Written for The Guardian: Paul Auster is a writer with many skills: a disarming directness of style, a subtle ability to render subtle psychology, a connoisseur’s feel for the novel form – its limits and its play – and much besides. Invisible is the story of Adam Walker who, while a student at Columbia University in 1967,…
Most novelists and poets are broke. But why aren’t we getting a bailout? We’ve been no worse at our jobs than the bankers. Written for Prospect Magazine: “Dude, where’s my cheque? Either this is not a recovery, or you forgot to mail out our cheques while the recession was on.” “That’s what you’d…
For Prospect Magazine On 6th December, 30 years ago, on a dark and miserable night in south London, a few streets from where I am writing this, a young Peter Mandelson was elected as a Labour borough councillor to the world’s most insane local council—Lambeth. Representing Stockwell, the 26-year-old Mandelson found himself sitting on…
Taken from The Ham and High: A death bed confession about his origins led author Edward Docx to the idea for his new novel, Bridget Galton writes Edward Docx didn’t know his publishers were entering him for the Booker Prize until the longlist was announced. Now, the 34-year-old’s second novel, Self Help, is rubbing literary…
By Louise Jury for The Evening Standard: Edward Docx is one of the brightest young novelists on the Man Booker long list. He found found the richest and most revealing material closest to home… READ MORE>
Written for Time Out Magazine in 2007 Imagine you are the best prison guard in the world. Undisputed number one. Entertained by the Blairs, the Beckhams and Antonio Banderas alike; a chess grand master, a boxer – ex-pro (three belts); kind as the mistletoe fairy, mean as a yoga teacher on the make, dignified as…
For The Telegraph There are some novelists who will tell you that it’s the characters or the plot that cause all the trouble, or the research, or the pacing, or managing point of view, or controlling tone; but you would do better not to believe them. All of these are exasperating. But the thing that…
From The Telegraph: At 35, Edward Docx is the youngest hopeful on the Man Booker longlist. He tells Cassandra Jardine about the family secret that inspired his novel On her deathbed, Edward Docx’s Indian grandmother made a shattering confession. Propped up on pillows at the family’s home in Cheshire, she began talking about…
