William Self is een Engelse romanschrijver, recensent en columnist. Hij staat bekend om zijn satirische, groteske en fantastische romans en korte verhalen, die zich vaak afspelen in schijnbaar parallelle universums. Zijn werk duikt in de donkere kanten van de menselijke natuur en de maatschappij. Selfs onderscheidende stijl combineert vakkundig rauw realisme met bovennatuurlijke elementen, wat resulteert in verontrustende maar boeiende leeservaringen. Zijn schrijfstijl wordt geprezen om zijn scherpe maatschappijkritiek en inzichtelijke verkenning van menselijke zwakheden.
Set in 1950s America, the story follows Elaine as she grapples with her dissatisfaction in a seemingly perfect life with her Ivy League husband and child. Standing by her mailbox, she questions her choices and ultimately seeks freedom through a reckless affair. This decision leads to the unraveling of her marriage and forces her to confront the consequences of her actions, exploring themes of identity, desire, and the constraints of societal expectations.
Exploring the intricacies of writing and literature, this collection of essays showcases Will Self's unique voice and sharp wit. Celebrated as a bold and engaging novelist, he offers insightful reflections that challenge conventional perspectives on reading. Each piece invites readers to reconsider their relationship with literature, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in the art of storytelling and the written word.
From the Booker-shortlisted author of Umbrella comes a world-spanning collection of writings inspired by a life dedicated to literature. Will Self, hailed as "the most daring and delightful novelist of his generation" by The Guardian, presents a rich array of insightful and witty essays on writing and literature. He takes readers on a journey from the quirks of his typewriter repairman to the irradiated exclusion zone of Chernobyl and the Australian outback, exploring literary forms both past and future. With intellectual vigor, Self examines literary giants like Woolf, Kafka, Orwell, and Conrad, reflecting on W. G. Sebald's childhood in Germany and the transformation of William S. Burroughs's Junky from a shocking pulp novel to a cult classic. Expanding on his Literary Hub column, he poses vital questions about how and why we should read in an ever-evolving world. Whether discussing the rise of the bookshelf as a furniture item in the nineteenth century or the challenges of Googling his own name in a digital age, Self's intoxicating prose and sharp humor enliven each essay. This collection delves into the human stream of consciousness as it intertwines with literature, appealing to both longtime fans and new readers of this contemporary literary icon.
From the Booker-shortlisted author of Umbrella, a world-girdling collection of writings inspired by a life lived in and for literature.
Will's mother's hokey homily, Waste not, want not... hisses in his ears as he oscillates furiously on the spot, havering on the threshold between the bedroom and the dying one... all the while cradling the plastic leech of the syringe in the crook of his arm. Oscillating furiously, and, as he presses the plunger home a touch more... and more, he hears it again and again- Waaaste nooot, waaant nooot..! whooshing into and out of him, while the blackness wells up at the periphery of his vision, and his hackneyed heart begins to beat out weirdly arrhythmic drum fills - even hitting the occasional rim-shot on his resonating rib cage. He waits, paralysed, acutely conscious, that were he simply to press his thumb right home, it'll be a cartoonish death- That's all folks! as the aperture screws shut forever.
A five-hundred-quid worry bead - and all I worry about is losing the bloody thing . . . ' Dementia-addled, 78-year-old antipsychiatrist Dr Zack Busner, turfed out of his home by his ungrateful progeny, is no longer certain of anything - except the persistent ringing of the phone in his pocket. Meanwhile, his autistic grandson Ben, drowning in conspiracy theories as he investigates the ruse known as the Iraq war, is urgently calling. Elsewhere, MI6 agent Jonathan De'Ath (aka the Butcher) is trying to conceal the one secret he knows will ruin him - his affair with tank commander Colonel Gawain Thomas, whose unit is busy shooting up Iraq. And somewhere a phone is ringing . . .
Shark turns upon an actual incident in WWII - mentioned in the film Jaws - when the ship which had delivered the fissile material to the south Pacific to be dropped on Hiroshima was subsequently sunk by a Japanese submarine with the loss of 900 men, including 200 killed in the largest shark attack ever recorded.
A brother is as easily forgotten as an umbrella. James Joyce, Ulysses Recently having abandoned his RD Laing-influenced experiment in running a therapeutic community – the so-called Concept House in Willesden – maverick psychiatrist Zack Busner arrives at Friern Hospital, a vast Victorian mental asylum in North London, under a professional and a marital cloud. He has every intention of avoiding controversy, but then he encounters Audrey Dearth, a working-class girl from Fulham born in 1890 who has been immured in Friern for decades. A socialist, a feminist and a munitions worker at the Woolwich Arsenal, Audrey fell victim to the encephalitis lethargica sleeping sickness epidemic at the end of the First World War and, like one of the subjects in Oliver Sacks' Awakenings, has been in a coma ever since. Realising that Audrey is just one of a number of post-encephalitics scattered throughout the asylum, Busner becomes involved in an attempt to bring them back to life – with wholly unforeseen consequences.
What is a city? Do people make cities or do cities make people? And can cities have second lives? We all inhabit cities, but what do they mean to us? What do we mean to them? Is the city a real thing in the 21st century? How do we integrate their pasts to their futures? What are the threats facing cities in the western world? These are just some of the questions posed by the fascinating studies in this book. Through essays, poems, psychogeography, short stories, and more, an array of today’s leading writers and thinkers join together to look at cities in the western world. Focusing on the two former industrial heartlands of Glasgow and Pittsburgh, this international and diverse collection is asking the big questions and getting the most creative answers. From Will Self’s psychogeography of Glasgow, to National Book Award winner Terrance Hayes’ stunning poetry, this collection will make you think, feel, fear, and fight for what part cities play in our daily lives. Bold, diverse, and daring, these pieces are a must for anyone who cares about where we live and what it means to live in the urban sprawl of now. Will Self, Jane Mccaffery, Edwin Morgan, Ewan Morrison, Terrance Hayes, Allan Wilson, Louise Welsh, Kapka Kassabova, Gerald Stern, Doug Johnstone, Lori Jagielka, Hilary Masters, David Kinloch, Yona Harvey, Sharon Dilworth, Lee Gutkind, Richard Wilson, and many more.
