"when you see anything of mine that you don’t like remember that I’m sincere in doing it and that I’m working toward something." - Ernest Hemingway A selection of recent posts from my Substack site. "Writing until the light goes out" "Writing until the light goes out" Buy discounted books direct from the printer
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“The Land in Winter”
The challenge I had with Andrew Miller's The Land in Winter was its pacing. Part One (c. 180 pages) seemed to dawdle along, and then in Part Two (possibly partly because of the short 'chapters') the novel really took off; it became a much more enjoyable read at that point. When I got to the … Continue reading “The Land in Winter”
“Dream of Fair to Middling Women”
I'm not ashamed to admit that some of the time I had little idea of what was really going on in Samuel Beckett's Dream of Fair to Middling Women - nor that I failed to understand far too many of the words used in it... It's an odd blend of Dubliners (1914), Ulysses (1922), Finnegan's … Continue reading “Dream of Fair to Middling Women”
“The Finkler Question”
If I had a problem with Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question it was this: it felt too interested in itself. That's to say, it pursued what seemed to me a single thread over and over again, the characters' primary purpose being to act as theoretical pegs that could be popped into various belief-shaped holes to … Continue reading “The Finkler Question”
New Contexts: 8
Submissions are now open for the eighth edition of New Contexts which will be published at the end of Q1 2026. for details click here
“Kissing the Blue”
I've just had a short story - "Kissing the Blue" - published in 'Postbox', one of the UK's premier short story magazines.
“The Many Lives of Heloise Starchild”
It would be unfair - not to say inaccurate - to call John Ironmonger's work 'whimsy'; it is far from that. Perhaps 'fable' might be better. Yet there are times when the latter may stray dangerously close to the former, and there was a short period in the middle of The Many Lives of Heloise … Continue reading “The Many Lives of Heloise Starchild”
“Rare Singles”
Sometimes it's perfectly fine to be able to predict - from very early on - how a story is going to turn out; and maybe it's easier to do that when you're convinced the ending will be a 'happy' one. Benjamin Myers' Rare Singles fits that bill: you can easily guess what's going to happen … Continue reading “Rare Singles”
“The Voyage Home”
Bandwagons. I don't like them. I'm not sure what the catalyst might have been - perhaps Madeline Miller's Circe or Stephen Fry's dreadful Mythos (both books I have long since gifted to charity shops) - but something opened the floodgates on retellings of Greek Mythology (mythology I like, by the way). And the covers of … Continue reading “The Voyage Home”
The Labours of Charles E. – a new novel
I am delighted to announce the publication of my new novel, The Labours of Charles E., on the 4th October 2025. Charles E. is not well. A ‘man of letters’ and regarded by some as a ‘National Treasure’, there are elements in his past which surely disqualify such an accolade — even if his somewhat unconventional beginning … Continue reading The Labours of Charles E. – a new novel
Ian Gouge - Writer 