Author:Roger McGough

'The patron saint of poetry' Carol Ann Duffy
'McGough is a true original and more than one generation would be much the poorer without him' The Times
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For fifty years, Roger McGough has delighted readers with poetry that is at once playful and poignant, intimate and universal. In his latest collection, he explores the whole gamut of the human experience, from forgotten friendships and family life, to the trauma of war and contemporary politics, wittily showing us who we are in all our shades of light and dark.
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'McGough has done for poetry what champagne does for weddings' Time out
'Memorable and enduring and fresh. Age has not withered [his lines] nor diminished their potency. Of how much modern poetry can you say that?' Sunday Herald
'McGough's trademarks: the craft worn as lightly as the crown, the jokes that are something more, the underlying heartache, the acute sense of the way time slips away' Poetry Review
REVIEWS FOR LEGEND:
Legend doesn't merely survive the hype, it deserves it,
When I think of Bruce Chatwin now, I think of the ultimate storyteller. It’s the resonance of the voice and the depth of his vision that makes him one of the truly great writers of our time
—— Werner Herzog, from 'Bruce Chatwin' by Nicholas ShakespeareNearly every writer of my generation in England has wanted, at some point, to be Bruce Chatwin; wanted, like him, to talk of Fez and Firdausi, Nigeria and Nuristan, with equal authority; wanted to be talked about, as he is, with raucous envy; wanted above all to have written his books…(he was) a writer no one who cares for literature can afford not to read.
—— Andrew Harvey , New York TimesThe author is a woman of great intelligence, profound psychological insight, and extraordinary sensitivity
—— Monumenta NipponicaAbsorbing, sensitive, and utterly heartrending
—— Charles BeardsleyThe Discworld novels have always been among the most serious of comedies, the most relevant and real of fantasies... Pratchett has been rightly praised for comic invention and whimsy; he does not always get enough credit for the psychological comedy of embarrassment which makes us blush with self-recognition... at once hilariously cynical and idealistically practical
—— IndependentTerry Pratchett's Discworld remains a joy... [Snuff is] seriously funny... A highly readable, mature comedy, far from the rapid-fire quipping of early Discworld
—— IndependentA mystical adventure in an enchanted universe
—— TimeA lovely, lush voyage through vividly detailed worlds… an amazing literary adventure
—— Psychologies, *Book of the Month*Erin Morgenstern’s done it again: she creates a magnificent, imaginative world around a story of love and magic. This love letter to bibliophiles is dreamlike and uncanny, grounded in deeply felt emotion, and absolutely thrilling.
—— Publishers WeeklyA magnificent quest, a sense of unfolding adventure and danger, gold-wrought fantasy, and endless provocation on what storytelling really means.
—— *Library JournalA puzzlebox of a book, full of meta-narratives and small folkloric tales that will delight readers. [Morgenstern] trusts her readers to follow along and speculate, wonder, and make leaps themselves as she dives into tales of pirates, book burnings, and men lost in time, giving the book a mythic quality that will stick with readers long after they put it down.
—— *BooklistA high-wire feat of metatextual derring-do, Morgenstern weaves Zachary's adventure into a stunning array of linked fables, myths, and origin stories... exquisitely pleasurable.. a love letter to readers as much as an invitation: Come and see how much magic is left in the world. Fans of Neil Gaiman and V.E. Schwab, Kelly Link and Susanna Clarke will want to heed the call. An ambitious and bewitching gem of a book with mystery and passion inscribed on every page.
—— STARRED Kirkus ReviewA timeless love story
—— That's Life MonthlyUndeniably imaginative
—— iThe Starless Sea effortlessly constructs a fantasy that feels real, building a world filled with characters that you’ll know and care about… an enchanting, satisfying finish
—— Rhian Drinkwater , SFXHighly imaginative
—— BookmunchBeautifully written… [The Starless Sea] is mesmerising
—— Good HousekeepingThe Starless Sea is quintessential Erin Morgenstern: breathtakingly beautiful, powerfully emotive, and a fantastic read. A booklover fantasy, Morgenstern’s follow up to the Night Circus does not disappoint. Set aside an entire day for this one, because you’ll pick it up and become very reluctant to put it back down
—— Lauren Banks , SCANDeserves the same recognition that greeted Max Porter's similarly constructed fictionalised memoir Grief is the Thing With Feathers... uses its broken-up style to explore experiences that defy easy comprehension. There is nothing indulgent about this quietly observed account of a black man Owusu gives the name of K... There is a physicality to his writing, the impression of incoherent feelings being wrestled into shape, that lends his book heft. K's future is, in the end, ambiguous, but Owusu's surely gleams bright.
—— Claire Allfree , MetroA bold prose poem written in novella form, That Reminds Me is one of the most powerful pieces of writing to be published in 2019.
—— FoylesThe latest release from Stormzy's increasingly impressive #Merky imprint, this is a stylistically ambitious memoir of a precarious Tottenham upbringing. Owusu writes with a poet's gift for seemingly incidental observation in a potent story that's left deliberately, troublingly fragmented.
—— MetroA virtuosic debut by a raw new talent. An honest and timely evaluation of a black man's struggle to belong and later come to terms with failing mental health. Utterly convincing and deeply sad, Owusu's storytelling will bring readers to tears.
—— Scarlett Sangster , The Irish NewsDerek Owusu is not just a brilliant writer, he’s a deep thinker. Anything he does is relevant, and meaningful. It would be easy to say that he is mainly concerned with the condition of young black men, but in truth he speaks truth to all of us.
—— Benjamin ZephaniahA magnificent achievement.
—— Paul GilroyWritten with candour and verve, and full of moments of heart-stopping anguish and beauty.
—— Stephen Kelman