Books, Fiction and Brian Donaldson

Interview: Irvine Welsh on Trainspotting prequel Skagboys

The new book, Leith, Twitter and the importance of subcultures

25 Apr 2012

Early on in our transatlantic phone conversation, it suddenly becomes unclear whether I’m chatting to Irvine Welsh or Frank Begbie. When I ask whether he might well be the busiest man in Scottish culture right now, the response comes over loud, clear…

Iain Banks - Stonemouth

The spiritual follow-up to The Crow Road is slightly flawed, but still a page-turner

27 Mar 2012

For those Iain Banks fans not overly keen on his sci-fi work, it will be a blessed relief to see no mention of a middle initial ‘M’ in his name here. For those who loved the prickly relationships and family machinations in the smalltown Scotland of The…

First Writes: Catriona Child, author of Trackman

Novel's lead character's life changed by a homeless man’s MP3 player

16 Mar 2012

Give us five words to describe Trackman? Music, Edinburgh, memories, love, loss. Name one author who should be more famous than they are now? Brian McCabe. When I first started to take my writing seriously, I went to his writer’s workshop. He was…

First Writes: Lisa O'Donnell, author of The Death of Bees

The first-time writer on Glasgow set tale of young orphaned girls

28 Feb 2012

Give us five words to describe The Death of Bees? Contemporary. Dark. Comic. Social. Loud. Name one author who should be more famous than they are now? Katherine Dunn who wrote the amazing Geek Love. She’s written other things, mostly about boxing…

Tom Perrotta - The Leftovers

The measured delivery of this fantastical story results in impeccable satire

28 Feb 2012

(Fourth Estate) Tom Perrotta’s measured new novel proves that even with the most fantastical story, you don’t have to be flashy to hit your nail right on its head. The Leftovers is about a half-cocked Rapture in which believers and atheists alike…

Crime books round-up – March 2012

Doug Johnstone, Alex Gray and Mari Jungstedt deliver new crime novels this month

17 Feb 2012

As if to show that fiction readers love a good bit of murder and mystery, death and deceit, blood and booze, there’s acres of it about to be scattered around the nation’s book shelves. Doug Johnstone (of this parish) parks his Hit and Run (Faber) at our…

Profile: Louise Welsh, author of The Cutting Room and Naming the Bones

The crime author is set to appear at three literary events this month

1 Feb 2012

Ever since she exploded onto the Scottish literary scene in 2002 with her literary detective novel The Cutting Room, Louise Welsh has proved to be an astute explorer of human frailty. She describes her quartet of acclaimed novels as quests in which an…

Interview: Eowyn Ivey - author of The Snow Child

Debut author discusses tale of heartbreak and hope set in 1920s Alaska

1 Feb 2012

Give us five words to describe The Snow Child? Alaskan. Wild. Magical. Rugged. Tender. Name one author who should be more famous than they are now? M Allen Cunningham. His novel The Green Age of Asher Witherow is one of the finest I have ever…

Jeet Thayil - Narcopolis

Bombay-centric social drama with tangible atmosphere but little narrative drive

1 Feb 2012

(Faber) Narcopolis begins and ends with the word ‘Bombay’. Although several individuals vie for centre stage in poet Jeet Thayil’s debut novel, the main character here is India’s most densely populated city. Viewed as a solemn and dangerous hive…

Preview of 2012 - Irvine Welsh's Skagboys

Renton, Sick Boy et al are revisited in this Trainspotting prequel

6 Jan 2012

Wonder how Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and co got to be the drugged-up life-rejecting Leith loons in Trainspotting? Well, wonder no more, as the publication of Skagboys brings us a bit more background on the individual and social circumstances revolving…

Interview: Lucy Wood, author of Diving Belles

The writer's debut publication is a set of short stories about hopes, regrets and memories

19 Dec 2011

Give us five words to describe Diving Belles? Short stories reimagining Cornish folklore. Name one author who should be more famous than they are now? I think everyone should read George Mackay Brown’s fiction and poetry, for his evocation of…

Interview: Allan Wilson - Wasted in Love

The debut novelist on his collection of vignettes about love, lies, break-ups and betrayal

12 Dec 2011

Give us five words to describe Wasted in Love? Raymond Carver shagging Arab Strap. Name one author who should be more famous than they are now and why? Agnes Owens. Funny, tender and honest, her writing is about the lives of everyday, working…

Douglas Coupland & Graham Roumieu - Highly Inappropriate Tales for Young People

Pacy but insubstantial short story collection

12 Dec 2011

(Heinemann) For anyone who has a glance at the cover of this book and believes that all they have spied is a cute illustration aimed at kids might want to take a closer look. It suggests that reading this collaboration between Generation X writer…

Interview: Selma Dabbagh - author of Out of It

The author answers questions about her debut novel, about a family struggling to survive in Gaza

15 Nov 2011

Give us five words to describe Out of It? Girl. Gun. Boy. Sea. Fence. What was the last book you read? I have spent the last three days in the mood of Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton. A brownish, fuggy, alcoholic London novel set in 1939, it…

Top children's books on sale for Christmas

New titles from Jacqueline Wilson, Julia Donaldson, Francesca Simon and David Walliams

15 Nov 2011

While the December market is traditionally slow for adult fiction, when it comes to kids books, it’s a ripe old time of year. This winter there are books from some familiar names and favourite characters which won’t look bad popping out of a woolly…

Sarah Hall - The Beautiful Indifference

The Booker nominee delivers a short story collection with an eye for spectacular imagery

15 Nov 2011

(Faber) Four books into her literary career and a Booker nomination in the locker (for 2004’s The Electric Michelangelo), Sarah Hall is being touted as one of the key British voices of her generation. There is little doubt that she can weave some…

Don Delillo - The Angel Esmeralda

Challenging but ultimately rewarding collection of short stories spanning the author's career

18 Oct 2011

(Picador) Is anyone ever truly happy in a Don DeLillo universe? As the astronaut narrator of ‘Human Moments in World War III’ puts it, ‘happiness is not a fact of this experience’. The profundities and quandaries of existence weigh down mightily upon…

Padgett Powell, author of You & I - interview

The writer follows up his postmodern 'questions' novel with a book-length dialogue

18 Oct 2011

When Padgett Powell was a boy, he knew little of the settled life. With a trucker father, his family was constantly on the move and he reckons that he attended ten different schools and lived in 17 houses during his perpetual-motion upbringing. Perhaps…

V Campbell, author of 'historical teen action adventure quest' Viking Gold - interview

18 Oct 2011

Give us five words to describe Viking Gold? Historical teen action adventure quest. Name one author who should be more famous than they are now? John Christopher for his young adult sci-fi. My husband and I read his books together and they left us…

Susan Hill - The Woman in Black

Sinister ghost story with an already-established pedigree

16 Sep 2011

(Profile) As the longest running stage production in Britain after Aggie’s Mousetrap, Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black clearly has an icy grip on the theatre-going public. And with news that this classic ghost story will make it onto the big screen in…

Landfall - Helen Gordon interview

The debut author discusses her novel, in which a London arts journalist is stranded in the suburbs

16 Sep 2011

Our debut author Q&As continue with Helen Gordon, whose first book is about a London art magazine writer who returns to her suburban family household and confronts some difficult home truths Give us five words to describe Landfall? Journalist falls…

EIBF 2011: five lengthy literary works

featuring Adam Levin, Thomas Pynchon, David Foster Wallace, Stephen King and Tolstoy

24 Aug 2011

The Instructions The story of a megalomaniac 10-year-old boy who may or may not be the messiah takes place over the course of just four frenetic days, but Levin’s massive book takes in Israel’s battle for existence and an entire religion’s search for…

Rebecca Hunt

The author of Mr Chartwell creates a credible and empathetic vision of illness

24 Aug 2011

One of the most intriguing and delectably-crafted debut novels of the past year is Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt. The black dog of Winston Churchill’s legendary deep depression is brought vividly to life through the eponymous mutt (also known as Black…

First Writes: Sunjeev Sahota, author of Ours are the Streets

The debut author discusses his first novel, Edinburgh and some of his favourite novels

17 Aug 2011

Give us five words to describe Ours are the Streets? Fathers. Sons. Responsibilities. Belonging. Home. Which author should be more famous than they are now and why? I don’t know how famous or not she is, but I don’t think I hear that much in the UK…

Interview: Joe Dunthorne - author of Submarine and Wild Abandon

Edinburgh shows with Unbound, Aisle16, Luke Wright and Tim Clare

21 Jul 2011

The day before our phone interview, Joe Dunthorne was on Radio 4, bantering with Tim Key about the perfect opening line. Chatting to him the next day, it appears the Welsh-born poet, short story writer and novelist has worked out a potential strategy.