Festival Books
RUTH THOMAS
A novel approach to embroidery
Things to Make and Mend is a guiet. movrng. wrny amusmg work which explores themes of friendship. class and betrayal. Ruth Thomas highlights her themes through the turbulent relationship between two very different women, Rowena and Sally, who first meet in a needlework class in the 1970s. ‘The story began With two teenage friends' shared hatred of sewmg and the parallel snagging of both their needlew0rk and their friendship.' says Thomas. ‘A kind of nostalgia for the 70s crept in along the way. as the more I thought about those times and SOCial hang-ups. the more they seemed firmly relegated to history. But I also wanted to focus on the way that. even now, women still have so many obstacles to overcome in combining motherhood wrth a career.‘
A committed short stOry writer, With two highly acclaimed collections under her belt. Thomas was initially reluctant to divide her novel into distinct chapters as it flows from past to present and between two different v0ices throughout. Later, thOugh, she hit on the novel idea of using embrOidery techniques as chapter headings. allowmg her to maintain the sense of fIUIdlty while still Signalling a change in mood. theme or mice. ‘l was particularly pleased to discover that there is an embrOidery stitch called "Long-legged Cross".‘ she says. “One of my characters has long legs and was. in that particular scene. very cross.’ (Allan Radcliffe) Recommended Reading: Sea Monster Tattoo is the Edinburgh writer's debut short story collection from 1997. I 20 Aug (wrth Anna Ralph). 7.300m. £5 (£3).
RICHARD DAWKINS
The evolution starts here
These are combative times to be a God-denier. It's not only loopy Christians who are trying to make us believe the world was made in a week. now certain Muslims are Jleplng on the creationist bandwagon. Turkey's Adrian Oktar, writing as Harun Yahya. has been distributing free copies of The At/as of Creation. a glossy BOO-page book that takes issue With evolution. Not surprisingly, Richard Dawkins is unimpressed. “The really curious thing about that book is who's providing the money?‘ he says. ‘There‘s a gigantic amount of money behind it and a good investigative journalist should look into that.'
The fact that such a coffee-table book can eXist is all the justification we need
MARINA LEWYCKA
Making transport-based literature accessible and fun
Marina Lewycka’s debut A History of Tractors in Ukrainian won over hearts and minds with a witty and largely autobiographical tale of a long settled immigrant family clashing over the encroaching senility of its obsessive and stubbornly romantic head. Two Caravans shifted the focus to the trials and tribulations of young immigrants to the UK in today’s climate. ‘It was completely extraordinary really,’ says Lewycka of the critical and public embrace of her debut. ‘I didn‘t particularly have any expectation that it was even going to be published.’
Its successor, an equally honest and humorous if more energetic caper, has met a more divided reception. ‘The real temptation was to follow Tractors up with something similar but I think in Two Caravans l was trying to see what else I could do really,’ she explains. ‘People haven’t always liked them both
for Dawkins' cogently argued The Griz." De/us‘ron, which picks apart the rationale behind fellglOLlS belief, wiiethe' extremist or moderate. ‘People irientzf.
With their religion as IhOugh it was part Jana" Bay."
of themselves and so to criticise their r:rt{;;a.;~:: tr‘ is ,r
JULIAN BAGGINI Philosophical devotee of Homer (Simpson)
because they are so very different. In a way I guess the caravans book is a bit more sophisticated whereas the tractors book is a bit more from the heart, and I think they have perhaps gone to slightly different readerships.‘ The jump-off for this timely second novel was a booklet on contemporary work experiences of Ukrainians in the UK that struck a chord with an author brought to Britain after being born in a refugee camp in wartime Germany.
‘My own immigrant experience was so very different to that in the book; everybody was incredibly nice to us where now people talk of being swamped by immigrants. That‘s what started me off; thinking that if my parents hadn’t come when they did, then this could be my life. What would that be like?‘ Marina Lewycka is now working on her third novel, an obliquely Israeli- Palestinian comedy set in London, featuring, ‘categorically no vehicles and no Ukrainians.‘
(Mark Edmundson)
religion is a bit like saying they've got an 2.»; .. . ugly face.‘ he says. 'Whether religion is G"’)é:"ittil 5'“.- tr.; 7 ' a good Ora bad thing is of secondar, Ar'stotie a”: Ka'if‘ importance to whether it's true. Church .ar: :».::: Betti". of England Vicars are probabl; on Fm. "-2 ta K“ " . balance a good thing; martrasahs on l". new. : : .' balance are a bad thing. But either 5"»..- .‘r'i, a": 'l’dfn" '~ basing your beliefs on faith is a bar: «9‘ a "1&1" ‘. policy' tMark FlShefr "‘ mag; lanai ‘ Recommended Reading: The Se/‘rsr: ( ixtxsmrw-vj ' Gene made his name and bopu‘ar so: ask “my,” z:‘ the term 'merhetics‘. T‘ i...‘_ . I 79Aug. 4.30pm, £7 ’2‘-.-':’ l " w" '
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12 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 16—23 Aug 2007