Beyond the First Draft: The Art of Fiction by John Casey (W.W. Norton, £10.99)
Casey’s book isn’t just a guide for would-be writers; it’s also a joyous exploration of how great writers achieve the effects they do. This isn’t necessarily a peek behind the stage curtain, revealing tricks and destroying the magic. He shows, especially, in sections like ‘Me Me Gab’ an inspiring and broad range of narrative devices.
The American Lover by Rose Tremain (Vintage, £8.99)
Perhaps writers reach a point where their stories become about writing, peopled by characters from other books. Here we meet a one-hit wonder author as well as Mrs Danvers from du Maurier’s Rebecca. Does this focus narrow the stories too much? If so, Tremain knows how to expand into less familiar eras and worlds in the most compelling ways.
I Think You’ll Find It’s A Bit More Complicated Than That by Ben Goldacre (Fourth Estate, £8.99)
Goldacre made his name through a series of newspaper columns that, amongst other things, called out fakers and con-artists purporting to sell new scientific products (and his ongoing feud with Gillian McKeith gets a brief mention here, too). He is powerfully detailed, homing in on misrepresentation with laser-like accuracy, in this entertaining and informative collection.
Claxton by Mark Cocker (Vintage, £8.99)
Claxton is the Norfolk village where Cocker, a naturalist, took up residence fourteen years ago. Here, he goes through the months of the year with diary entries from different periods through that residence, noting the changes, but also giving the seemingly trivial, like watching a spider or a bluebottle, an appealing grandeur.
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