Month: March 2010

Elise Blackwell -answers my questions

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Elise Blackwell

Early this month i asked Elise Blackwell who i have tweeted with on twitter if i could ask her some questions with her new book the unfinished score is coming out in april on unbridled books .I myself am a huge fan having read both grub and hunger by Elise .As it is my birthday today i decide to run it today here you go-

What books /writers have influenced your writing?

I grew up in the shadow of southern American writers, including Faulkner, O’Connor, Welty, Percy, and Hannah. While I don’t write like any of them, all influenced me in an identifiable way. In college and immediately following, by biggest contemporary influence was probably Michael Ondaatje. I read all kinds of things—though more European than U.S. fiction as of late—and I feel their presence when I work. My favorite writer is W.G. Sebald, particularly The Rings of Saturn and Austerlitz.

How much research did you have to do for your new book an unfinished score ?

You could ask how much research did I get to do for An Unfinished Score! I love music, so the research was part of what attracted me to the material. I went to concerts, sat in on master classes, read the biographies of composers, and listened to a lot of music. It was a lot of work. Though I’ve always loved music, I found out quickly that I knew a lot less than I thought I did. Having bailed on the viola at the age of ten (due to utter lack of talent), I’d forgotten how physical music is.

Do you have a routine when you are writing your novels ,what is your study/office like ?

In the summer when I’m not teaching, I have something of a routine in that I write for a few hours every day. During the rest of the year, I write when I can. That might be four hours on Friday afternoon, four more on Saturday, and twenty minutes here and there throughout the rest of the week. I’ve trained myself to think about the novel I’m working on whenever possible; that way I’m ready to write as soon as I sit down.

What gave you the idea for an unfinished score ?

Like most novels, this one didn’t arise from a single idea but from several small moments and thoughts. The image that fuelled the initial writing came from a symphony I attended in Philadelphia. One of the viola players seemed both passionate about her work and really sad. I wondered how she could play so beautifully if she was indeed deeply sad. It’s the fiction writer’s job to wonder why people are how they are, and I wondered why she was sad, whether she was grieving something. I’d been interested in writing about music since I touched on Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony in my first novel, and so I started to think more about it, including composition. Among the ideas I considered was what it would be like to have a talent and love for an art form with a such a small audience. Would your life feel special or wasted? What would it be like to lead that life?

Are you working on anything new ?

I’ve started the next novel, which I’m calling Water Damage. I’s set in post-Katrina New Orleans, and one of the main characters is an art conservator who specializes in the restoration of water-damaged paintings. Another is an artist, another works for the Art Loss Registry, and another is a troubled young man from a prominent family. My idea is that each of these four major characters is damaged in some unseen way that makes them dangerous to each other. The plot centers around a stolen painting from the past and a murder that was overlooked in the chaos of the Katrina evacuation. One idea I want to explore is how some people’s lives are dramatically altered by external forces, while other people fates are shaped by their pasts.

 many thanks Elise and good luck with the new book .an unfinished score is out april 10th on unbridled books

an unfinished score by Elise Blackwell

HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY

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SOME IRISH BOOKS FOR ST PATRICKS DAY

 

Today is st Patricks day ,as my father is irish and I was born in northern Ireland I d thought i do a post .I spent most of my childhood holidays in Ireland in Donegal making peat fire ,fishing ,rockpooling ,visiting the lakes of the south-west of Ireland ,time in cork .falling as a ten-year old in to a pond the main park in Dublin .My family history goes back to the 15th century in Ireland ,my grandparents had many books on irish myth that i read when young tales of giants and great kings .As a teenager i loved Wilde’s books .the above books are a few of my favourites – 

  • from the top -down
  • Oscar Wildes collected works -this has most of Wilde’s works ,i love his stories for children they are touching at time and at others funny just like the man himself
  • Ulysses by James Joyce -this is a treasure of mine an early 60’s edition from Bodley head before the text had been hacked ,I ve read it once and to be frank I was lost I will read it again till I get it fully.
  • a star called henry by Roddy Doyle – Roddy Doyle was some one i read a lot in my teens and early twenties this book isn’t his best that is paddy Clarke but I lent that someone and didn’t get it back .
  • the best of Myles Flann O’Brien this is a collection of piece Flann O’Brien published in the irish times from 1940 onwards
  • the master Colm Tobin his shortlisted booker novel

all behind our irish beleek candle tray ,that was a wedding gift  and we treasure.

senselessness by Horacio Castellanos Moya

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This book is one of the rainmaker series of translation .i found this book particularly hard to read as it has very long passages and in places is very violent and sexual ,but in other places has some funny description . it follows a writer as he is reviewing and editing a 1100 page document about an indian massacre in an unknown central american country but as Moya has lived in el Salvador and Honduras you can draw your on conclusions to where it is set ,the writer is undertaking this for the church and the is an under current of them wanting him to less the impact of what had happen to the indians .The writer himself likes to have a drink in the local bars and seduce young women .there is a beauty to Moya’s prose they seem to flow seamless of the page .This was the first book by Moya to be translated in to english .wonderfully by Katherine silver .It is worth reading as there isn’t many book published in english from this region and is only short at 144 pages .

In order to celebrate my first day of work as god intended i arranged to meet my buddy Toto at noon at El Portalito ,the city’s legendary cantina ,fortunately located a mere two hundred yards from my office close enough to prevent the onset of anxiety in someone who is afraid above all else of being punctual as is the case with me ;someone who requires a drink to calm his nerves at the strangest moments .

from the 2nd chapter opening .

senselessness

european finds !

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We were in town this morning me and my wife Amanda so i decided to pop into Chesterfield library ,to find they had a stand of translated fiction which was great .had a good look through and picked up two to read .These are both new writers to me and the synopsis of both books sounded good .the first was by Jean-Claude Izzo a sun for the dying ,that follows a man called Rico in Izzo’s native Marseilles after he escapes a tough life in paris and the cold north of france .As he searches for lost love .the other book is a book by a czech writer Emil Hakl of kids and parents and is described as a bit like Ulysses as it follows a father and son round the bars of Prague and sounds like it is a stream of .. book .

    I think its great that the library is promoting translated literature as only three percent of books published in uk are translated ,where as in other european countries that figure is much higher .there is a link to the three percent site from the university of Rochester that helps promote translated fiction.

do you read much european fiction ?

have you a favourite book by a writer from europe ?

 

two new writers

a bargain and a thousand treats !

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a thousand stories

 

 This was one of my best bargain book finds late last year at a charity market in town where my employers had a stall selling cakes , i d help make .i had a look round and spot this on a stall for people in Palestine ask how much it was they said three-pound but i gave them five-pound .this huge collection includes a thousand short stories from around the world mainly nineteenth century by such great writers as Hugo,Maupassant,Dickens,Thackary and Twain . I think it will take me the rest of my life to work through them but sure it ll be worth it .

tehran lipsticks and loopholes by Nahal Tajadod

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 I got this book for my around the world challenge from the lovely Sarah at bookrabbit .It follows Nahal who lives in france but still had iranian citizenship as she has to return to her homeland to renew her passport staying with her family in Tehran .The main thing she has to do for her passport is get a islamic approved picture from a photographer this is hard than it seems as they don t advertise as they can t put pictures in the window .after a few false starts and constantly being asked by people to help out family members or fill in forms from aboard .she has the photo now to tackle Iranian bureaucracy where she has to remove make up dress modestly and hoping she is lucky with the time she has on her hands she spends time with her family .Nahal ‘s work is funny and highlights the differing standards and lunacy in iran ,a cast of oddball characters,the humour makes this book come alive  make this a real page turner .i feels this book would work well as a book group book it certainly makes you think loads .

The salesman open a drawer and takes out a press cutting with a photograph of the commander-in-chief of Tehran’s armed forces posing in front of a blackboard with the following instructions :

  • bright lipstick?>do not lance >remove with tissue
  • heavy make up ?>don’t apply acid>apply rosewater
  • shortened coat?>offer chador
  • tiny scarf ? >avoid saying: either you cover your head or we ll beat you > lower scarf to hide hair or gently trim the hair .

rules ,rules a quote from the book published this week by virago books

tehran lipstick and loopholes by Nahal Tajadod

 

 

What is Gordon Brown or David Cameron reading ?

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the new pm ?

Yann Martell the Canadian writer for the last 3 years has been sending the Canadian pm on a fortnightly basis a book accompanied by a letter about what Yann feels this book means and what values it has .the website is called what is Stephen harper reading . I feel this is a wonderful idea the first book was leo Tolstoy the death  of Ivan Ilych ,other have been Orwell, Hemingway and Alan Bennett .on the website there is a space for any replies from Stephen harper .As we re in an election year I hope some one may try to do the same thing for our pm whoever wins in the next few months . 

do you think this is a good idea ? 

yann martell

bad vibes by luke haines

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 this biography / music history book is about the band the auteurs and his project badder meinhof and starting of second group black box record .As soon as i saw this book was out i want to read it having considered this time as a time i was buying records including the auteurs and his other band black box record .

 Luke has a very dry and wryly funny way of describing the time ,which evoke memories in myself he talks about his band starting and the hype that surround the first album new wave which i remember as they seemed to have been a favourite if the nme at times ,and the band having a sound vaguely similar to suede .At times you will laugh out as he takes broadsides of the contemporary’s of his time suede ,blur and oasis all cleverly put down .Haines details the hard life of touring and recording which is the treadmill of the modern performing artist .In places i was surprised like how much he didn’t want to tour with 80’s indie group the the ,yet at the time i thought this was a great idea them touring as they both have quite maverick personalities and quirky lyrics .there is also a great deal about the album they made with the great Steve Albini which is my favourite album of Haines the wonderful after murder park .In the end you learn that luke is a probably the last of the groups from this era to still be going . If you liked his music you ll love this book in places it is funny and a great reminder of a wonderful time in british music .

the old women in my head who sifts through the files that contains memories that fill these pages needs a rest. so , as we reach an approximate halfway point in proceedings ,why not tell the old dear put her feet up for a few minutes as we examine that thing they call Britpop . we hav at some point why put of the inevitable ?

the start of the chapter old women midway in the book .

the book is published by William Heinmann .

 

nobel 2010 ?

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Over the weekend i heard a podcast about jewish book week ,and an interview with the israeli writer Amos Oz where it was suggest he may be a future nobel winner .he wasn’t sure if he would win but would be honoured if he did ,In recent years the winners have been relatively unknown in britain ,but hugely succesful in their own country’s people like Hertha Muller ,J M G Le Clezio and Orhan Pamuk .After a run of four european winners i feel it ll be a non european writer this time round .here are a few i ve in mind

america’s

  • Michael Ondaatje -the Canadian has written many great novels and is well-respected
  • Carlos fuentes-mexicos most prolific novelist of the last twenty years
  • h c Moya -outspoken houndrian writer
  • Mario Vargas Llosa – the peruvian has a wonderful body of work behind him

asia

  • Murkami – the japanese writer should win one day would be great time to win with new novel due late this year
  • Rohinton mistry-respected indian writer
  • Peter Carey australia greatest living novelist

africa

  • Al AswanY – popular egyptian writer
  • Tsitsi Dangaremga -zimbawian writer would be a fresh choice

you any ideas for this year ?

LIST OF PREVIOUS WINNERS

the snowman by jo nesbo

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There is a number of reasons i choose the snow man to read ,firstly is that it fits in with my around the world challenge with the writer being from Norway ,secondly jo Nesbo story of footballer turned writer I found really interesting and wondered how good he could be and lastly is the fact it is a Scandia crime novel that seems to be a current trend in crime fiction

      The first thing with a crime novel i find that if i m going to enjoy it they have to be able to stand-alone when part of a series and this is the fifth Harry Hole book and i like to be able to connect some way with the main character ,well on both counts the books excels there is very little reference to earlier book ,but i m sure if you ve read the earlier book s you’ll be able to see them if there subtle .Now in Harry hole we have a world worn casual dressing yet serious detective who likes the occasional drink and has fairly good taste in  music .

   The story involves wives disappearing and the sudden appearance as they do of a snowman wearing an item of their clothing ,this leads to a number of unsolved missing persons and a deadly foe for Harry .There is many a twist and turn and a few red herrings along the way .this is crime writing at it’s best a ride from start to finish with a great lead character and many interesting character that he meets .

He went into the sitting room ,slipped in the Neil Young cd gloomily took it out again after a quarter of an hour and put on Ryan Adams .the thought of a drink came from nowhere .harry closed his eyes and stared at the dancing pattern of blood and total blindness .he was reminded of the letter again .the first snow .Toowoomba.

a bit from early on as Harry seeks a way into the cake whilst listening to great music .

the book is publish by harvill this week march 6

when is a penguin book not a penguin book ?

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This may look like a huge book but it is actually a huge set of penguin postcards ,released late last year ,after some tweets from Joe the publicist over at penguin about it i went straight to amazon to place a ordered for two on to keep and one to use as many of my twitter and blogging friends know i always like to put a postcard or two in any books i send on to people .these cards range from the early block cover penguins through some of the most iconic covers such as clockwork orange ,john lennon’s book ,drowned world and Roald Dahl .the old orange and whites always look great as ever ,the variety of designs is great

the man who knew everything by tom stacey

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This is one of Capuchin classics reissues a book from the 1988 when it was originally published as “deadline ” and was made in to a tv movie featuring John Hurt .the book itself is set over the fifties and follows Granville Jones who is an old fashion fleet street reporter who has ended up in a middle eastern emirate ,Jones is a drinker the sort of report that likes to spend as much time in the bar as he does his typewriter .Jones is good friends within the current Emir ,but as with most things in this time the emirs position is in jeopardy as the emirate has a new found wealth thanks to the discovery of oil ,this also leads to a change in jones as a forgotten man to some one that is now in the centre of a major news story .the major themes in this story are empire britains diminishing strength the growth of oil money and new wealth ,also a man struggling or unwilling to come to terms with the post war world and its new media ,Stacey’s writing is journalistic and sparse not word is wasted .the book is only 145 pages long but feels much longer than that .

this particular friday lunch time Jones found himself unable to recognise the people with young McCulloch at the Darwish bar .They weren’t the self-assured young bankers whose company McCulloch favoured.the mail clerk handed jones a cable with his airmailed newspapers and the rest of his correspondence .he settled at one of the window tables and as Abdullah brought him his cold Tuborg and chilled glass he was opening his cable………….

a scene from early on in the book that brought back memories of ice-cold in  Alex the film

have you read any Capuchin classics ?

 

 

50th post -20 great books for world book day

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 As this is my fiftieth post on Winston’s dad and also world book day i ve decide to do a list of 20 books fiction and non fiction today is the 4th march is world book day 2010 all these books i have enjoyed and would recommend highly –

  1. the rings of Saturn by W G Sebald lyrical
  2. suite francaise by Irene Nemirovsky-french war
  3. the last testament of Oscar Wilde by Peter Ackroyd imagined truth
  4. encyclopaedia of snow by Sarah Emily miano-hidden gem
  5. Walden by Henry David Thoreau-american classic
  6. the rebel by Albert Camus-french classic
  7. notes from walnut tree farm by Roger Deakin-nature writing
  8. close range by Anne Proulx great american shorts
  9. Hercule Poirots christmas by Agatha Christie classic crime
  10. oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey-aussie classic
  11. hunger by Elise Blackwell-us modern classic
  12. the suspicions of mr whicher by Kate Summerscale-where crime fiction started
  13. white teeth by Zadie Smith-mordern british
  14. Brideshead revisited by Evelyn Waugh-british classic
  15. girlfriend in a coma by Douglas Coupland-modern american
  16. the book thief by Markus Zusak-thought provoking
  17. empire of the sun J G Ballard -wartime drama
  18. pride and prejudice by jane austen-classic
  19. famished road by Ben Okri-booker winner
  20. the restraint of beasts by Magnus Mills -funny

what our your favourite books ?

books books

what makes a great detective ?

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I am currently reading Jo Nesbo new book the snowman ,enjoying it ,it got me thinking what makes a great detective in fiction ? Although I don’t read a lot of crime fiction over the years ,there have been a few .So I came up with a few points of my own to good detective fiction .

  1. Location-The location can be key ,from the country house crimes of Christie or Doyle ,the gritty streets of Edinburgh from Rankin’s Rebus .to the current trend for nordic crime with the cold climate and barren scenes .Christie moved Poirot to loads of wonderful settings , P D James also does this with Adam Dalgliesh .
  2. Idiosyncrasy – all the detectives i ve enjoyed reading seem to have habits that make them stand out ,morse with his crosswords and classical music ,Poirot with obsessive neatness .Holmes with his deductions and pipe ,harry hole from my current book and Rebus both like music .
  3. Sidekicks-they tend to be three sidekick ,the likes of Watson and Hastings that are used as a sounding board for ideas ,Lewis and Havers where there is class and background differences that can help and hinder the case ,the third is the team like in Rebus or Harry hole where each of the team bring some different skill to the case .
  4. Drugs-we all know well Holmes drugs habit ,but morse and Rebus where both heavy drinkers use the drink to help them relax and mull over the cases at hand ,even a m smiths mna Ramestowe is always drinking her bush tea
  5. Intelligence homes was stated by Watson to be the cleverest man in a lot of areas poison ,human character ,morse was a Oxford grad with an amazing analytical mind that’s able to do the times crossword .Marple has a mind the can draw comparisons between her tiny village and the most gruesome crime .

of course there are many other points that can make great crime fiction .

what makes a great detective for you ?

do you have a favourite detective ?