The high plain style of Cormac McCarthy
The late American novelist wrote with a strange and streamlined grandeur, and sounded like nobody else.
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Immerse yourself in the captivating world of literature with our collection of articles, offering literary analysis, book recommendations, author spotlights, and thought-provoking discussions that celebrate the written word.
Cormac McCarthy’s existential Westerns
In his career-defining Border Trilogy, the late novelist summoned the ghosts of America’s bloody history.
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Annie Ernaux’s acts of revenge
The Nobel laureate on abortion, the “shame” of her upbringing and forging a new working-class literature.
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Martin who?
Not everyone is convinced of Martin Amis’s genius.
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What Martin Amis taught me
The novelist had no reason to welcome me into his home – but generosity was the thread that connected his…
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The special relationship: Martin Amis and the New Statesman
How the late novelist’s time at the magazine in the 1970s helped develop his style and voice.
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Catherine Lacey’s biography that isn’t
In inventing a figure who rubbed shoulders with David Bowie and Susan Sontag, the American novelist thrillingly subverts the conventions…
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A visit to Edinburgh, judging the Winner of Winners, and a case of mistaken identity
My fellow Baillie Gifford judges are formidable close readers: diligent, erudite, passionate, smart, committed. They made my job very easy.
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Sigrid Rausing’s Diary: Why it’s time to step down at Granta, the sound of music, and the art of making lists
Our Best of Young British Novelists list proved that publishing is more permeable, and more transformative, than we imagine.
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Anatomy of a romantic hero
Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy presents a new male ideal: famous, feminist, fantastically handsome – and blind to your every flaw.
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The decline of the Literary Bloke
In featuring just four men, Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists confirms what we already knew: the literary male has…
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The true meaning of James Bond
The ultimate GQ snob, 007 more than anything represents consumer goods becoming available to people outside of aristocracy.
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Javier Marías and the mists of history
In his final novel Tomás Nevinson, the late Spanish author concluded a profound literary project built on personal and political…
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Jeanette Winterson wants more life
The writer has stayed vital through constant movement and insisting on “living in the world as it is, not as…
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Multi-Dimensional Man
Herbert Marcuse was the philosopher of the future in an age without one.
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From Roald Dahl to Ian Fleming, censorship is good for the book trade
Releasing bowdlerised books into a predictable storm of ridicule and then making the “classic texts” available is clever business.
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The best fiction books for 2023
The year’s publishing highlights, including new novels by Salman Rushdie, Diana Evans and Eleanor Catton.
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I’m a writer who thrives on stories – so why can’t I read novels any more?
I fear my reluctance to read fiction reveals how focused on myself I have become, amid the inwardness of depression.
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Changes to Roald Dahl reveal our hypocritical attitudes towards children and media
Kids are expected to shrug off a daily barrage of sexual and violent imagery – but are seen as too…
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Roald Dahl’s books are nasty by nature – editing a word or two won’t make them nice
Sanitising the writer’s legacy may help him remain profitable – but his books can’t be easily cleaned up.
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