Salon London's first event of the year is on Thursday 7th February, at Foyles Bookshop, Charing Cross Rd, from 6:30pm and it sounds like it's going to be great. In addition to the launch of the Transmission Prize they've plenty more to entice. You can book tickets here and there is still time to vote for the prize here.
Here's what they have to say about it:
Where do you place yourself on the book scale? Do you judge others by the books they have on their shelves? Do you consider books not to be a proper present? Is the book still the best tool with which to communicate ideas?
Our first Salon of 2013 is all about celebrating both books and beyond as we launch our inaugural Transmission prize. We will be enabling you to reflect, consider perhaps even re-engage with some of the ideas we covered in 2012, from urban birding, to your sense of philosophical self, your control over time, your ability to change the world, the soundscape of the natural world, the transformative power of positive actions on the brain or understanding your physical self through a virtual autopsy. Which were the biggest, most relevant and most beautiful ideas you heard?
To help you get to grips with such subjects Stevyn Colgan will be leading us through a labyrinth of lateral thinking. Steve is a world expert on unlocking creative thought and will demonstrate his talent by linking the work of all our experts and, in doing so, helping you to understand the mechanics behind lateral thinking. In this masterclass he will give you the skills to go lateral on any problems you might be facing in your work, social or secret lives.
We will also be looking at the power of bibliotherapy, designed by Ella Bertoud to unleash in to our lives the magic held between two end papers. You’ll be the first to witness a bibliotherapy LIVE session focusing in on the books we unknowingly need to read. In the chair for this experimental slot, ready to have his literary past probed and future prescribed will be our favourite friend in fiction, Salonniere of the East, author Damian Barr.
And finally our friends at Hendrick’s gin have scientifically crafted a range of cocktails to reflect those big themes of Salon 2012. As you relax and enjoy one of their creations, consider all you have heard we will reveal which Salon speaker has done the most to take their work to audiences beyond their books, such as those who attend interactive, cultural monthlies held in fabulous places such as your very own Salon.
To make sure literary and publishing folk don't miss any great events in the capital and to ensure, where possible, event organisers avoid clashes, we're going to try and track all the literary and publishing events running in London. If you use Google calendar you can add this calendar to your own and if you run any London events and want them represented on this calendar please get in touch at info@bytethebook.com.
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Review by Zoe Cunningham.
I can, somewhat sweepingly, divide novels into two classes. There are those novels that talk about people. There is story and perhaps some twists and turns, but the book is mostly concerned with human emotion and, especially, interaction. Most classic literature is in this category and for more recent examples I'd include the oeuvres of Jonathan Franzen and Zadie Smith.
Into the other bracket I put "theme" novels. Novels that are most definitely about something or based around a writing technique. I would include historical fiction, Beyond Black (a modern day ghost story), Notes on a Scandal (inappropriate teacher-student relationships) and Cloud Atlas (interlocking stories).
Room is firmly in this second camp. Room is a book that makes you think "that's a neat idea". The concept behind Room is that of a child born to a kidnapped and imprisoned young woman (clearly based upon the case of Austrian Natascha Kampusch). The book is well done and the characters well drawn. The best moments are ones where the child, to whom Room is his home as he has known no other, conflicts with his mother, to whom the room is a prison cell. The book also deals well with readjustment of the pair on escape from their cell and the difficulties that the child faces in the outside world.
Perhaps not a book to set the world alight, but worth adding to the holiday reading list.
Buy this book.
Review by Tracey Sinclair.
It’s been about 4 years since Ian Rankin’s most famous creation, the Scottish policeman John Rebus, bowed out from the force in Exit Music. Since then Rankin has written some standalone books and embarked on another series (The Complaints, featuring ‘internal affairs’ investigator Malcolm Fox) but nothing has come close to capturing the magic of the grumpy, intractable, music-loving copper that made the author’s fortune.
It’s a relief, then, that the raising of the retirement age for the police in Scotland has opened the door for Rebus’ return – and though this isn’t, perhaps, the most compelling of Rankin’s novels in terms of storytelling, readers are likely to be too pleased to see this beloved character again to care. We find Rebus as difficult and curmudgeonly as ever, spending his time working on cold cases in a soon-to-be-defunct unit, while considering re-applying to CID now his age is no longer a barrier. When an old case turns out to have links to a current disappearance, Rebus finds himself in the thick of the action once more – but is there any place in the modern force for a dinosaur like Rebus? Malcolm Fox, at least, thinks not.
If you’re a long-term fan of the Rebus books, you’ll be thrilled that he hasn’t changed at all, and the equally unflappable Siobhan Clarke is just one of the familiar faces who put in an appearance. Rankin’s skill has always been to make the reader feel that the characters actually exist out there, and we just get to look in on them occasionally (grounded by a solid sense of location – anyone who knows Edinburgh at all will recognise the book’s detailed backdrop). This is captured beautifully here: there’s a strong feeling that while Rankin may not have been paying attention to him, Rebus has been getting on with his life anyway. It’s telling, too, that in the face off between Fox and Rebus, even the author seems on Rebus’ side - so here’s hoping that this return isn’t a one off, and that there’s some mileage left in the old warhorse yet.
Review by Justine Solomons
I loved this book right from the off. The story of a man confronting his unraveling life, this book pushes boundaries, though not as much as The End of Alice, Homes’ story of a young girl writing to an older man in prison. Both books set Homes apart for her sharp representations of lives outside the norm.
We meet the central character, Harry, at a family Thanksgiving dinner. There, an illicit kiss from his brother's wife, like the flap of a butterfly's wings, sets in motion a series of events. Harry will leave his failing marriage and futile job, and one year later will reemerge at the centre of a misshapen, and yet beautifully formed, new family.
As I’m loathe to give away the details, I’ll only say that Homes does a great job of exploring the notion that life, and thus the ultimate route to happiness, does not run in a straight line. Harry’s precarious life reminded me of Chuck’s from Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, and so I was not surprised to learn that Homes and Franzen were classmates at the Iowa Writing Workshop. Whatever they put in the water out there I want some; they do produce some great writers.
This very funny, intense and ultimately heart-warming study of a family from one Thanksgiving table to the same table a year later, gives the reader plenty to be thankful for. This is a truly great book, one I'm sure you'll love.
Byte the Book members the Hampstead & Highgate Literary Festival are marking their 5th birthday with a series of special events throughout the year leading up to the 3-day Festival from Sunday 15th – Tuesday 17th September 2013.
To launch the celebrations:
John McCarthy
You Can't Hide the Sun – A Journey Through Palestine
Wednesday 16th January 2013 at 8pm
£12 in advance/£14 on the door
Ivy House, 94-96 North End Road, London NW11 7SX
Book online at www.ljcc.org.uk or call 020 8457 5000
Transported as a young boy by his father’s tales of Palestine, John McCarthy has always been drawn to the mystique of the Middle East. Remarkably, his first-hand experience of its brutal conflicts -- he was kidnapped and held hostage in the Lebanon for five years – only strengthened his determination to return and explore its myriad complexities.
In the years since his ordeal, McCarthy travelled from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Bedouin encampments of the Negev desert. His intensely moving encounters with the inhabitants of this beautiful but tormented region lift the shrouds of its past to reveal the continuing tragedy of the Palestinians who remained in Israel after its formation in 1948 -- and still dare to think of it as home.
You Can't Hide the Sun weaves their vivid testimonies with McCarthy's own experience of living under constant threat. And in doing so it asks: how can humanity endure in the face of unimaginable oppression, and how can any of us thrive without a place of safety?
The talk will be followed by a book signing. Book shop by Daunt Books.
Brian Sewell: Outsider II
Tuesday 22nd January 2013 at 8.00pm
£10 in advance / £12 on the door
Ivy House, 94-96 North End Road, London NW11 7SX
Book online at www.ljcc.org.uk or call 020 8457 5000
Join Brian Sewell, art critic of the Evening Standard, as he talks with Patrick Bade, senior tutor at Christie’s, about his divisive career as an arts critic, disarmingly described in his new book Outsider II. With the first installment of Sewell’s memoir, Outsider: Always Almost: Never Quite, ending tantalisingly in 1967 - after exploring his childhood, adolescence and early adulthood - this next chapter charts his path to becoming, 'Surely the funniest art critic of our time’ The Spectator.
Addicted to art, Brian Sewell has been the art critic of the London Evening Standard since 1984 – the sad end of a once promising career, the Orwell, Hawthornden and other prizes scant consolation to a man who once enjoyed life as a scholar gypsy.
The talk will be followed by a book signing. Book shop by Daunt Books.
Buy this book here.
Review by Justine Solomons
I thoroughly enjoyed this novella, which is in fact three connected short stories looking at the British expat community out in Hong Kong around the time of the 1997 handover. I've had a few friends that have lived out in Hong Kong and I've have always been intrigued by their time there. This book helps put their experience in historical context.
'Chicken', tells the story of British born Tess, who goes out to stay with her relations in Hong Kong and joins a local newspaper where she works as a picture editor with Sam, the son of peasant chicken farmers. 'Hong Kong Hermit', gives us a peak at Rob's life who has left the UK in an attempt to make sense of recent events with his girlfriend, Jane, who had spent time on the island before they'd met. Finally 'Tomorrow, China' is a chilling account of Sally, a cub reporter, who we meet in prison. A letter from her 'mummy' has some apt words for all the characters in this book:
'... people forget themselves when they go abroad. They lose their bearings and then they do all manner of things they'd never dream of at home.'
Paul is a master of shorter fiction and reading this economic and beautifully written book I'm reminded just how elegant short stories and novellas can be. The three stories are like three acts of a play with the central theme being the members of the expat community in Hong Kong struggling to find their identity while the island they are living on, changes. Not only is there a handover of sovereignty of land, there also seems to be an ending of old lives, and the beginning of vastly different ones, which are illuminated, like the celebratory fireworks, by the political setting. Please do have a read of this book, not only is it hugely enjoyable it's also an excellent insight into life in Hong Kong at this time.
Buy this book here
Review by Julia Newhouse
The dawn of digital publishing has ushered in a new life for many beautifully written books that had a moment in the sun, before disappearing out of print. One such gem is ‘Madensky Square’ by Eva Ibbotson. Set in Vienna in 1911, ‘Madensky Square’ is a postcard from a bygone era, and a style of life that would disappear with World War One. The book centres around the titular square- a little enclave that houses dressmaker Susanna Weber, and a variety of characters ranging from the Schumacher family with a gaggle of young daughters, to little piano prodigy Sigismund.
For quite a short book, we are introduced to dozens of characters connected to the square. Each are drawn so vividly as to remain memorable, and there was very little confusion along the way as to who was who. Each character has a back story that we are told either by Susanna directly, or through the gossip of those who come into her store. The dresses she makes are also beautifully described, conveying just how much love goes into Susanna’s work. There are many small events that take place over the course of the novel, but no real overarching plotline. This is a book about daily life, and the little adventures people get up to along the way. Ibbotson writes simply but lyrically, with turns of phrase such as ‘that’s the trouble with guilt: it can make you suffer like nothing else but it can’t change what you do’ making me stop and think, if just for a moment.
In ‘Madensky Square’, Ibbotson catches the time and place so eloquently, that I was shocked to learn that it was published in 1988! I had never read an Ibbotson book before, but often hear people talk dreamily about how wonderful she is. I had also heard someone refer to her as their ‘comfort read’. That term seems to aptly sum up the experience of reading ‘Madensky Square’. It was not hard work to read, and yet it was so charming, that it is all but impossible not to walk away with a smile. I bought this book through the Pan Macmillan’s Bello imprint, an endeavour that aims to bring classic works that have been long out of print to a new audience through creating e-books and a print on demand service. This kind of project seems like a wonderful way to revive books that would otherwise all but disappear. After all, that is the beauty of reading: So much has been written, and will be written, that there are always new gems to find. Even if some turn out to be antiques.
We're fascinated by Byte the Booker, Tatty Theo's, upoming London premiere of Louis de Bernières’ Mr Handel at the Wigmore Hall, Friday 7 December, 7.30pm, and recommend you all go and see it.
Tatty is the founder of the award-winning Brook Street Band (‘The smartest new baroque band around’ according to The Times). They are acclaimed throughout the UK and Europe for their stylistic and passionate performances on period instruments. The Band is named after the London street where Handel lived and worked, and his music forms the heart of its programmes. World-famous author Louis de Bernières (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin) is also passionate about all kinds of music (Handel in particular) and The Brook Street Band has commissioned Louis to write a new stage play (Mr Handel) about the composer George Frideric Handel. In this London première, Louis de Bernières joins The Brook Street Band onstage at Wigmore Hall on 7 December to weave a magical tale through the evening’s entertainment. Louis himself takes the part of Mr Handel, and Louis’ newly-commissioned prose brings Handel to life in a story of music, passion, rivalry, friendship, struggle, and above all, success.
Tickets can be booked here.
The photo in this post, taken by Chris Christodoulou, shows Louis de Bernières with the Brook Street Band. Tatty is on the right of the picture holding the cello.
Buy this book here.
Review by Tracey Sinclair.
Sarah Hall’s latest outing continues to garner plaudits – most recently it won the £10,000 Portico Prize for fiction – and such honours are richly deserved. A haunting, moving collection, these finely crafted short stories showcase the skills of a talented prose stylist at the height of her powers.
Cumbrian-born Hall is at her best when capturing the region of her birth and the first entry in the book, The Butcher’s Perfume, is undoubtedly the strongest, an unforgettable tale of young friendship and retribution the Cumbria hills. While it’s a collection that works best read in stages – powering through the whole book in short order can make it feel slightly ‘samey’ – but given breathing space, these stories stylishly evoke the inner lives of their female protagonists, whether contemplating an illicit liaison, distracting from the truth of terminal illness with a love affair or rebuilding a life broken by adultery.
As with most collections, not every piece works perfectly, and none quite capture the soaring, breathless highs of the opening tale, but all are worth reading if only to admire Hall’s faultless prose and elegant turn of phrase.
