Posts

Showing posts from August, 2011

Inspiration in the strangest places

Image
I often feel like a bit of a fraud when people ask me who my favourite writers are. They seem to be a small, insular crowd which people don’t particularly associate with literary prowess. It seems slightly disingenuous to say that my greatest influences have been records. I’m always attracted to works in which the listener can be drawn in by three or four rich threads. For instance, in Siri Hustvedt’s wonderful novel What I Loved, I found myself enraptured by four or five circling themes that rose recurrently like distant riffs. The idea of faded romance, the way art reveals the psyche of its creator, the vertigo in trying to reign in someone who always remains unknowable, even to themselves. Giving the audience that room is something that in my own writing I’m always trying to achieve. Paul Auster has written eloquently about how he intends his books to ultimately give the reader room to find themselves in. It is perhaps just something I have just found it easier to do with recor

The Intimates in The View From Here

Image
Feel honoured to have a very considered review from the fabulous literary magazine The View From Here this month - ‘Mankowski’s ability to construct and develop his characters is formidable and the execution of this skill adds to the compelling nature of the book. The reader is taken on a journey through a vast array of intensive and moving experiences. Fascinating and compelling, ‘The Intimates’ is a deep and challenging book…definitely worth a read’. To see the whole review... http://www.viewfromheremagazine.com/2011/08/intimates-review.html