Blank Pages

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I had the privilige to be present at a talk by Bernard MacLaverty last week. He read one of the stories from his new collection of short stories: Blank Pages and other stories.


It was lovely to hear him read and listen to him talling about the genesis of some of his books. I was bowled away by Midwinter Break - set in Amsterdam. His language is deceptively simple; his choice of topics too. He is truly a master of the sort form, though his novels are extremely well written too.

Feast of recognition: in a story about the Spanish Flue in 1918, he describes how the protagonist always feels a compulsion to work. I have been known to clean kitchen cupboards standing on a ladder when having flu!


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Thank you! Be your nose a pointer for your brain! (OED)

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