My new book is based on decades of experience writing, running workshops, mentoring and conversations with other writers. Perhaps you don’t know if what you’re trying to write is the thing you should be writing; perhaps you’re feeling disheartened by years of competition and Agent rejections. Or maybe you’re simply struggling to finish ‘your novel’. Or even … Continue reading New book out today!
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“Petersburg Tales”
I suspect that, based on prevailing theory and practice, many would regard Nikolai Gogol's Petersburg Tales (written nearly 200 years ago) as an example of how not to write short stories. And with some justification. There are four in the collection, each of them surreal and comic in equal measure, and - given modern sensibilities … Continue reading “Petersburg Tales”
“The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman”
I was intrigued by the premise of Denis Thériault's novel, The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman. There seemed so much you could do with such an idea. But in the end I was profoundly disappointed, and for two main reasons. The first is that there is some clumsiness in the writing here and there, … Continue reading “The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman”
“Love, etc”
I must have read the precursor to Julian Barnes' Love, etc - Talking it Over - some time before 2017 because I can't find any review for it on this site. I was looking to see what I thought of the unfortunate Oliver back then given he is such an obnoxious and pompous dick in … Continue reading “Love, etc”
New book this month!
Published on the 31st October: My new book is based on decades of experience writing, running workshops, mentoring and conversations with other writers. Perhaps you don’t know if what you’re trying to write is the thing you should be writing; perhaps you’re feeling disheartened by years of competition and Agent rejections. Or maybe you’re simply struggling to … Continue reading New book this month!
Highlights from September’s posts…
"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 Here are a selection of recent posts from my Substack site. "Writing until the light goes out" "Writing until the light goes out"
“Town & Country – New Irish Short Stories”
Given all the authors in Town & Country are Irish there should be no surprise at various common themes running through many of the poems: the city, the countryside etc. And, given this is collection contains twenty stories by twenty different authors, it is not something I would normally comment on in any detail (or … Continue reading “Town & Country – New Irish Short Stories”
“Statements”
Statements is an absolutely stunning collection of three plays by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona. Written in the early 1970s, the plays lay bare the horror of what it was like to live in the racist South Africa of the time. I can only image how powerful and electrifying it must have been … Continue reading “Statements”
“Lapwing” & “Sky Mall”
I couple Hannah Copley's Lapwing and Eric Kocher's Sky Mall together in this review because they share two traits: the first is a significant degree of repetition in both subject matter and phraseology, and the second is a degree of the prosaic in the writing. Unsure what to make of Lapwing, I put it aside … Continue reading “Lapwing” & “Sky Mall”
“Real Time”
Without possessing an understanding of the cultural nuances relating to Indian life, I am sure I'm missing a lot of the subtleties in Amit Chaudhuri's collection of short stories, Real Time. Having said that, two things about the collection bother me. The first is how so many of the stories seem to 'fizzle out', lacking … Continue reading “Real Time”
Ian Gouge - Writer 