Today I'd like to highlight an enjoyably mixed bag of books,starting with Steve Dolman's wonderful first book, published by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, and entitled Edwin Smith: a life in Derbyshire Cricket. Now, one or two of you may wonder how I can possibly claim that this has any relevance to a blog about crime writing, but you might be surprised. For Steve has kindly quoted me in the book, and revealed to the world the connection between Edwin Smith and the murky neverland of crime fiction!
Edwin is now 81 years old, but when I was growing up, he was one of the cricketers I admired, and the point is made in the book that nowadays, a player of such abiltiy would almost certainly have enjoyed a career as a Test cricketer. But things were very different then. Steve runs the Peakfan blog, which for me is required reading as I pore over the latest calamities to beset Derbyshire cricket, and he has done a great job in telling a life story which also presents a rather sobering picture of the times, and the hardships that sportsmen from humble backgrounds endured in the Fifties and Sixties. As befits a chap who spent many years working in library services, Steve is an accomplished and fair-minded writer, and I'm delighted to say that he arranged for Edwin himself to sign my copy. It goes on the shelf alongside a couple of signed Agatha Christies!
John Harvey is one of Britain's leading crime novelists and has been for upwards of twenty years. He's also a gifted exponent of the short story, and his 'Fedora' is one of the best crime stories I've read in the last decade. His latest story, "Ask Me Now", leads a new collection of stories by Nottingham writers, These Seven, published by Five Leaves. The other contributors include the late Alan Sillitoe, a writer whose work made a great impression on me in my youth. As a student, I attended a talk he gave, and found it as fascinating as his fiction.
Changing the mood a little, I'd also like to mention a new thriller by John Hegenberger called Tripl3 Cross. It's a follow-up to Cross Examinations, and there is a clue in the titles:the protagonist is Eliot Cross. One particularly interesting feature is the Cuban setting, with which the author has been familiar for many years. Cuba always sounds like a fascinating place, and is on my to-be-visited list. The publisher is Rough Edges Press.
All three books, in other words, come from relatively small publishers, with limited (or non-existent) publicity budgets. I'm glad to give each of them a mention, because small presses play an invaluable role in the world of books, one that deserves to be celebrated. The world would be a much poorer place without them.
Showing posts with label Fedora. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fedora. Show all posts
Saturday, 12 September 2015
Thursday, 10 July 2014
John Harvey and "Fedora"
I enjoyed last week's CWA Daggers Dinner, which was extremely well organised, in particular by CWA director Lucy Santos. It was a pleasure to be invited to join the table of Severn House, publishers of the CWA anthology, and Edwin Buckhalter and his team were very good company. Two stories from Deadly Pleasures, written by John Harvey and by my friend and Murder Squad colleague Cath Staincliffe, were short-listed for the CWA Short Story Dagger,and naturally I was hoping that one of them would prove to be the winner.
And as luck would have it, John Harvey won, for his story "Fedora". But luck really had nothing to do with it, since it is an absolutely terrific story. I had the good fortune, when putting the anthology together, to receive a great many enjoyable stories, and several that I thought were really notable. But none of them, on first reading, made such an impression on me as "Fedora". Sometimes, my judgment of these things proves to be very different from that of the real judges. But with all due deference to the other contenders, I don't think there's a lot of doubt that this was the right choice.
"Fedora" is a story which is enormously topical, in the post-Jimmy Savile era, and John mentioned in his acceptance speech that it was remarkable timing that his award coincided with the conviction of Rolf Harris for several serious criminal offences. I'm not going to spoil the story, save to say that it's genuinely memorable and thought- provoking.
I first came across John Harvey's work when I was sent his first Charlie Resnick novel, Lonely Hearts, to review. I was greatly impressed, although also a bit shaken. His book, like the debut novel I was writing at the time, had loneliness as its theme, but I realised that he was a much more accomplished author than me. I didn't know then that he'd written a lot of westerns and was also a noted poet, but I could tell he was going to be a major crime writer, and when he appeared at a local Waterstone's, I hot-footed it there to listen to him, and to get him to sign my copy. Reading books like John's inspired me to work even harder on All the Lonely People, and make sure it was as good as it could be. John's a different sort of crime writer from me, less interested perhaps in plot and puzzle, but his work is always gripping.
Years later, I got to know him a bit, and I've always found him a thoughtful and interesting person, as well as a fine novelist. He was a worthy winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger in the years when I chaired the sub-committee which drew up the shortlist for that award. As he noted in his acceptance speech, he sometimes needs a bit of encouragement to write for anthologies, but I hope he will continue to do so. His short fiction is just as interesting as his longer work..
And as luck would have it, John Harvey won, for his story "Fedora". But luck really had nothing to do with it, since it is an absolutely terrific story. I had the good fortune, when putting the anthology together, to receive a great many enjoyable stories, and several that I thought were really notable. But none of them, on first reading, made such an impression on me as "Fedora". Sometimes, my judgment of these things proves to be very different from that of the real judges. But with all due deference to the other contenders, I don't think there's a lot of doubt that this was the right choice.
"Fedora" is a story which is enormously topical, in the post-Jimmy Savile era, and John mentioned in his acceptance speech that it was remarkable timing that his award coincided with the conviction of Rolf Harris for several serious criminal offences. I'm not going to spoil the story, save to say that it's genuinely memorable and thought- provoking.
I first came across John Harvey's work when I was sent his first Charlie Resnick novel, Lonely Hearts, to review. I was greatly impressed, although also a bit shaken. His book, like the debut novel I was writing at the time, had loneliness as its theme, but I realised that he was a much more accomplished author than me. I didn't know then that he'd written a lot of westerns and was also a noted poet, but I could tell he was going to be a major crime writer, and when he appeared at a local Waterstone's, I hot-footed it there to listen to him, and to get him to sign my copy. Reading books like John's inspired me to work even harder on All the Lonely People, and make sure it was as good as it could be. John's a different sort of crime writer from me, less interested perhaps in plot and puzzle, but his work is always gripping.
Years later, I got to know him a bit, and I've always found him a thoughtful and interesting person, as well as a fine novelist. He was a worthy winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger in the years when I chaired the sub-committee which drew up the shortlist for that award. As he noted in his acceptance speech, he sometimes needs a bit of encouragement to write for anthologies, but I hope he will continue to do so. His short fiction is just as interesting as his longer work..
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