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For whatever reason, I have always been interested in sad men. Successful men can be boring. It is failure, and how men manage it when success is the primary marker of masculinity, that I find interesting as a subject for fiction. Even when I was in my 20s, I liked reading novels about men suffering mid-life crisis. And now that I am squarely in middle age, novels that were about the future are now novels about the present.
I have returned to many of these stories over and over again through the yearsâfor Cheeverâs prose, for his sense of what makes men tick. On one level, I canât quite relate to white suburban husbands in upstate New York in the 1950s and 60s. And yet, somehow, they seem profoundly familiar.
John Cheever's Collected Stories explores the delicate psychological frameworks of 20th century suburbia.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY HANIF KUREISHI
This outstanding collection by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Cheever shows the power and range of one of the finest short story writers of the last century. Stories of love and of squalor, they include masterpieces such as 'The Swimmer' and 'Goodbye, My Brother' and date from the time of his honourable discharge from the Army at the end of the Second World War.
I took an early plunge into literature because of my very smart, highly literate parents, and it shaped my young brain. When my brilliant mother came down with Alzheimerâs, I had been a professional published writer for years, with a penchant for the non-pollyanna side of life. Here was the perfect subject matter. My aim was to take on her disintegration and downfall and turn it into art, to produce something as pitiless and unladylike as the disease itself. If people learn something about Alzheimerâs by reading it, thatâs fine. But my larger purpose was to do her (and my) ordeal justice via the powers she bestowed on me.
Mary Durant was my mother. This was her first novel, published in 1963. When I read it, the proverbial light bulb popped to life in my very young head: I recognized the real-life people and events upon whom the characters and plot were based, and because of that familiarity, saw the way my mother had changed things around, invented circumstances, conversations and fashioned composite characters to create a story. It was a behind-the-scenes crash course in the art of fiction-writing, the marvelous synthesis by which the novelist spins fact and invention into literature. And I understood that really good fiction, though technically a "made up" story, is always imbued with Truth with a capital "T," and that great writing and Truth are inextricably intertangled.
My mother was a first-rate writer and reader, and because of her, I was initiated into the quasi-secret bandwidth of real literature. The key: itâs allâŚ
I took an early plunge into literature because of my very smart, highly literate parents, and it shaped my young brain. When my brilliant mother came down with Alzheimerâs, I had been a professional published writer for years, with a penchant for the non-pollyanna side of life. Here was the perfect subject matter. My aim was to take on her disintegration and downfall and turn it into art, to produce something as pitiless and unladylike as the disease itself. If people learn something about Alzheimerâs by reading it, thatâs fine. But my larger purpose was to do her (and my) ordeal justice via the powers she bestowed on me.
Atkinson is a Scottish author who blends the murder mystery genre with superb writing. The result is startling, and not quite like anything weâve seen before. As a murder mystery, this novel has it all. Set in Edinburgh, itâs rich with suspense, wild plot twists, a cast of truly memorable and unruly characters who are all, mostly unbeknownst to them, in an elaborate dance with one another. Atkinson tantalizes us with wicked secrets until the very last page. Darkly comic humor permeates throughout, and as we aficionados of dark humor know, it is the flip side of deep empathy for poor struggling, suffering humanity. Her rendering of a man dying from a blow to the head, told from the point of view of the victim in the last seconds of his life, could not have been written better by James Joyce himself.
"Atkinson's bright voice rings on every page, and her sly and wry observations move the plot as swiftly as suspense turns the pages of a thriller."-San Francisco ChronicleTwo years after the events of Case Histories left him a retired millionaire, Jackson Brodie has followed Julia, his occasional girlfriend and former client, to Edinburgh for its famous summer arts festival. But when he witnesses a man being brutally attacked in a traffic jam - the apparent victim of an extreme case of road rage - a chain of events is set in motion that will pull the wife of an unscrupulousâŚ
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctorâand only womanâon a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
Iâve always loved books about outsiders and stories that make you palpably feel what others do. In real life and fiction, the characters that interest me most are often outsiders. Because characters on the outside of social groups and norms are often isolated and lonely, there is something so powerful about works that can bring you inside their experience and relate what their inner life is like. Interiority is the great strength of literature, and stories that convey the inner architecture of outsiders have always attracted me. I love books that make me feel deeply connected and that linger in my subconscious long after Iâve read them.
This book haunted me for days after I finished reading it. I felt like someone I loved had died. Few works of art have stuck with me the way OâConnnorâs book did. Its main charactersâHazel Motes and Enoch Emeryâare the epitome of outsiders. I grew up in a religious family in Kentucky, so I can understand Motesâ struggle with faith. The way that Motes and Emery are so severely separated from the rest of humanity is affecting them.
The book caused me to passionately take their side, rooting for them and their cause, sharing in their anger towards the rest of mankind. This book had such a powerful emotional impact and influence on me, leaving me with a palpable feeling of hopelessness and catharsis over several weeksâunlike Iâve experienced with any other work of art.
Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor's first novel, is the story of Hazel Motes who, released from the armed services, returns to the evangelical Deep South. There he begins a private battle against the religiosity of the community and in particular against Asa Hawkes, the 'blind' preacher, and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter. In desperation Hazel founds his own religion, 'The Church without Christ', and this extraordinary narrative moves towards its savage and macabre resolution.
'A literary talent that has about it the uniqueness of greatness.' Sunday Telegraph
'No other major American writer of our century has constructed a fictional world so energeticallyâŚ
I started reading crime fiction as a teenager, so maybe it was inevitable that one day I would start writing it. I began with short stories, but then found an idea for a novel that wouldnât let me go. One small paragraph about a tape recording left by a dead man. The books I love reading now are often set in small towns and communities, like the one I grew up in, where normal people tend to hide the worst secrets! Hidden motivations and seeing how the past plays out in the present are two elements I love in crime fictionâthey help to work out who the killer is.
Iâve never been to Broome in northwest Australia, but itâs renowned for the heat, the flies, and the beachesâbut look out for crocodiles. I enjoyed Warnerâs previous novel based on a series of murders in Perth in the 90s that, back then, had never been solved, so it was great to see his two detectives get together on a case that eventually circles back to the Perth killings. Thereâs something about the past catching up with us that I enjoy as a plot and character strength, and this book moves between past and present really effectively. The landscape is so barren that itâs almost like being on another planet!
In 1999, a number of young women go missing in the Perth suburb of Claremont. One body is discovered. Others are never seen again. Snowy Lane (City of Light) is hired as a private investigator but neither he nor the cops can find the serial killer. Sixteen years later, another case brings Snowy to Broome, where he teams up with Dan Clement (Before It Breaks) and an incidental crime puts them back on the Claremont case. Clear to the Horizon is a nail-biting Aussie-style thriller, based on one of the great unsolved crimes in Western Australia's recent history. Its twistsâŚ
I love dogs and I love books, so the combination is always beguiling to me. I have recently published my third book of dog art Rescue Dogs, I asked people to send me photos of their rescues, and as I now realise, all rescues come with a story, so they came with an extraordinary collection of stories about where they came from, how they were found, character sketches and descriptions of their idiosyncrasies. I realised that some of my favourite books have dogs heroes, there are 5 here but there could have been many many more.
This is a briliant and unusual book by the writer of the highly successful Captain Correlliâs Mandolin.
Itâs the true story of a wonderfully independent Red Kelpie, who hitches rides all over Western Australia, moving in with people for a while then moving on. He becomes a legend in the area, and there is a statue of him in his hometown.
Itâs a timeless piece of modern folklore and a hymn to the wandering spirit of this extraordinary little dog, captured beautifully by de Bernieres.
The enchanting story of a very remarkable dog from the author of the bestselling Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
'In early 1998 I went to Perth in Western Australia in order to attend the literature festival, and part of the arrangement was that I should go to Karratha to do their first ever literary dinner. Karratha is a mining town a long way further north. The landscape is extraordinary, being composed of vast heaps of dark red earth and rock poking out of the never-ending bush.
I imagine that Mars must have a similar feel to it. I went exploring and discoveredâŚ
I grew up thinking that being adopted didnât matter. I was wrong. This book is my journey uncovering the significance and true history of adoption practices in America. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courtâs overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over womenâs reproductive rights placesâŚ
Iâm Australian and thereâs a big place in my heart for Australian-set stories. I read mostly for escapism, but thereâs a deeper connection with tales from my own backyard. Iâve also always loved speculative fiction and Iâm excited when my favourite genres and setting come together. Iâm the author of five speculative fiction novels with Australian settings: the four novels in The Rephaim series (urban fantasy) and The Undercurrent (slightly futuristic/pre-apocalyptic). With The Rephaim series, I wanted to put angels, half-angels, and demons in a sunny coastal Australia setting, rather than the gloomy European forests weâre mostly used to for those types of stories. It was a lot of fun.
This is a great read. Itâs fast-paced, has interesting characters, and plenty of action and intrigue.
It features an Australian teen (Sadie) who finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient conflict nearing its final battle. I enjoyed the Perth setting, the dynamic between Sadie and the people she cares about, and the brilliant way Myke brings a fresh twist to some creepy ancient mariner myths.
There's a great sense of menace and mystery as this story unfolds, and the last third book is hard to put down as Sadie races to save her cityâand the world.
Sadie is sixteen and bored with life. It's summer, and lazing on the beach in the stifling heat with her cousins and Tom is a drag. Then something comes out of the sea.
Sadie soon finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient conflict that is nearing its final battle, a showdown that threatens to engulf her city and all those she loves in a furious tsunami.
A rollicking, fast-paced adventure with a feisty heroine, Fire in the Sea will appeal to fans of Garth Nix and Doctor Who. Great reading for ages fourteen and up.
Iâve clocked so many hours on Fallout 3 and New Vegas(and, less so, on Fallout 4)that itâs disgusting, but my real love of wastelands began with T.S. Eliot. His poem (The Waste Land), with its evocative imagery, fascinated me in university. While not about a literal wasteland, it inspired me to seek out stories of that vein. I even have a tattoo with a line from it! What Branches Growwas the focus of my grad certificate in creative writing and has won two awards. I am a book reviewer, writer at PostApocalypticMedia.com, and the author of the Burnt Shipspace opera trilogy.
Another ultimate post-apocalyptic quest novel is The Stand, one of Kingâs most read (and longest) books, but I was more heavily influenced by (and love more) The Waste Lands (book 3 of The Dark Tower series). This is because the latter focuses less on the howof the collapse than the aftermath.Kingâs casual prose and quick, realistic dialogue have always been an inspiration in my writing. The found family connection between Roland, Eddie, Susanna, and Jake is at the heart ofThe Waste Lands.It is palpable and endearing, and something I strove to emulate with Delia, Gennero, Perth, and Mort in my own novel. There is an allusion toThe Waste Lands in my book that big fans of The Dark Tower will catch.
The third volume in the #1 nationally bestselling Dark Tower Series, involving the enigmatic Roland (the last gunfighter) and his ongoing quest for the Dark Tower, is âStephen King at his bestâ (School Library Journal).
Several months have passed since The Drawing of the Three, and in The Waste Lands, Rolandâs two new tet-mates have become trained gunslingers. Eddie Dean has given up heroin, and Odettaâs two selves have joined, becoming the stronger and more balanced personality of Susannah Dean. But Roland altered ka by saving the life of Jake Chambers, a boy whoâin Rolandâs worldâhas already died. Now RolandâŚ
I am a passionate long-distance hiker and regularly enjoy local walks close to where I live in Oxfordshire. Over the years, I have walked many long-distance trails, including Camino Pilgrimages. The books I am sharing are those that have inspired my own walking adventures and self-reflection. I am a big believer in the benefits of walking for mind, body, and spirit, and I personally enjoy those benefits daily. My passion for walking and the depth of thinking it can help you attain has found its way into both my personal and business life. Walking to me is life!
I loved this book because it was as much about the author's inner journey as it was the outer one. I loved both aspects of this book.
I love books that give you almost a window into the soul of the writer. Robyn shares her thoughts and experience so well as she makes her way solo 2,000 miles in the Australian Outback. I loved her bravery. This was an epic trip. As one of the first adventure books I had read, it got me hooked. This was a book that made an impact.
A revised, reissued fortieth anniversary edition of this prize-winning, bestselling account of one woman's solo journey across 1,700 miles of Australian Outback
'I experienced that sinking feeling you get when you know you have conned yourself into doing something difficult and there's no going back.' So begins Robyn Davidson's perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company.
Enduring sweltering heat, fending off poisonous snakes and lecherous men, chasing her camels when they get skittish and nursing them when they are injured, Davidson emerges as an extraordinarily courageousâŚ
NORVEL: An American Hero chronicles the remarkable life of Norvel Lee, a civil rights pioneer and Olympic athlete who challenged segregation in 1948 Virginia. Born in the Blue Ridge Mountains to working-class parents who valued education, Lee overcame Jim Crow laws and a speech impediment to achieve extraordinary success.
As a professional counselor by trade, Iâm fascinated by the machinations of the human mind, what drives us, and how our primeval urges can overcome our learned and acceptable behaviors. Accordingly, I enjoy both reading and writing books that expose and explore the dark side of our psyche and the dichotomy of human nature. I particularly appreciate stories that balance evil with redemption, rescue, or retribution.
I wouldnât recommend reading this book during a storm when thereâs a chance of a power cut! Years back, I camped on the edge of a highway in the middle of central Australiaâand even before this book came out, I knew Iâd never do it again! The stars might be spectacular, but the isolation is an absolutely crushing force.
This book captures that essence perfectlyâalong with the relief of finding another human being on the roadâŚquickly followed by the terror of realizing that person may not be who you think.
From the award-winning author of The Hunted comes a fast-paced, nailbiting outback thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Pushing fifty and reeling from an ugly divorce, Paul has decided it's time for an adventure. With the Bee Gees on the radio and the open road ahead, he sets out into the middle of nowhere, open to whatever comes. But things take a sinister turn when he impulsively decides to pick up a hitchhiker. Clutching a ragged backpack with his eyes locked on the rear-view mirror, it's clear this twitchy young man is running from something.âŚ