First published 2022. Five, paperback, 2022, pp 143, c.30,000 words + many illustrations. This book is a collection of short pieces of prose and poetry by five accomplished artists. The five have known each other for quite some time and have been a support group to each other as they worked on their paintings, sculpture, […]
Five Artist Writers — June Cluett et al Read More »
First published 2012. Abacus, paperback, 2015, pp434, c.125,000 words. There is no doubt that Banks was a great writer. In this book, a pervasive menace hangs over every page. It’s a hugely impressive feat, especially as actual violence is very limited. A young man is returning to his home town for the funeral of the
Stonemouth — Iain Banks Read More »
First Published 1961. Pan, paperback, 1971, pp 237, c.90,000 words. This was Lyall’s first novel, and it was an immediate success. It allowed him to give up journalism and become a full-time writer. It is a classic thriller of the period, described in the blurb on the back as being ‘up to date’ but now
Wrong Side of the Sky, The — Gavin Lyall Read More »
First Published 1965. Vintage, paperback, 2011, pp 176, c.55,000 words. What a quaint book this is. It has very old-fashioned feel and was almost out of date when it was written. A thick fog permeates London during the action, which is something that had faded out since the clean air act was passed in 1956
British Museum is Falling Down, The — David Lodge Read More »
First published, 1960. Pan, paperback, 1971, pp. 285, c.85,000 words. What a charming book this is. How unusual to find a story that has real narrative drive but where no one is truly bad; actually they are all decent people. The hero of this tale is a small man in the sense that he has
Trustee from the Toolroom — Nevil Shute Read More »
First published 1984. Abacus, paperback, 2013, pp 244, c.75,000 words. This was Banks’ first published novel, although he had written a number of unpublished science fiction books prior to this. He was then aged thirty and had spent much of the previous decade doing casual jobs which allowed him considerable time for writing. I had
Wasp Factory, The — Iain Banks Read More »
First published 1972. Harper Collins, paperback, 2020, pp 312, c.85,000 words. This is another ‘almost Bagley’. Along with Juggernaut and Night of Error, he didn’t publish this and it was only found in his document archive, held at the Boston University in the USA in 2017, by Philip Eastwood, a Bagley devotee. Along with a
Domino Island — Desmond Bagley Read More »
First published 1947. Fontana, paperback, 1988, pp 272, c.90,000 words. This story was originally written as a radio serial and later re-written into book form. It retains some of the distinctly episodic structure of the original which makes for a slightly uneven read. The plot starting point is full of promise and originality: Towards the
Maddon’s Rock — Hammond Innes Read More »
First published 1965. Vintage, paperback, 2005, pp 275, c.70,000 words. This novel was a great success when first published, making Margaret Forster’s name, and was made into a successful film. The story is contemporary, and covers the transition that British society was going through from the class-based order of the old world to the youth
Georgy Girl — Margaret Forster Read More »
First published 2019. Penguin, paperback, 2020, pp 366, c.90,000 words. This is classic Le Carré and one of his best. We are back in the world of MI6 and something smells bad. Our hero – for once not a public-school boy – is a former runner of agents in eastern Europe and is being shuffled
Agent Running in the Field — John Le Carre Read More »