Forbidden Line by Paul Stanbridge
a review of a difficult book
Category: Book Review
Tres by Roberto Bolaño
A glimmer of hope: I am almost able to read in Spanish.
Mornings in Mexico by D. H. Lawrence
DHL happy in Mexico, then beautifully sad elsewhere.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver
an accurate depiction of the lust and boredom that threatens to overwhelm all of us who aren’t pious, delusional, fuckheads
Hillary Clinton Haiku by Vera G. Shaw
This isn’t a real review of a real book, IT’S SCOTT ON SOCIAL ANXIETY!!!
Berg by Ann Quin
“Help me, help me,” I cry, “I’m too sober to read”.
Home and Away by Karl Ove Knausgaard and Fredrik Ekelund
A charming, quirky, book tainted by middle aged white male bullshit.
The Fictional Man by Al Ewing
I read some serviceable pulp.
The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney
I’m bored of life, but this book’s a banger.
The Fight by Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer writes energetically and racistly about boxing
The Bricks That Built the Houses by Kate Tempest
The publishing industry has fucked over Kate Tempest.
On translation and Quiet Flows the Una by Faruk Šehić
Gorgeous Bosnian novel and my thoughts on the role of translators
Suicide Notes by Lewis Parker
Another book of poetry from up-and-coming indie publisher Morbid Books.
The Last Holiday: A Memoir by Gil Scott-Heron
The ‘Godfather of Rap’ offers a rose-tinted memoir.
Preacher: Book Four by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
Preacher is fine, but it’s irrelevant to real life. I should adopt a Syrian child refugee.
Sodom and Gomorrah (À la recherche du temps perdu 4) by Marcel Proust
A La Recherche du Temps Perdu 4: This Time It’s Gay
On Dressing Down & The Tragedy of Fidel Castro
A book that makes big promises without sufficient returns…
The Violet Hour by Katie Roiphe
All Men Must Die, innit?
The 24-Hour Wine Expert by Jancis Robinson
Should non-fiction books about intoxicants even be legal, yeah?
Zone by Mathias Enard
pleasure is a lightening bolt that leaves no trace
more online male-centric feminism
More writing from that weird character I do at Huffington Post.
On a Chinese Screen by W. Somerset Maugham
Very Colonial travel writing from author of The Painted Veil
Radar Road: The Best of On Impulse by Nath Jones
A short story collection, and my first experience of an eBook.
Love Notes to Men Who Don’t Read by North Morgan
Absolutely knock out novel about the gay bro scene.
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
because white men can’t / police their imagination / black men are dying
Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
Fantastic Mr Fox is an ode to adventure capitalism. My life is an ode to wine.
Vampire in Love by Enrique Vila-Matas
Experimental late 20th century short fiction.
The Short Anthology: The Second Issue (edited by Will Martin & Kat Phan)
A collection of short fiction inspired by photography.
D. H. Lawrence and Italy
I review a Lawrentian travel writing collection containing Twilight in Italy, Sea and Sardinia and Sketches of Etruscan Places.
Birthday Post: 6,500 Words on Skyfall
It’s my birthday and I’ll write 6,500 words on Skyfall if I want to
100 Haikus about Haemorrhoid Cream by Lewis Parker & Friends
I met a stranger off the internet and he gave it to me.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Can I write about writing about race without discussing race? No.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne
This is great fun, but absolutely fucking terrible.
Salvador by Joan Didion
In 2010 I produced a farce set in the El Salvadorian Civil War. In 2016 I learnt about the El Salvadorian Civil War.
One of Us by Åsne Seierstad
A beautiful book about a horrible thing.
I Write Self-Involved Book Review For Another Site
I read and discuss a book about dickhead hipster bartenders, just weeks after stopping being one.
Specimen Days by Walt Whitman
The life and memories of Walt Whitman, focusing on war and nature.
It ain’t easy being a bald man under thirty…
A bald man on a dance floor is as welcome as a corpse
Useful Work v. Useless Toil by William Morris
Morris is a dream-weaving Corbynista, whose acknowledgement of a sad truth mis-sees it as a solvable problem.
A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments by Roland Barthes
Love is not the preserve of the randy, love is not just something that happens with pants off or about to be off…
Consider the Lobster And Other Essays by David Foster Wallace
David bloody Foster bloody Wallace…
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
In America alone, 281 pounds of pig shit is produced for every one person per year. I don’t know if that’s a lot as I don’t know what a pound is.
The Shepherd’s Life: A Tale of the Lake District by James Rebanks
Living in the city is bad for the soul
The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories by Bruno Schulz
Have you ever had a dream? Have you ever dreamt a day, a week, a month, a year? Have youContinue Reading
Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume
I don’t know where this book came from. I know I bought it, I’m pretty certain I went out ofContinue Reading
The Hatred of Poetry by Ben Lerner
A lot of people don’t read poetry. A lot of people who read a lot of books, don’t read poetry. AContinue Reading
On the Value of Literature by Karl Ove Knausgaard
What is the point of literature? What is the point of life? Karl Ove Knausgaard, author of the hugely acclaimed MyContinue Reading
From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming
This is my first blog post in a while, and even then it’s still happening a little earlier than expected.Continue Reading
I Write Book Review Elsewhere Shocker
Have a look at this link: http://www.openpen.co.uk/review_arrival_of_missives/ I’ll be publishing new reviews every month or so for Open Pen. Kewl!
Recovery by John Berryman
Long before James Frey was breaking Oprah Winfrey’s fragile heart by fictionalising his time in addiction therapy and the behaviourContinue Reading
Triumph Of The Now 