Day 5 at the Belfast Book Festival and the charming, funny and always interesting @jancarsonwrites.bsky.social talking about her latest novel, Few and Far Between and I’ll agree with the interviewer tonight, Heather Parry in calling it her best so far.
The art will live on but the interviews and the books with Martin Gayford show what an eloquent and intelligent man he was with such profound insights into art.
Belfast Book Festival means reading only local authors and this by @jancarsonwrites.bsky.social has entranced me over the last 3 days. She creates characters so wonderfully and with such sympathy and understanding. The Ark is a great creation - magical but illuminating the legacy of The Troubles.
One observation and one question too trivial for tonight. The opening chapter is almost like an overture - I reread after finishing and hit a lot harder . And in a book that has”redd up” and “thole”, why does Marion grow on Robert John like a “plantar wart” rather than a verruca (No Alibis edition)
The books he did with Martin Gayford show what an eloquent and intelligent man he was and with such insight into art and with such boundless creativity. Indeed the art will live on.
I don’t think I have seen a free seat in the cafe since the festival has started and sometimes it was totally bunged with people so that is a sad sight in some ways.
Day 7 at the Belfast Book Festival and a discussion between Jan Carson and Martin Doyle on the latter’s book “A Hosting” - interviews with Irish writers. Congratulations and thanks to all at the Crescent for getting this online at such short notice.
Book 2 in reading local authors during the book festival - Close To Home by Michael Magee - tender and touching, beautifully observed story of family, masculinity, trauma and Belfast.