Benjamin Wood's Seascraper is excellent. On reflection, I think I was most impressed by its authenticity: you could believe the character and - perhaps just as important in this case - the environment Wood was describing. And I liked the fact that the novel ended on an upbeat note, one which allowed you to mentally … Continue reading “Seascraper”
Category: Reading
“The Boy Who Belonged to the Sea”
Denis Thériault's The Boy Who Belonged to the Sea is, as one reviewer described it, "quirky and charming". It also requires a massive degree of belief suspension if you're going to navigate through to the end as the distance between reality and what happens in the novel is, at times, a chasm. I was thrown … Continue reading “The Boy Who Belonged to the Sea”
“The Year’s Afternoon”
In reading Douglas Dunn's The Year's Afternoon I was struck by just how dated the poetry seemed. Though it was published in 2000, I wouldn't have been surprised had it been written fifty years earlier. I make this assessment based on language, rhyme and the layout of the poems on the page. And some of … Continue reading “The Year’s Afternoon”
“Poundland Rimbaud”
I picked up Johny Fluffypunk's Poundland Rimbaud in the Waterstones' remainders section. And what a whacky thing it is: a mixture of stories, poems, jokes (kind of), and the text of a stage performance. If you're looking for something off-the-wall I doubt you'll get much more weird than this - but you'll have to find … Continue reading “Poundland Rimbaud”
“Lord Malquist & Mr Moon”
The only novel by the playwright Tom Stoppard - and a completely bonkers one! Surreal, off-the-wall; you choose the phrase - but it's also funny and poignant, and I suspect says quite a lot about the young 1966 Stoppard who wrote it just after finished Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Stoppard offers us a cast … Continue reading “Lord Malquist & Mr Moon”
“Twist”
Twist is the fifth novel from Colum McCann I've read - and I daresay it won't be the last. A fluent narrative with just enough in terms of 'teasers' to keep you reading. Interestingly, many of these come at the beginning of chapters rather than at the end; a kind of trailer for what could … Continue reading “Twist”
“Life A User’s Manual”
I should start by confessing that it has taken me more than two years - if not three or four! - to finish reading Georges Perec's novel, Life A User's Manual. And why is that? Although it weighs in at 500 pages (in my 2008 Vintage paperback edition), it's not the size of the book … Continue reading “Life A User’s Manual”
“The Second Chance Convenience Store”
I really must stop trying to read Korean novels (in translation). It seems to me that they are too simple, repetitive, predictable, moralistic, and positive. If that generalisation is correct then I suspect it must be a cultural thing - allied to the fact that I don't like my novels written that way. Indeed, I … Continue reading “The Second Chance Convenience Store”
“Live a Little”
Simply excellent. For me there are two reasons Howard Jacobson's Live a Little shines: the more minor of the two is that he doesn't let the religious backgrounds of the characters overpower the story; the major is the marvellous Beryl Dusinbery. What a marvellous confection of a character! Without doubt one of the best portrayals … Continue reading “Live a Little”
“Flesh”
David Szalay's Booker-winning novel Flesh is a brutal read; not in terms of the narrative - though it has its moments! - but in terms of its style: short staccato punchy and repetitive sentences which seem to strip the language down to its bare bones and remove any kind of lyricism at all. I can … Continue reading “Flesh”
Ian Gouge - Writer 