In our afternoon reading: notes on books by Cynan Jones and Amy Rose Spiegel, an interview with Phil Klay, and more.
Vol.1 Brooklyn’s April 2016 Book Preview
From surreal fiction to insightful guides to the intersection of design and crime in everyday life to elegantly constructed memoirs to updated versions of beloved stories, the books due out in April cover a wide range of topics and styles. Here are a few of the books that have caught our eye, from noteworthy debuts to new works from some of our favorite writers.
A Story Told With Striking Language and Visceral Detail: A Review of Cynan Jones’s “Everything I Found on the Beach”
Cynan Jones’ novel Everything I Found on the Beach, was his second novel in the British Isles released after The Long Dry, which made garnered some favorable reviews after it was published in 2006 and reprinted by Granta in 2014. It is also the second Jones novel published by Coffee House Press (his first with Coffee House Press was The Dig, which Granta published in 2014). Structurally, Everything I Found on the Beach doesn’t break any new ground, as mainly […]
“Instinct and Keeping a Clear Eye”: An Interview With Cynan Jones, Part 2
In the first part of this interview with Cynan Jones, we discussed the roots of his writing, the role of rural Welsh landscapes in his excellent novel The Dig, and the process by which he became a writer. In the second half of our conversation, we delved more into the specifics of The Dig, including the origins of some of the book’s most harrowing scenes, as well as how the novel’s timing dovetailed with a political controversy in the U.K. […]
“Writing Is a Side Effect of Reading”: An Interview With Cynan Jones, Part 1
Cynan Jones‘s The Dig is one of the most taut, haunting reading experience you’re likely to have this year. It juxtaposes two stories: the pastoral life of a farmer grappling with tragedy and a badger-baiter whose actions occupy a much less noble sphere. It’s a visceral, stark work, and one that left me curious to read more from its author. (Coffee House Press will release his earlier novels Everything I Found On the Beach and The Long Dry in 2016 […]
Afternoon Bites: Revisiting “Separation Sunday,” Jessica Hopper Interviewed, Blake Butler on Short Novels, Troy James Weaver,and More
In our afternoon reading: revisiting The Hold Steady, interviews with Jessica Hopper and Troy James Weaver, Blake Butler on short, devastating novels, and more.
Morning Bites: Sarah Gerard, Kanye West’s Films, Cynan Jones Interviewed, Kyle Minor on Kirstin Valdez Quade, and More
In our Thursday morning reading: an excerpt from Sarah Gerard’s novel, new writing from Jen Doll, a look at Kanye West’s forays into filmmaking, Kyle Minor reviewed Kirstin Valdez Quade’s collection, and more.
Blurbs I Care About: “The Dig” by Cynan Jones
Say what you want about what you might read on the back of a book jacket, but The Dig by Cynan Jones popped up to the top of my TBR pile because the folks at Coffee House describe it as, “Cormac McCarthy meets Marilynne Robinson in this slo-mo collision between a badger baiter and grieving farmer in rural Wales.” You can’t beat a comparison like that, but that’s also a hell of a lot to live up to. Follow […]