Wednesday 19 September 2012

Gold by Chris Cleave

Award winning author Chris Cleave’s writing skill extends far beyond the plot line in his books. This is his third book and, like his other two novels, it has received really good reviews. The story revolves around a group of elite cyclists training for gold. It is more about the decisions they make rather than who does what. Gold is about what drives people to succeed and the sacrifices that are made to achieve that success. It’s a great book, which I really enjoyed... Posted by Shaz

About the Author 

"Chris Cleave is 38. He lives in London with his wife and three children.
His debut novel Incendiary won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award, was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers Prize, and won the United States Book-of-the-Month Club’s First Fiction award 2005."
Read more at Chris Cleave's blogbsite, www.chriscleave.com/books/gold 

Chris Cleave on the importance of libraries in his life: 
"...it’s thanks to my mother that I started writing. She always made sure that my brother and I had lots of good books to read – we visited the library every week. I loved reading as a child, and always wanted to see if I could write stories too. Sorry, this isn’t an exciting or dramatic account of how I started writing – but that’s how it happened.

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Gold by Chris Cleave, 2012




Thursday 13 September 2012

The Man Booker Prize 2012 Shortlist

The Man Booker Prize shortlist was announced yesterday and the winner will be announced on 16 October.

Comments Sir Peter Stothard, Chair of Judges and Editor of the Times Literary Supplement:

 ‘After re-reading an extraordinary longlist of twelve, it was the pure power of prose that settled most debates. We loved the shock of language shown in so many different ways and were exhilarated by the vigour and vividly defined values in the six books that we chose - and in the visible confidence of the novel's place in forming our words and ideas.’

Stothard was joined at the press conference by the four other members of the 2012 Man Booker Prize judging panel: Dinah Birch, academic and literary critic; Amanda Foreman, historian, writer and broadcaster; Dan Stevens, actor; and Bharat Tandon, academic, writer and reviewer.

This year’s winner will be announced on Tuesday 16 October 2012, at a dinner at London’s Guildhall, where the announcement of the winner will be televised by the BBC. Each shortlisted author will receive £2,500 and a specially commissioned handbound edition of their book. The winner will receive a further £50,000. The winner may also expect a significant increase in sales of their book: Julian Barnes’ The Sense of An Ending (Jonathan Cape, Random House), which won the 2011 prize, has now sold over 300,000 in the UK in print copies alone.

Read more at www.themanbookerprize.com/news/2012-shortlist-announced

Read what others are saying about the Shortlist:

And now to the Shortlist!  

Bring up the bodies by Hilary Mantel    [see also Flappy Jandal's post]

Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil

Swimming Home by Deborah Levy  

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
The Lighthouse by Alison Moore
Umbrella by Will Self  

Tuesday 11 September 2012

The Cry of the Go-Away Bird by Andrea Eames

Elise has an idyllic childhood growing up on a Zimbabwean farm. Well cared for by her nanny and her parents, she enjoys a privileged life. But as she becomes a teenager, she becomes aware of the tensions pulling her society apart.

This eye-opening book presents recent history as observed from the point of view of the younger generation. It is an unflinching look at the culture of white Zimbabweans and the author does not shy away from presenting the beliefs and attitudes she had personally observed at such an age. Having moved from Zimbabwe to New Zealand when she was 17 years old, Eames initially tried to not look back at her past and just move on. The novel, however, developed out of a short story she wrote while an undergraduate at the University of Canterbury.

With such a tumultuous history, she had more material waiting to get out and has since completed a second novel set in Zimbabwe and is at work on a third.  ...Reviewed at the Young at Heart Book Group, Havelock North Library (YAH)

About the Author 

Andrea Eames was born in 1985. She was brought up in Zimbabwe, where she attended a Jewish school for six years, a Hindu school for one, a Catholic convent school for two and a half, and then the American International School in Harare for two years. Andrea's family moved to New Zealand in 2002. Andrea has worked as a bookseller and editor and now lives in Austin, Texas with her husband. Her first novel, The Cry of the Go-Away Bird, was published in 2011. (From the Publisher)

Author's blog: www.acatofimpossiblecolour.blogspot.co.nz 


Andrea Eames' novel The White Shadow has been longlisted for the 2012 Dylan Thomas Prize

 
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The Cry of the Go-Away Bird by Andrea Eames, 2011

Thursday 6 September 2012

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

A delightful story based on the unusual premise of a 65 year old man, Harold, going to post a letter and just keeping on walking. He'd received in essence a "goodbye' letter from a co-worker from his long ago past. She was dying in a Hospice in the very North of England. Harold existed in an uneasy retirement with his way in South England. He decided to walk to see the letter writer, and she would be kept alive by having to wait for him to get there. 

At times funny, often moving, we travel with Harold and meet up with others along the way and observe: his thoughts on life past and present, the changes in him and his relationship with his wife, along with the flora and landscape of rural England. Not at all mawkish, it's a gorgeous tale which could so easily have gone off the boil but doesn't... Posted by Catherine

About the Author

"Rachel Joyce has written over 20 original afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4, and major adaptations for both the Classic Series, Woman's Hour and also a TV drama adaptation for BBC 2. In 2007 she won the Tinniswood Award for best radio play. She moved to writing after a twenty-year career in theatre and television, performing leading roles for the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court, and Cheek by Jowl, winning a Time Out Best Actress award and the Sony Silver. This is her first novel. She is currently at work on her second." From the Publisher

Rachel Joyce's websites:  www.rachel-joyce.co.uk and www.racheljoycebooks.com
Have you "seen" Harold Fry?  Pin your location on the map here (give it a minute or two to load):
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The unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, 2012  

Tuesday 4 September 2012

The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus

The fabulous cover of this book attracted me. I very soon found the ideas that Marcus explores both interesting and disturbing. Family bonds, father-daughter relationships, interactions with teenagers, love, language and Judaism are some of these ideas. Overarching all normal human relationships and activities, the author introduces a dire illness into the story, to which only adults are susceptible. As a scientist, the narrator shares his attempts to find a cure. The nature of the illness itself, which I refuse to divulge, is both compelling and horrific.

The book was a challenging read for me. It is well written, and so funny (read accurate) in parts that I found myself reading passages aloud to my patient husband. The best book I read last year was ‘The Passageby Justin Cronin and while reading The Flame Alphabet I was reminded of The Passage on several occasions...Posted by Moxie





About the Author

"Ben Marcus is the author of Notable American Women and The Age of Wire and String. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Paris Review, Tin House, and elsewhere. The recipient of three Pushcart Prizes, a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he is a Professor of Creative Writing at Columbia University and lives in New York City." ...From the Publisher

Read a conversation with Ben Marcus on the Publisher's website...

Also watch Ben Marcus talk about The Flame Alphabet at the bottom of this page...


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The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus, 2012

Monday 3 September 2012

The Gathering Storm by Peter Smalley



"Spring 1791...Though deeply disturbed by a terrible incident during his previous commission, James Hayter is nevertheless on the verge of taking command of HMS Sloop Eglantine as Master and Commander when personal tragedy shatters his life. The twin blows convince Hayter that he is not fit to command and he must turn his back on the sea forever. Even the intervention of his friend and former captain, William Rennie cannot not dissuade him from derelicting his duty.

Though repenting in the end of his decision, Hayter's career in the Navy appears to be over until the intervention of an agent, Mr Brough Mappin, working for Hayter's old nemesis, the British Secret Service Fund.

Mappin's plan offers Hayter a chance to revive his career on a special mission, with the promise of reinstatement in the Royal Naval List if he is successful. But it is also the single most dangerous mission of his life. He must sail for France with Rennie in HMS Expedient and there rescue some persons of interest from the grasp of the French Revolutionary forces searching for them.

What no one mentions is that the rescue will bring to bear on Expedient and her crew, a force so fierce and mighty that, if it can, it will wipe all trace of the incident, Hayter and the ship from the memory of everyone involved in the forthcoming struggle..." From the Publisher

About the Author


Peter Smalley was born in Melbourne, Australia, and hails from a seafaring family. After an early career in advertising he became a screenwriter, broadcaster, and novelist. He lives in London with his wife, Clytie.
 
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The Gathering Storm by Peter Smalley, 2009