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A Cautious Approach
A Cautious Approach
Nov 15, 2025 10:49 AM

Author:Stanley Middleton

A Cautious Approach

Shortly before his death last year, Stanley Middleton completed this, his last novel, which concludes a unique depiction of middle-class life in 'Middle England', quietly and cumulatively over many volumes and decades. Once again we are in Beechnall, the constant setting of Stanley Middleton's novels, and his sense of place and his feeling for his characters remains as strong as ever.

At the heart of A Cautious Approach is a tentative love story, which begins when two lonely men meet, out walking on Christmas Day: Andy invites George home, and there he meets the captivating Mirabel, Andy's former fiancée. George has been a teacher, but ill health has deprived him of his career and confidence, and he has retrained as a postman. This chance encounter, and others that follow, have the potential to shift George's life, and soon he is drawn into a set of uncertain relationships in which past experience, present stoicism and future expectation all play a part.

As ever, but here for the last time, Stanley Middleton's bold experimentation with flashbacks, and the embedding of one scene or dialogue within another, gives added density to his depiction of ordinary, defiantly unfashionable human lives.

Reviews

A fluid and imaginative translation by Margaret Jull Costa… A masterly creation: pessimistic without being bleak, lyrical without being sentimental… Saramago tears back that curtain to reveal not only the stage on which life is performed but also backstage, under unflattering working lights; to show humanity at its most anxious, its most vulnerable and most true

—— James Runcie , Independent

For admirers of his work...the rescue of this novel from oblivion is something to be grateful for. The translator, Margaret Jull Costa, as ever, does a splendid job

—— Times Literary Supplement

Not only does it illuminate the slow development of a radically original artist, but it is an interesting novel in its own right

—— Ursula Le Guin , The Guardian

This is one of Saramago’s early works but his eye for psychological nuance and his gift for sympathy are already in evidence

—— New Statesman

Skylight is a deeply affecting novel, the work of an already adroit writer who marshals his characters with assurance

—— Evening Standard

A novel that stands securely on its own merits and is a worthy addition to the rich body of Saramago’s work

—— Allan Massie , Scotsman

Saramago’s insightful writing is a pleasure to be immersed in, as he brings this microcosm of society to life with all the foibles, frustrations and passions of daily life

—— Good Book Guide

What a singular, slippery, transfixing novel this is. An Yu achieves a hypnotizing emotional clarity as she takes her narrator ever further from a stifling life in Beijing into a watery realm unlike any I've read before.

—— Idra Novey

Yu’s novel has a cool, poised elegance that only adds to its enigmatic allure

—— Economist

A dizzying read… An Yu writes with style and in a way that is hard to resist

—— Lucy Knight , Sunday Times

Richly associative, the book’s imagery insinuates itself into the reader’s consciousness long after it’s finished

—— Jude Cook , Spectator

This exquisite novel is many things: a detective story in which the real object of pursuit is how one makes meaning of a sometimes ineffable existence; a meditation on the talismanic power of art and the indefatigability of the human spirit; and a many-faceted, perfectly cut gem of psychological portraiture set in well-wrought sentences burnished to a gorgeous luster. The emotions in this book keep pace with you, shadowing you with a quiet intensity, until in the last stretch they overtake you completely.

—— Matthew Thomas

What a singular, slippery, transfixing novel this is. An Yu achieves a hypnotizing emotional clarity as she takes her narrator ever further from a stifling life in Beijing into a watery realm unlike any I've read before.

—— Idra Novey

Bold yet understated, Braised Pork is the debut of a supremely confident and gifted writer.'

—— Katie Kitamura

THIS BOOK WILL BE YOUR NEXT OBSESSION. Welcome to the Hazel Wood, where bad luck is a living thing, princesses are doomed, and every page contains a wondrously terrible adventure - it's not safe inside these pages, but once you enter, you may never want to leave.

—— Stephanie Garber, Bestselling Author of Caraval

Katz's debut is one that will have readers gripped from the very first words until the last - and a book that will stay with you for a long while afterwards.

—— Her.ie

[A] smart debut, both compelling and disturbing, delivered with the kind of confidence that makes me keen to see what Katz will come up with next.

—— A Life in Books Blog

[G]ripping debut … Here’s a page-turner you’ll devour before the week is out

—— Stylist Daily Newsletter

A razor sharp psychological deconstruction of the motivations, regrets and secrets behind a picture-perfect façade.

—— The Week

White-knuckle ride

—— RTE Guide

I really wanted to just press the book into anyone’s hands and say ‘please read this’! [...] An important read

—— Bookish Chat

Readers hungry for an in-depth study of a man searching for control, power and ownership will find satisfaction in A Good Man. But caveat emptor - this story inevitably hurtles at the end towards a chilling finale

—— Crime Review

This stellar debut from Ani Katz had us gripped from the beginning.

—— That’s Life!
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