At what age do you officially become an old person?
What do you think?
Found 16 articles.
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17 Jul 2008
FICTION (Portobello) The trouble with writing a novel satirising the mundanity of life and the mind numbing tedium of bureaucracy is, well, it risks being mundane and tedious. This second minimalist novel from Neath aims at the likes of Beckett…
22 May 2008
FAMILY DRAMA (Portobello) For this French writer’s fourth novel (but first in translation), we are in the head of 15-year-old Rose, a girl who spends much of her time on her apartment’s roof terrace wearing a cape and playing with her rabbits. Rose…
24 Apr 2008
POST-WAR NOVEL (Hamish Hamilton) James Kelman doesn’t have a reputation for writing easy-to-read books. Not necessarily a bad thing, since often the most rewarding fiction is the most demanding. Compared to his last two novels, Translated Accounts and…
HISTORICAL TALE (Polygon) Scottish author Andrew Drummond has a strong reputation for writing comedic historical novels, and while this third book covers similar territory, it seems thinner on substance than his previous outings. Purporting to be the…
27 Mar 2008
RENAISSANCE NOVEL (Jonathan Cape) There is much to admire in this ornate, complex Renaissance romp from Salman Rushdie, but when one of the main characters declares at one point: ‘A curse on all storytellers’, it’s hard not to agree, at least in part.
17 Jan 2008
FUTURISTIC DRAMA (Jonathan Cape) Comparing a book to A Clockwork Orange and 1984 in the press release is a risky tactic, and one which backfires on this underwhelming debut. In the near future, we’re in the company of Jensen Interceptor, a…
15 Nov 2007
COLLECTED JOURNALISM What I Do (Picador) I’ve mostly avoided Jon Ronson in the past, mainly because of an irrational fear of his ultra-liberal-looking potato-head, and witnessing an early simpering appearance of his on late-night Channel 4. So…
18 Oct 2007
Frankly, I’m not usually one for tomes about the past, but this remarkable and ambitious piece of work is no ordinary history book. An incredibly diverse collection of writings spanning 2000 years, it tells the story of this country through the people…
20 Sep 2007
Best known for The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje provides another trademark non-linear narrative, attempting to create a whole out of disparate story strands, but with rather limited success. On a Californian farm, Anna, adopted sister Claire and…
23 Apr 2007
EXISTENTIAL TALE Young Mancunian writer Gwendoline Riley is much-praised in literary circles, but it’s hard to see why from this turgid sliver of immature existential angst. A young female novelist from Manchester (hmmm) and an older American…
26 Mar 2007
LITERARY NOVEL AL Kennedy’s latest creation, Alfred Day, finds his purpose through the Second World War, enjoying a sense of camaraderie as tail-gunner in a bomber crew. His narrative switches between this time and 1949, when a broken Day is trying…
12 Mar 2007
SPORT Chess attracts both child prodigies and general oddballs, both of which can be found in abundance in this well-constructed and intriguing book about American’s top high school chess team. The Edward R Murrow School in Brooklyn is an…
19 Dec 2006
CHILDHOOD MEMOIR Christopher Rush’s previous work has been widely acclaimed with his travelogue-memoir To Travel Hopefully being lauded on publication last year, and his novel, A Twelvemonth and a Day, making it into this publication’s 100 Best…
11 Nov 2006
RURAL DRAMA Award-winning novelist Patrick McCabe is known for his darkly violent books which mine the disturbing underbelly of rural Ireland, a setting he knows well from his own upbringing. Winterwood is no exception, telling the story of Redmond…
26 Oct 2006
CRIME DRAMA Truculent DI Rebus is as familiar as an old pair of slippers these days, not least because of Ken Stott’s excellent recent portrayal on television. This latest escapade around Ian Rankin’s schizophrenic Edinburgh (the 17th Rebus book…
12 Oct 2006
SOCIAL HISTORY Billy Bragg has been so outspoken over the years that it comes as a surprise that this is his first ever book. Conceived as a reaction to the rise of the BNP in his hometown of Barking and the 7 July bombings, this is a heartfelt yet…
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17 Jul 2008
24 Apr 2008
15 Nov 2007
18 Oct 2007
