Warning: contains spoilers, sort of. I read Jon McGregor's debut novel, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, when it came out in 2003. I was, I confess, immediately envious of his talent, given that he's two years younger than me. Ah well, some people have it. This is the first novel of his I've read … Continue reading Habitat and Habit: “Reservoir 13” by Jon McGregor
Meta-nostalgia: “The Beatles Story” by Arthur Ranson & Angus Allan (1981/2018)
This is a follow-up to my previous piece on nostalgia. Not because the world needs any more writing on The Beatles: it really doesn't. The book is a collection of the serialised strips which appeared in Look-In from 1981-1982. There was also a similar strip covering Elvis' rise to fame. I remember them (vaguely) from … Continue reading Meta-nostalgia: “The Beatles Story” by Arthur Ranson & Angus Allan (1981/2018)
A China Miéville top 10
To mark the BBC adaptation Miéville's The City & the City, here's a quick run-down of his oeuvre so far. All opinions my own. The City & The City. If one definition of great art is that it changes the way you view the world, then this is great art. Inspector Tyador Borlú investigates a … Continue reading A China Miéville top 10
1990: summer of cinema
This piece was an unsuccessful competition entry. The brief was "memories of cinema-going". Not for us the spurious joys of cider by the fountain, or Tennent’s behind the hut in the top park. The summer my friends and I turned sixteen we marked this coming-of-age by getting into the cinema to watch 18-rated films. With … Continue reading 1990: summer of cinema
The mapping problem
I've written about maps in fantasy fiction before. For every reader who enthuses and pores over a double-page spread of spidery waterways and jagged mountain ranges, there's another whose heart sinks at the OCD-level of detail, the neatness of it, the aura of omniscience. I'm currently reading "Passing Time" (l'emploi du temps) by Michel Butor. … Continue reading The mapping problem
Review: “Changing Track” by Michel Butor
Changing Track, described on the blurb as "at once experimental and engrossing", was originally published by Calder Books in 1958 as "Second Thoughts" and has long been out of print in English. Alma Books have relaunched the Calder imprint1 with this, and other works from the Calder backlist are to follow later in the year. … Continue reading Review: “Changing Track” by Michel Butor
Review: “The Unmapped Country” by Ann Quin
It's a good start to the year for fans of mid-century experimental fiction. Alma have reprinted Michel Butor's Changing Track, and now And Other Stories have gathered these short pieces and fragments by Ann Quin. Quin, who drowned off Brighton beach in 1973 aged 36, has long been a cult figure. She was one of … Continue reading Review: “The Unmapped Country” by Ann Quin
Progress
Happy New Year. I don't tend to write much over Christmas; I always find it a time for generating new ideas or doing the writing-tasks-that-aren't-writing, like submissions or editing or planning. And looking back at old stuff to see if it can be resurrected (a fun task, but the answer is always "no"). Consequently, the … Continue reading Progress
The mutation of an idea
We moved from Edinburgh to Peterborough in January 2000. At that point, my sole experience of the Soke had been a trip a few weeks before, to find a place to live, and as a stop on the East Coast railway line. The landscape around the town was a revelation, even when just viewed from … Continue reading The mutation of an idea
All change: Jan Mark’s “Thunder and Lightnings” (1976)
In my previous post I wrote about nostalgia and the loss of contiguity that can trigger it. There are books, though, that I have always had: every house move has seen them boxed, shifted and unpacked; and, in time, re-read. For these books, each re-reading reveals new aspects: a form of anti- or a-nostalgia. One … Continue reading All change: Jan Mark’s “Thunder and Lightnings” (1976)
Into the Gyre 