Telephone Booking Book Festival 0131 624 5050 Fringe 0131 226 0000
International Festival 0131 473 2000 Film Festival 0131 623 8030 Jazz Festival 0131 473 2000
ROY HATTERSLEY Geese, lard and fine works of history
For peOple of a certain generation. the mention of Roy Hattersley's name WI” conjure up the rather unfortunate image of a constantly slaverrng Spitting Images puppet. During his stint as deputy leader of the Labour Party. Hattersley didn't exactly have a sympathetic media profile. something which continued after his time on the opposrtion bench. being famously replaced by a tub of lard on Have / Got News for You some years later. But this gentle ridicule shouldn't obscore the fact that these days Hattersley is a well respected author and an extremely diverse one too. haying produced 15 books covering fiction.
Napief Part Of the new 9309 Of Writers emerging from Glasgow
biography. history. itiernoir‘s. essays; and even the unlikely story of tllf; own dog Buster. who infainously ended ill) in (:Ourt for attacking one of the Queen's geese.
His latest work. [he Ldi'xardiaris. deals With the often oxerlooked hasten, of Britain in the early 19005;. l)()lll'£t‘,lllf] it as a time of massive upheaval. The hook is already Widely regarded as a Vital text on the period. higl‘iigiiting
University’s Creative Writing course, Scottish-based American author Will Napier recently published his sinister debut, Summer of the Cicadas. The novel showed him to be a writer of nerve, unafraid to delve into the darkest areas of human nature. Part The Wasp Factory, part Stephen King, it is a dark, Gothic nightmare.
(Doug Johnstone) I 73 Aug. 4pm, {7 (£23;
18 THE LIST FESI’IVAL MAGAZINE ' 1
18 Air; 900.",
Hitiiffl‘sltr‘, 3. gift for unearthing int'rgtrir‘g periods; of our past and hiringrng them to the attention of the reading r:..l)l.r:. Fm thit. appearance. expect ‘.'./itt\,. er,idrte historical rnusutgs: rust (lert't ask about that puppet.
Recommended reading: latest book [he / d'.'.'a'drar‘:~;. an authoritative. panorarrtrr; .ie.'.' of the first years of the inth (LfiliILll‘.. rlioug .lohnstonei
I to Aug. A); >17". ’5 in.
AL KENNEDY
An ironic and profound eye for life
We! It'l‘if;.i'f}ll it» w l estival would be l>ereft .'.".li'}tlf at least one appearance K)", At Keii'ieii, the [Ilffntile [)ri'tdee horn author «<.-;;.;;;:rig. i.ii‘.'eiis the fruits; of he' "ton! -'e<.t:."t labours n Charlotte Square fizirv t-’:."f. 'rt August. and is; a <(3i~‘.:;t‘:-!"1<;:Lt;'tr:rl!it:! “)f her ()‘.'.’ti work. ".,-.:‘. ,i::tl‘~. armierwes; have been T"(:£‘i'.<;tt fr‘ ariusiv‘ee tasters from her fir;t'<>". “.l‘ r‘r..i..tet. /,'?.it)l'rt)./t? Acts. a r:ort‘:tiri~ri‘.;rte ' election of short stories ft<:(i'.l‘:_; 3".” rm; and l(:5ittl(i'if;lill)5; in i .'.t,- at. :ta"‘.‘t.l glory ahtt r".'e'..'r> or; "fix. '.'.'tl(2it 'tiet'iutifuliy ‘ r: author's attempt to her entr- air: .ii 'tfeti the daughte.r " Ker‘ne:i~.'s; striking l"i‘.‘}'i f’;irar.lr.<;e.
latest It‘e
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grasp spire-fitting riteanirrgful front life's ening p; usages. Hith year's; Festival {1"(IftKéff‘l'i(f(I\‘, iiiml‘if] to the stage at tune separate euerits. He first an ins:ng :ltiti titr: perils. i>.tfsillt; and pieasure‘. (if heiiig a ‘.'."li(?l. the second a reading. {lll(:t;ili in and rill§;‘.'.‘-I:l airmen rjtiairer: iv. roiii'ialifst .Jat‘kie Mefllorie
Recommended reading: /)i'i/(I(."i’.‘;(?. a iiriiliant at:r;r>.;rit :;f .ii‘ alcoholic}; attempts ft; f.()."it? to feiiiis. \.'.'ith herself Alla“ Hativlsffe
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fifth). riot.
NEXT ISSUE OUT WEDNESDAY 17 AUGUST
LiTEnARv DEPARTURES
In response to Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hours, MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM has written Specimen Days. It follows form by tying multiple narratives around a literary muse (in this case Walt Whitman), but takes a step beyond into the ghost story, the noir thriller and alien sci-fi. Here are five more writers who took something of a tangent. Louise Welsh After her award- winning. grimy modern Glasgow novel The Cutting Room came a 16th century thriller in the shape of Tamber/aine Must Die. a reimagining of the final days of playwright Christopher Marlowe. Alex Garland Exotic. fast-paced. generational thrillers The Beach and The Tesseract set the scene for a reported bout of writer‘s block that would eventually result in The Coma. an illustrated novella confined to a semi-conscious mind. Michel Faber Strange and celebrated contemporary short stories and novellas were the order of the day for the Dutch-born, Scottish-based scribe. Then he blew away the chick-litters with weighty historical epic The Crimson Petal and the White.
Jim Grace While recently documenting the glorious sexual history of an actor in Six, Crace has made a career of departures. variously giving us a seventh continent, a usurped Stone Age community. a futuristic British city. Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness and the decomposition of an elderly couple.
God His sprawling Old Testament was a vengeful epic of biblical proponions. The disputed character-driven sequel, though once again ghostwritten across several hundred years. expressed a gentler. more forgiving side to the Big Yin that converted many but still has its critics. (Mark Edmundson) I Michael Cunningham, 73 Aug. 8.30pm, £8 (£6).