Tuesday 4 June 2013

1970s Hair

Many moons ago I raved about one of the best first novels I've read, Martine McDonagh's I Have Waited, And You Have Come, a wonderfully unsettling post-climate-change novel of obsessive love and constant rain. McDonagh has just had a second novel published, After Phoenix, and it's also excellent. Given that the book's subject is grief, and that grief is a dulling, leaden, grey and tedious feeling, it's amazing how vital, entertaining and even funny After Phoenix is, without in any way shortchanging the reality of the experience.

It's also blessed with a great cover by John Davison.

Click to embiggenise


I really like the mix of sketchy, wonky lines with photographic textures: it has something of Nicholas Motte about it, and is very effective. The book itself is from Ten to Ten Publishing, a new publishing house.

2 comments:

jb said...

Waaaaait - you haven't done a best books of the year since 2009. More of those, please.

That's all I really had to say.

JRSM said...

Blimey< i thought I'd only skipped the end of last year. That's a bit feeble.