Remembering David Bowie through his 100 favorite books
Although David Bowie was best known for his music, he also made countless contributions to the worlds of art, fashion and film. But the singer, who died Sunday, was also devoted to literature. In 2013,...
View Article'Bovery' or 'Bovary,' story still works
When in 1857, Gustav Flaubert published his now-classic novel, "Emma Bovary," about a wife's infidelity, the writer was brought to trial (and acquitted) for immorality, overlooking the work's profound...
View ArticleReview: Uninspired And Disengaged 'Madame Bovary' Starring Mia Wasikowska
By Rodrigo Perez | The Playlist Tue Jun 09 18:04:00 EDT 2015 0 It is not prerequisite that the period costume drama needs a hook, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Joe Wright’s stylish “Anna Karenina”...
View ArticleKetil Bjornstad: ‘The novel is the best weapon against multi-tasking’
Ketil Bjornstad is a Norwegian pianist, composer and author. ketilbjornstad.com What was the first book to make an impression on you? It must have been Saint Exupéry, The little Prince. My father read...
View ArticleMadame Bovary at 160: a bourgeois sex revolutionary
Flaubert’s anti-heroine, the original Desperate Housewife lost in the dreams of romantic fiction, was a scandal on publication and still challenges our morality...
View ArticleThe 100 best novels in English? Irish writers and critics have their say
Fair play to Robert McCrum. Compiling a list over two years entitled The 100 best novels written in English for the Observer and guardian.com is not simply sticking your head over the literary parapet,...
View ArticlePeter Swanson: ‘Being lost in a book is one of the greatest feelings in the...
Peter Swanson is the author of two novels, The Girl with a Clock for a Heart, and The Kind Worth Killing (Faber & Faber, £14.99). His poems, stories and reviews have been published in journals such...
View ArticleGavin McCrea: ‘when I finished John McGahern’s Memoir, I wept for an entire day’
What was the first book to make an impression on you? The one that I watched my mother read in her chair in the corner of the kitchen. What was your favourite book as a child? Roald Dahl’s Matilda....
View ArticleAnthony Glavin on Eggshells by Caitriona Lally: a novel that keeps its promises
I’ll confess it was with fingers crossed that I opened Caitriona Lally’s beguiling debut novel, Eggshells, of which I had previously seen the first 10,000 words as one of three judges for the Irish...
View ArticleMelissa Hill Q&A: ‘The Secret Garden inspired my love of the mystery genre to...
Melissa Hill is the author of 13 novels, including Something from Tiffany’s, The Charm Bracelet and many more. A Gift to Remember was published by Simon & Schuster last year and her new novel, The...
View ArticleChristine Dwyer Hickey Q&A: my influences, from Mrs Dalloway to Janice Galloway
What was the first book to make an impression on you? Probably the Irish Racing Form Book as my father always had his nose in it and I kept nagging him to read it to me which he eventually did – what a...
View ArticleDublin, what a character
Dublin features in my novel, Eggshells, almost as a character in itself, a sometimes magical but occasionally sinister character. For Vivian, the protagonist, Dublin is the place she hopes will show...
View ArticleMark Billingham Q&A: ‘Cops solving crimes with supernatural powers strikes me...
Mark Billingham’s latest novel is The Bones Beneath, published by Grove Press. A former actor, television writer and stand-up comedian, his series of novels featuring DI Tom Thorne has twice won him...
View ArticleGraeme Macrae Burnet Q&A: ‘Like most writers I’m a dreadful procrastinator’
Can you tell us about your latest work and how it came about, the story behind the story? His Bloody Project tells the story of a triple murder in a remote Highland crofting community in 1869. The...
View ArticleRagnar Jónasson Q&A: ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd had a great impact on me’
Ragnar Jónasson is the Icelandic author of the Dark Iceland crime series set in the northernmost town in Iceland, Siglufjordur. Snowblind (Orenda Books) is the first book in the Dark Iceland series....
View ArticleAlex Miller: ‘Simple prose is valued more now than a decade ago’
Alex Miller is an Australian author, who won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 1993 for his novel The Ancestor Game. His eleventh novel, Coal Creek, was published in 2013. What was the first book to...
View ArticleJames Carol: ‘The story comes first, then the facts’
James Carol is the Scottish-born author of the Jefferson Winter series of thriller novels - the third, Prey, has just been published by Faber. He lives in Hertfordshire. What was the first book to make...
View ArticleReview: Eggshells, by Caitriona Lally: full of action and humour
In his analysis of the works of James Joyce, the novelist, linguist and literary critic Anthony Burgess maintained that there are two types of novels – those focused on the world at large, with plot...
View ArticleGunnar Staalesen Q&A: ‘Most crime writers are very nice people, although I am...
One of the fathers of Nordic Noir, Gunnar Staalesen was born in Bergen, Norway in 1947. He made his debut at the age of 22 with Seasons of Innocence and in 1977 he published the first book in the Varg...
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