Although its geographical setting is very different, Sarah Perry's excellent "Melmoth" tackles some themes similar to those in "The Essex Serpent": the semi-isolation of an individual in community; guilt and sin; the threat of the unknown; how people manage - or not - their interaction with something intangible, ephemeral, threatening. The words you might see associated with the … Continue reading “Melmoth”
Category: Fiction
The Perennial Question: What Next?
It's that time of year again. As seems to have been the case for - what? - the last two or three years now, I arrive into December putting the finishing touches to the final drafts for new books that will see the light of day in February; all that remains is the generation and … Continue reading The Perennial Question: What Next?
The mood music of editing
When we write fiction - and especially when we are steeped in revision - it would not be unreasonable to assert that our primary goal is to land on the 'right' words, that elusive combination which tells the story we want to tell and does so in the perfect way. Not unreasonable, surely? Indeed. I … Continue reading The mood music of editing
“The Cockroach”
It was with a degree of surprise that I realised last night I hadn't read any Ian McEwan for a long time - something which was accompanied by a recognition that I needed to read more. The catalyst? "The Cockroach": a sublimely unfiltered, undisguised and scathing satire on the state of UK politics - and … Continue reading “The Cockroach”
“Circe”
I need to learn my lesson. If the cover of a book says "The #1 International Best Seller" then just leave it on the shelf. Madeline Miller's "Circe" is one such book. If it starts out as a dull retelling of ancient Greek mythology - told from the perspective of the title character - one … Continue reading “Circe”
“Mantissa”
John Fowles' "Mantissa" is a child of its times. Written in 1982 at the peak of popularity for modernist literary theory, deconstruction, Lacan, Foucault, Derrida, it is a novel that attempts to explore the relationship between author and text both in itself and also as the theme for the narrative within the book. In some … Continue reading “Mantissa”
Is there room in the market for a new literary journal?
The idea is simple enough. A bi-annual literary compendium containing prose, poetry, and literary non-fiction. It would be produced in paperback book not pamphlet form, and probably run to about 200-pages long. Significantly, the bulk of the content would most likely come from writers capable of crafting high-quality material yet who are struggling to get … Continue reading Is there room in the market for a new literary journal?
“The English Patient”
There can be no doubt that my reading of Michael Ondaatje's marvellous "The English Patient" benefited from me having seen the film. It was as if the story he was sketching was being laid down on pre-tinted paper which made his images and backdrop all the more convincing. It was reading "Warlight" that made me … Continue reading “The English Patient”
Free books this weekend!
For this weekend - 1st - 4th November - Amazon is offering three of my books in Kindle version absolutely free! Take a look and help yourself! "An Infinity of Mirrors" Given his profession as a Historian, it was inevitable that Mark would find himself one day writing the story of his late father, the … Continue reading Free books this weekend!
Snippet
She now realised she had moved through her adult life with an increasing sense of self-obligation; she was operating against a default equation which meant every time someone changed one of the variables she was forcing herself to re-solve the algebra. Having left the draft to mature for a small number of months, I'm currently … Continue reading Snippet
Ian Gouge - Writer 