read "The Muse", I confess to being profoundly disappointed by Jessie Burton's latest, "The Confession". So disappointed in fact, that I've given up on it after about 170 pages. I struggled with the tone, and - I hate to say - so much of it … Continue reading “The Confession”
Ian Gouge - Writer 