Fans of the beautiful, restrained writing of Clare Keegan will be eagerly anticipating the release of the screen adaptation of Small Things Like These, coming to cinemas on 1st November, which I’ve been lucky enough to see. The film stars and is produced by Cillian Murphy, with support from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s new studio – adding some Hollywood cash and credentials which will no doubt help this small film punch above its weight.
It tells the story of Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and father of five girls living in the small Irish town of New Ross in the 1980s. He is a good and compassionate man who grew up in difficult circumstances and now just wants to live a simple and quiet life with his family. But he starts to grasp the enormity of what is going on behind closed doors at the local convent (one of the Magdalene laundries) and we see him struggle to accept the complicity of silence in the local community.
The convent is run by Sister Mary (played by the excellent Emily Watson) who has managed to quietly intimidate the town as effectively as any mafia boss and who makes it very clear that to speak out would involve considerable personal cost.
Adapted by playwright Enda Walsh (a long-time collaborator of Murphy), the film stays true to the beautiful novella, with its sparse yet powerful dialogue, and allows the audience to be quiet observers. Much remains unsaid, and yet we learn volumes from the lingering close-ups of the tension in Murphy’s face, or the violent scrubbing of coal dust from his hands.
There will be a few choices that the film makers have made that might upset lovers of the book, and there is no doubt this is a sombre watch, without much in the way of light relief. But it is a faithful adaptation of an exceptional book and a moving reflection on the moral choices we make.
– Liz Barron
“Lindsay Camp is a dangerous man,” quipped John Simmons in a blurb for the brilliant copywriting book Can I Change Your Mind (2007). And he is. But besides his persuasive writing, Lindsay is also an incredible novelist.
My Father Keeps the PM Waiting recreates a tumultuous week in 1970 as PM Harold Wilson seeks reelection. We get ringside seats from the viewpoint of his chief speechwriter and spin doctor, before there were words to describe that job and Alastair Campbell was still at school.
It’s a game of two halves. Part One goes day-by-day, following the strategist’s stressful week of politics and philandering, offering the pleasures of The Thick of It without seeming anachronistic. Lindsay conjures the era with immense flair while sprinkling links to YouTube and Wikipedia.
I read it on an iPad as a “hyper-novel” clicking through to clips of football matches, pop songs, interviews with Wilson, and even the BBC’s 1970 election night special. Even if you remember the result (or need to look it up!), there’s still glorious tension as the big day looms.
The kicker is that the titular character, referred to throughout simply as “My Father,” was Lindsay’s actual father. Part Two offers episodes and reminiscences from different periods of My Father’s life. The whole is funny, painful, utterly engrossing, and ultimately moving.
Best of all, it’s completely FREE, either to read online or download as an ebook. Now. Did I persuade you?
– Angus Grundy
I absolutely loved Crazy/Mad by AJ Dolman. The poetry collection employs assonance, computer, mathematic, scientific, and linguistic imagery to overwhelm the reader, which excellently illustrates their point. The emotions emanate from the page through the use of personification. Rhythm, repetition, and alliteration are incorporated in ways I’ve never seen before. Their sarcastic and biting wit towards grave issues, illustrates the banality of violence. They end sentences abruptly, but the continuation is implied, which rewards re-reads and further unpacking for interpretation. References to mythology and visceral sensory imagery are employed to poignant effect.
The similes, metaphors, and experiments with form all reward delving into each poem. They so excellently paradoxically depict the world with childlike wonder and jaded adulthood simultaneously. Their interrogation of the Canadian state was so well done. The metaphor of sewing is employed throughout as a recurring reminder of managing mental illness. They have a gift for unpacking a single moment and exploring the ramifications of it in thorough poetic detail. The way they use stanza breaks to interrupt yet focus the flow of poems is brilliant. The use of spacing and line breaks to evoke a stop/start rhythm and as a form of commentary on and within the poem which is incredible.
The poems are bleak, biting, hopeful, visceral, raw and necessary. I’m honoured to be named in the acknowledgements as AJ set the bar even higher with this collection!
– Mugabi Byenkya
2 bonus book recommendations:
Lanny by Max Porter
Harlem Shuffle and Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead.
– Hayden Maskell
And something slightly different:
I wanted to recommend Friends on the Shelf.
FOTS is a fairly new bi-annual London Literary Magazine.
They specialise in short real life stories. They like a mix of well known writers telling more persona tales and not so well known writers like myself.
They are always looking for new contributors, no fee, but you get a profile and an opportunity to read your story at the edition’s London launch.
The next edition is out on the 25th October and my story about a work trip to Japan at a tricky time is included. They are welcoming stories for the Spring 25 edition now.
Worth a look if you write stories with a personal touch.
– Paul Murphy