“An English Guide to Birdwatching”

It is very rare these days that I am blown away by the opening of a book. However, the first chapter of Nicholas Royle's "An English Guide to Birdwatching" was, I thought, stunning. I was immediately drawing internal parallels with people like Graham Swift - and praise from me doesn't get much greater than that. … Continue reading “An English Guide to Birdwatching” →

“The Noise of a Fly”

There can be little doubt that there are some great lines and phrases in Douglas Dunn's most recent volume of poems, "The Noise of a Fly". However, in spite of this, I found myself distracted by a) the many lists that appear throughout the poems, b) the slavish adherence to the (sometimes too forced?) rhyming … Continue reading “The Noise of a Fly” →

Coverstory books

Coverstory books, my new publishing imprint is now LIVE! You can find the website at http://www.coverstorybooks.com or via the link here: Coverstory books

“Mama Amazonica”

There are some beautiful images in Pascale Petit's volume of poetry, "Mama Amazonica", even though the underlying subject is sobering: 'the story of (her) mentally ill mother and the consequences of abuse'. However, in spite of the quality of some of the writing, the subject matter is totally unrelenting; poem after poem on the same … Continue reading “Mama Amazonica” →

“The Man Who Walked Through Walls”

The problems with translations is, of course, that if what you read doesn't quite strike a chord then it's impossible to know if the source of this discomfort is the original work or the translation. Marcel Ayme's "The Man Who Walked Through Walls" (translated by Sophie Lewis) is a bit like that for me: discomfort. … Continue reading “The Man Who Walked Through Walls” →

Reprint – collected novellas

As a way of launching my new imprint - Coverstory books - I have collected together my three novellas and am publishing them in a single volume "Losing Moby Dick and Other Stories". The three stories are "Losing Moby Dick", "Writing to Gisella" and "Riding the Escalators". They are no longer available as individual paperbacks … Continue reading Reprint – collected novellas →

“Rehearsals”

With a smile of recognition they moved quickly towards each other and, saying nothing, kissed briefly, their lips touching. He never kissed anyone like that. He saw the surprise in her eyes. Then, moments later, they kissed again, lips still closed, still chased, but this time with a hint of pressure. He felt himself heading … Continue reading “Rehearsals” →

“The Temporary Gentleman”

I said I'd read something by Sebastian Barry after "Days Without End" - and I'm glad I did. Whilst I'm not sure "The Temporary Gentleman" completely lives up to the hyperbole on the front and back covers (but do books ever?!), it is a tight, really well-written story, filled with tragedy, emotion, pathos. There's a … Continue reading “The Temporary Gentleman” →

How was it for you?

I'm not sure what I expected from the reading and book launch yesterday. Of course, there was always the naive and simplistic hope, skulking in a dark corner somewhere, that at the end of the reading there would be a prolonged standing ovation, followed by a huge queue to buy my book and to secure … Continue reading How was it for you? →