Issue 44 / May 2012
July Update: The p-book strikes back: Eco and Carriere, Amitav Ghosh, James Miller, Chris Adrian
Ah, the great British summer, if there isn't a hosepipe ban it's pouring with rain. Strikes, cuts and chaos at the airports. The annual two week decampment is traditionally the time to read all those books you haven't quite got round to yet. There's nothing like a poolside setting on the Costa Brava to inspire a love of Tolstoy. This year's Easyjet queues will be measured according to those who've exceeded their baggage allowance with a suitcase of books, and those who glide smugly through the gate with a capsule wardrobe and a digital library in their hand luggage. No matter, the book's the thing whether on paper or screen. We asked Etgar Keret, Louisa Young, and Doug Johnstone, among others, to tell us what they'll be taking with them this summer.
Literary prizes have been much in the news of late, with government cuts leading to Booktrust's suspension of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, traditionally the barometer of serious promise and longevity, and a kerfuffle over the latest Man Booker International Prize, snubbed by nominee John Le Carré, before being awarded to the absent Philip Roth. Infighting among judges matters little, but the loss of the JLR is a serious blow. Surely a new sponsor can swoop in and save such an important recognition of literary merit?
For those not disappearing abroad, it's festival season at home. The London Literature Festival is in full swing at the South Bank Centre, Latitude is looming, and our personal favourite, Port Eliot , follows at the end of the month. Books (Hari Kunzru, Hanif Kureishi, William Fiennes, Jon Ronson, Caitlin Moran, Edmund de Waal) AND great music (Ed Harcourt, Gaz Mayall) AND parties in the woods AND wild swimming the next morning to soothe your aching head - what's not to love?
And treats galore in this issue too - Amitav Ghosh, Umberto Eco and Jean-Claude Carrière, Aatish Taseer, Chris Adrian, Alice Albinia, James Miller - as well as debut novelists Rahul Bhattacharya, Sara Stockbridge, John Butler and Luke Williams.
Happy reading!
Farhana Gani, 6th July 2011
Wednesday, 6 July, 2011
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