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”
Category: Uncategorized
“Paris Echo”
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”
Welshman – a reading
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.
The Skip – a reading
A reading of my poem, "The Skip".
Sidings – a poem
Sidings they arc from sight with bizarre elegance an overgrown divergence designated to home the unwanted or the forgotten weeds climb rusting axles clogging memories of motion and birds flit in the eerie silence to reserve a first-class nesting site
“The Confession”
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”
“The Overstory”
Richard Powers' "The Overstory" is a quite exceptional book on many levels. Engaging, principled, well-written, intelligent; the narrative weaves it way through its pages like the roots of a tree - especially in the final section where the tendrils mix and merge and knit. It's obvious why it was shortlisted for the 2018 'Booker', and … Continue reading “The Overstory”
Forthcoming Public Event!
Really looking forward to appearing on the panel of writers at this free event in Ripon Library on 14th March, being grilled about being a writer - and only having a minute to answer each question!
“Footnotes to Water”
Zoë Skoulding's "Footnotes to Water" is somewhat obsessed with its subject. Water flows through the poems, washing inexorably over you in wave after wave. Which is fine, though a little more variety - if only to better demonstrate the poet's linguistic skill - might be nice. In many of the pieces I struggled with the … Continue reading “Footnotes to Water”
Anonymous – a short story
Later, after the fog had lifted, I discovered I had become invisible. It had tumbled down the hill like an afterthought forgotten by the morning, as if it had missed its alarm call and was trying to make up for lost time, scurrying across the lake to where I sat alone, accompanied only by the … Continue reading Anonymous – a short story
Ian Gouge - Writer 