I’m reading a book. It’s a wonderful book: Salman Rushdie’s memoir ‘Joseph Anton.’ And the thing itself is beautiful: well-printed and bound with a vellum-feel to the cover underneath the dust-jacket. Just look at it. It’s just the sort of book you’d want to own, to cherish and to keep for the rest of your … More Why don’t books come with a digital version?
I love this image. Julia and Leslie Stephen appear engrossed in their books, silent and concentrating. You can almost hear the clock ticking. In the background, the young Virginia Stephen is either lost in thought or fascinated by the camera and photographer. It’s like seeing a passage of ‘To The Lighthouse’ come to life … More Virginia Woolf at home with her parents
I’ve compiled my instant reviews on the Dylan Thomas Prize contenders into one essay over on Wales Arts Review but with added features like a special edition CD: I’ve imitated the judging process by drawing up a shortlist and choosing a winner. Sadly the winner won’t get anything other than a warm glow of approbation. While … More My Dylan Thomas Prize thoughts on Wales Arts Review
One of the few advantages of being ill for the last week was that it gave me chance to finish reading the books on this year’s Dylan Thomas Prize long list. Here are my thoughts on numbers 7-10 7. ‘Tea at the Grand Tazi’ by Alexandra Singer I’m sorry to say that this was another … More Dylan Thomas Prize 4
5. ‘The Doll Princess’ by Tom Benn This novel won me over. I thought I was going to hate it on the basis of the first few pages and it took some time to adjust both to the Mancunian dialect the characters speak and the bleak moral view of the underworld which they inhabit. But … More Dylan Thomas Prize 3
As you may remember from this post, I’m reading the ten books on the Dylan Thomas Prize long list. Here’s what I thought of numbers 2,3 and 4. 2. ‘Threats’ by Amelia Gray It would be too easy to say that I like this novel. I loved parts of it, hated others and was largely … More Dylan Thomas prize 2
The long list for this year’s Dylan Thomas Prize has just been published and it’s an amazing roll of young writing talent. All are under 30, and two of the authors are only just in their 20s. That fact simultaneously encourages and terrifies me. There’s a press release here and this is the long list: Tom Benn, … More Dylan Thomas Prize longlist
I was reading some short stories by Joseph Conrad this week which reminded me it was high time I put up the essay I wrote for the now sadly defunct Raconteur magazine a few years ago. It also had an outing on the also-departed Wales Home so fingers crossed I manage to keep this blog … More Joseph Conrad
Caerleon is an interesting little village on the outskirts of Newport in South Wales. It’s steeped in history and stories wrap themselves around it from Arthurian legend to another type of Arthur, Arthur Machen who was born here and drew inspiration from the countryside. It also has a vibrant Arts Festival which celebrated its tenth … More Caerleon Arts Festival: Author’s Day
I’m never sure about Henry James. That method he has of concentrating on the surface of things while suggesting hidden depths of emotion, can leave much of his fiction feeling brittle, cold and detached. ‘Washington Square’ is often quite hard to love. And yet I ended up being glad I’d read this strange, sad little … More Henry James, ‘Washington Square’
Adrian Masters 