David SavillDec 15, 20239 minNovel Thoughts: The Island of Missing Trees (and a problem for contemporary novels).In this week's blog, an extended essay in response to James Marriott's take on the contemporary novel. Times columnist James Marriot is...
David SavillJul 16, 20224 minNovel Thoughts - Klara and The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber and Faber, 2021)Every year I teach a class in children's fiction. The most difficult reads for my students to enjoy are a particular ‘middle grade’ of...
David SavillJun 26, 20224 minNovel Thoughts - Natasha Brown, Assembly (Penguin 2022)Elsewhere in this blog I have asserted with the (false?) confidence of a creative writing teacher, that a novel can be defined as nothing...
David SavillJun 19, 20223 minNovel Thoughts - Antonio Tabbucchi, Requiem: an hallucination (Penguin 1994)It is nearly always dull to hear other people’s dreams recounted, partly, because in dreams there are no dramatic stakes. Whatever...