One of those books I’ve always intended but failed to read, I now know that ‘Utz’ is a strange and enjoyable novella that’s short enough to complete in a few hours. I read it twice in quick succession to try to get a better grasp of an elusive story. That story is seemingly simple: Kaspar … More ‘Utz’ by Bruce Chatwin
I can’t recommend this beautifully-written novel highly enough. Francesca Rhydderch barely puts a foot wrong as she tells an extraordinary story. That story is compelling in itself concerned as it is with the experiences of Elsa, a Welsh woman living in wartime Hong Kong when the Japanese invade. It plays out the life-changing effects of interment, … More ‘The Rice Paper Diaries’ by Francesca Rhydderch
My review of Griff Rhys Jones’ new(ish) book, ‘Insufficiently Welsh’ is over on Wales Arts Review. Follow this link and while you’re there enjoy another selection of top notch writing and reviews.
To read this novel is to experience something remarkable and rare although profoundly discomfiting and emotionally draining. ‘Experienced’ is the apt word because Eimear McBride’s stated intention was to try to immerse the reader in the mind and emotions of her central character, a disturbed young woman whose life is dominated by the effects of … More ‘A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing’ by Eimear McBride
I can’t list books of the year in the way that I can with albums and songs because I’m not very good at keeping up with new publications and anyway it takes longer than with music for me to read and re-read in order to work out if I like, love or hate a book. Having … More Books of the year 2013
The fiction of Flannery O’Connor is entirely new to me, but I was tempted by the samples I read and the truly beautiful Folio Society edition which was published recently. I certainly wasn’t disappointed. She depicts brutal events happening to (mostly) unpleasant people, events that are often violent and sometimes bizarre. I’ve long been aware of … More Flannery O’Connor
‘We always did prefer our iconic figures, injured…’ says Rai Merchant, the photographer-narrator of ‘The Ground Beneath her Feet’ and Rushdie certainly provides us with a pair of injured icons, Vina Apsara and Ormus Cama, the singer and guitarist/songwriter respectively of an improbably popular rock band. If their story is the stuff of myth: all … More Salman Rushdie, ‘The Ground Beneath Her Feet’
I recently re-read Patrick Hannan’s ‘Wales Off Message’. Published in 2000 the events and misadventures in Welsh politics it recounts are all familiar to me although he always managed to find a new angle from which to view those events or a undiscovered nugget of fascination, such as Rhodri Morgan’s unprecedented tidying of his sock … More Patrick Hannan, ‘Wales Off Message’
As a reader rather than a writer, I like this from ‘The Well of Lost Plots’ by Jasper Fforde: After all, reading is arguably a far more creative and imaginative process than writing; when the reader creates emotion in their head, or the colours of the sky during the setting sun, or the smell of … More Reading v. writing
This took me by surprise in two ways: firstly because of its size and secondly because it was just so enjoyable. That sounds disparaging but it isn’t meant to be. I read Eleanor Catton’s first novel, ‘The Rehearsal,’ a few years ago and loved it. It’s hazy, opaque, fragmented, and elliptical with deliberately artificial dialogue … More ‘The Luminaries’ by Eleanor Catton
Adrian Masters 