I’m giddy with excitement, delirious with anticipation and snowed under a mahoosive stack of bookys. With just over one week to go Festival fever is kicking in and it seems to timely to share a few of my hoped for Festival highlights.
I’m having a chat with Charlotte Wood, a sublime writer from across the ditch. Discovering her novels has been the pre-festival find for me. Familiar, almost-ordinary characters but with achingly sad insights and poignant revelation. I’m taking a pathetically fangirl approach to meeting her and implore YOU dear blog readers to submit some sensible questions if only to stem the tide of my unfocused, fanatical enthusiasm!
Geoff Dyer. He “set a high standard of urbanity and wit” at the New Zealand International Festival in 2010 and by a long mile has written the louchest book of my pre-festival reading. My face takes on a rosy glow merely recalling several scenes in Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi. Novelist, essayist, travel-writer, editor and critic, his latest book Zona is a meditation on Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker. He is musing on life, art, culture and politics. Just the little things then Geoff.
Peter James has had several prolific careers as screenwriter, film producer, horror, thriller and crime writer. A long-time resident of Brighton (and Hove, actually) he has achieved huge success with his DS Roy Grace series. Having spent many happy hours tootling around Brighton drinking lager and eating chips, I’m keen to find out more about Brighton’s dark underbelly and why it such a great location for murder.
Don’t be strangers, follow all the festival thrills and spills here at Christchurch City Libraries!
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Typing this through gritted teeth in a deep funk of bitter jealousy at you getting to see Geoff Dyer. An indication of the regard I hold him in is the fact that I actually bought Zona despite vowing never to buy another book after losing most of my library in February 2011. I read it in a couple of sittings, a book about afilm I have never seen and never will. Now that is devotion.
I’m not sure what will slice me first: his wit or his cheekbones. Zona intimidated me a smidge. How are you finding it?
I loved it. He disses Jeremy Clarkson.
What book would you suggest that I read first of Charlotte Wood?
The Children is wonderful, and the story of one of the “children” Stephen is continued in Animal People. I’ve read everything out of order and upside down (not literally!). Her latest title is Love and Hunger which I don’t believe we have purchased, yet? Make it so Jane!