Skip to main content

In Praise of 'West'...


'He felt again the dizzying weight of all the mystery of the earth and everything in it and beyond it. He felt the resurgence of his curiosity and his yearning, and at the same time felt more and more afraid that he would never find what he'd come for, that the monsters, after all, might not be here.'
Insomnia and the railway-line night work beyond my garret window means I have just re-read and line-by-line dissected West by Carys Davies. Already a huge fan of her short stories, I can't recommend this enough – the best debut I've read so far this summer. A beguiling, page-turning American fable seeped in desire and devotion, devastating grief, and the search for wonder beyond life's comfort zone all written with a deft economy and a simmering, shimmering 'coal and salt' humour.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Open newslist

Guardian open up their newslist. Helpful and insightful or another step towards the takeover of less-informed citizen journalism and media cost-cutting/ job cuts? Discuss... More:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/series/open-newslist?fb=native In other media news... The Times and Sunday Times cut 150 editorial posts More:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/20/times-job-cuts?fb=native
Post a Comment
Read more

Emmylou Harris Day!

 We went to Bristol to see  Emmylou Harris! * Well, that was special!
Post a Comment
Read more

MS: The Book Launch: A Mini Series, Part One

Preparing for a book launch is a little like – I imagine – preparing for birth may be, or your wedding day. Except better. Far better. In my eyes. So this week I’ve been worrying about the guest list, nesting, cleaning, plucking, preening and outfit planning. I’ve also been wondering if any of the guys are having the same reserves and rigmaroles as me. Probably not. I doubt they’ve bought new heels. I’m having to put away any spoilt child tendencies too. For my book launch(es) will involve sharing the spotlight with the three other titles and authors that make up  the Parthian Bright Young Things series  – Tyler Keevil, Wil Gritten, and JP Smythe. This has pros and cons. Pros include getting to have more launches (Cardiff, Swansea, Bangor and London) as we pool marketing budgets, cons include the party not being  exactly  as you, singular, would want it – glitter, cupcakes, my favourite band in my case – and the impossibilities of arranging so many dates where all ...
Post a Comment
Read more