Author:Blake Morrison

‘A cul-de-sac, a dead-end track,
A sandbanked strand to sink a fleet,
A bay, a bar, a strip, a trap,
A wrecking ground, that’s Shingle Street.’
Blake Morrison’s first two collections, Dark Glasses (1984) and The Ballad of a Yorkshire Ripper (1987) established him as one of our most inventive and accomplished contemporary poets.
In his first full-length collection for nearly thirty years, Shingle Street sees a return to the form with which he started his career. Set along the Suffolk coast, the opening poems address a receding world – an eroding landscape, ‘abashed by the ocean’s passion’. But coastal life gives way to other, more dangerous, vistas: a wave unleashes a flood-tide of terror; a sequence of topical poems lays bare pressing political issues;while elsewhere portraits of the past bring forth the dear and the departed.
Ardent and elegiac, and encompassing an impressive range of mood and method, this is a timely offering from a poet of distinct talents.
Shingle Street is a bravura performance that’s also solid and heartfelt
—— Carol Rumens , ObserverA good, fresh performance to make a comeback with
—— Derwent May , StandpointBlake Morrison’s poetry glints like a river seen through the mud
—— Michael Conaghan , Belfast Telegraph MorningThese are humane poems, skillful, conversational, delicate and more complex than they at first appear
—— Rory Waterman , The Times Literary SupplementGood poetry is rare, and Blake Morrison’s…Shingle Street is the real thing. I keep going back to these poems, and enjoy them more each time
—— Claire Tomalin , WeekThought-provoking and eloquent. Millie, especially, is a divinely brilliant little thing… A very special book that will stay in your heart long after reading.
—— HeatAn unexpectedly uplifting book about death, grief and growing old… Lost & Found is an off-kilter glimpse of Australia that builds to a life-affirming climax.
—— Sunday ExpressWhimsy and wisdom... If you liked Rachel Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, you'll like this
—— MetroA Wizard of Oz-esque journey... there's a lot of warmth, wisdom and humour here.
—— Daily MailHeartbreaking and funny and brilliant
—— Herald Sun (Australia)A novel that dances on the wire between heartache and joy
—— West AustralianA literary sensation
—— Australian Arts ReviewA fabulous, funny, quirky story that readers will love
—— Sunday Mail (Australia)[An] eccentric road-trip debut… There is no doubting Davis’s talent for characterisation or her gifts of description
—— Patricia Nichol , Sunday TimesAn exuberant and cheering tale that will stay with you long after the last page.
—— The LadyExtraordinary, moving and laced with Amelie-style wonderment
—— Sainsburys MagazineEverything about the characters and the writing feels exactly right
—— Sunday Telegraph (Australia)Brilliantly written... This is a special, unique story; a novel to cheer you up, make you laugh and even make you tear up at the end. Already a bestseller abroad, Lost and Found deserves to fly off the shelves in the UK too.
—— Running In HeelsSeven-year-old Millie is perhaps 2015’s finest comic creation. Funny, sassy and prematurely wise … Bewitching
—— James Kidd , Independen, Books of the YearYou’ll relate, but mostly you’ll laugh as Close turns her sweet-tart wit on the dating and mating shenanigans of this tight-knit group of friends
—— RedbookClose’s wry wit and deadpan delivery...make this debut novel a treat to read. . . . An original confection with echoes of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing and a dollop of Sex and the City
—— Shelf AwarenessJennifer Close’s debut, Girls in White Dresses, follows a group of young women doing all the things they know they shouldn’t—falling for one’s boss, dating gay men—all while drinking far too many mimosas at other people’s weddings
—— Vogue.comFunny... These stories will resonate with readers in the throes of the quarter-life churn
—— Publishers WeeklyWhat a delight! The young women in this hugely appealing book are charming, funny, rueful, poignant - just like their creator, in other words, one of the freshest and most appealing new voices in fiction. I can't wait for more work from Jennifer Close
—— Ann Packer, bestselling author of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier and Swim Back to MeThe only way to express my love for Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close is to tell you that this is the one book that I will be recommending over and over again to all of my friends. I laughed, I cried, I nodded knowingly as the characters waded their way through the hits and misses of their twenties and thirties. I can't remember the last time I loved a book as much as this one
—— Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author of 'The One That I Want' and 'Time of My Life'Girls In White Dresses is a dark, funny, intimate romp through boyfriends, first apartments, and great friendships - but beneath the surface lurks the jealousy, disappointment, and love that didn't quite end up the way you thought it would. Jennifer Close's brilliant, deadpan humor made me laugh so hard my own roommate thought I was nuts
—— Margot Berwin, author of Hothouse FlowerGirls in White Dresses is about a group of smart, funny, unapologetically grouchy, always-hungover female friends who kvetch their way through one another's weddings and showers, stare blearily at one another's offspring, sometimes barely tolerate one another's men, but nonetheless have one another's backs through thick and thin. Jennifer Close has written an unsentimental, frank novel about female friendship - its lifelong loyalties and unconditional love
—— Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author of 'The Great Man' and 'The Astral'I recently read a book which explores the same post-university landscape that Girls handles; Jennifer Close's Girls In White Dresses. Like Girls, it is often funny, moving and true to (my and other straight women of a certain age living in a big city) life
—— Bim Adewunmi , GuardianDelightful… Sharply and sparely written … a great debut
—— Wendy Holden , Daily Mail, Books of the YearA quiet sense of emotional tragedy, sharp observational humour and writing so economically precise you long to read every sentence twice
—— Huffington PostPerfects the intimate, easy style that makes reading her such a pleasure
—— Claire Allfree , MetroThe worlds she creates are so absorbing and believable; she taps into our innate curiosity about people just like ourselves
—— Sophie White , Sunday IndependentWhat she does, in the course of this novel, is show that the simplest family stories often have complex roots and unlikely outcomes. This is a book full of surprises, and Tyler is adept at the great revelation that both startles and throws what has come before into a whole new light
—— Erica Wagner , Financial TimesA warm, wise and funny book
—— CandisA believable and wise read
—— Joanne Finney , Good HousekeepingThe texture of everyday experience transmuted into art
—— Kirkus Review[A] wonderful book
—— Elspeth Barker , Literary ReviewWhen it comes to painting a loving, funny and yet never simplistic portrait of American family life, Anne Tyler is, and always has been, the great mistress
—— Erica Wagner , Financial TimesThere is no limit to the superlatives that Tyler inspires
—— Eileen Battersby , Irish TimesWith A Spool of Blue Thread, the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist is on typically fine form
—— Jennifer Lipman , Optima MagazineSincerely and carefully told
—— Angus Sutherland, 5 stars , SkinnyThis is a book that explores moral and psychological ambiguities with extraordinary subtlety
—— Caroline Moore , OldieDeftly written with skilful characterisation... A master of conversation
—— Vanessa Berridge , Daily ExpressA Spool of Blue Thread does an exquisite job
—— Leo Robson , New StatesmanThis is a novel to cherish
—— MediaCityWonderful new novel
—— 5 stars , Western MailA truly delightful read
—— Rachael Roberts , Big IssueMs. Tyler has a knack for turning sitcom situations into something far deeper and more moving
—— Rebecca Pepper Sinkler , International New York TimesA moving, well-crafted reflection on life and death and the relationships that sustain us through both
—— Sarah Gilmartin , Sunday Business PostHow can it be so wonderful!... Tyler remains among the best chroniclers of family life
—— Washington PostAstonishingly adept
—— Leo Robson , New StatesmanTyler describes so accurately the frailties, turmoil and love of family life
—— Big IssueNo one does family sagas quite like Anne Tyler
—— Matilda Bathurst , Country LifeMundane yet magical, thus pure Tyler
—— Markie Robson-Scott , TabletAnne Tyler paints a large-scale portrait on a small-scale canvas and does it beautifully
—— Good Book GuideIn many ways this novel is a culmination of all those that have gone before it; it combines a multitude of themes and never fails to exact humour alongside the more sombre task of delving into topical issues such as sexuality, relationships and ageing
—— Francesa Wilson , GryphonAbsolutely wonderful, a work of genius
—— Gill Hornby , LadyIt's so rich in detail and reality, so simple, but so compelling. I wept
—— Victoria Hislop , Waitrose WeekendIs as good as anything she has ever written
—— Razia Iqbal , IndependentAnother insightful study of family life. It may be familiar territory for the writer, but she commands it absolutely
—— Neville Hawcock , Financial TimesOne to read on a family holiday
—— Fiona Wilson , The TimesHer gift for producing what seems less like fiction than actuality works wonders
—— Peter Kemp , Sunday Times IrelandHeartwarming
—— Four stars , Love it!Highly reccommended
—— Fiona Atley , NudgeMay be her best yet, though, to be honest, this is what I always tend to say after reading the latest Anne Tyler.
—— Craig Brown , Mail on SundaySuperbly accomplished, perceptive and funny, tugged forward by suspended revelations to its hurricane climax
—— Robert McCrum , Observer[Tyler] writes so sparingly and yet her books are dense with the complexities of human emotions
—— Natasha Harding, Jessica Fellowes , The SunPure pleasure
—— Mark Amory , Spectator[Tyler] has the rapier wit of a true satirist
—— Molly Guiness , SpectatorAnne Tyler is a magician: what she does seems so simple and et it weaves a compelling spell
—— D O'D , RTE GuideUtterly absorbing, heartbreaking and endearing
—— BestTyler explores the simmering resentment that often underpins familial relationships, as well as the elusive nature of the American Dream
—— Paul Nolan , Hot PressA book that is shot through with random misfortune, but which takes infinite pleasure in the detail of everyday family life.
—— Daisy Goodwin , Daily MailRivalries flare between siblings and secrets unravel, as Tyler shines a brilliant light on our fundamental relationships and the span of life.
—— Sainsbury’s MagazineSince the characters are actual, flawed human beings, it makes the story unbelievably relatable.
—— Emmy Griffiths , So FeminineOne of the greatest storytellers alive, whose characters arrive on the page like human beings, things happen to them, they react to these things, and then life continues
—— John Boyne , Irish TimesA stunning novel about three generations of a family that perfectly captures the fights, petty irritations and deep connections between them
—— Good HousekeepingA rich and perceptive examination of uneven family relationships
—— Yorkshire Post