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NED BEAUMAN Glow author makes whistle-stop tour
Ned Beauman is sticking it to the man. Not in the literal sense of waving two fingers at those who have found his latest novel Glow not as good as his previous two offerings, Boxer, Beetle and The Teleportation Accident, but more in emphasising – in his quiet, measured way – why this is his favourite.
‘People haven’t liked it as much as the others, but this is the one that I’ve got the most fondness for,’ he says. ‘It’s the most personal in many ways. It’s the one in which there’s the most stuff that delights me, even if other people haven’t responded the same way.’
Part thriller, part love letter to London, Glow’s story follows Raf, a heartbroken Londoner who
uncovers an international conspiracy and has to try and save his city. To give away any more would be to dampen the complex, energetic narrative that Beauman has created. But one thing is certain: his talent with language has created an incomparable sense of place.
‘I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish in capturing certain things about South London, and
going out, and 2010,’ he says, ‘so whenever I re-read those bits, I’m not sitting there feeling smug about my genius, but I am pleased that I managed to get on the page these things that I’ve wanted to get on the page for a long time.’ Currently based in New York, he’ll soon be heading back across the Atlantic to do a quick stop in Edinburgh for the Book Festival. ‘I’m only in Edinburgh for 24 hours and I have to do two shows,’ he says. ‘But there are always very warm crowds and very long lines afterwards to sign books, much more so than normal events, so that’s appealing.’ (Jen Bowden) ■ The Bookshop Band (part of Jura Unbound), 21 Aug, 9pm, free; Ned Beauman & Clemens J Setz, 22 Aug, 10.15am, £10 (£8). Both events Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888.
LYNNE SEGAL The highs and lows of ageing
‘I don’t feel old,’ was the most common response author, academic and socialist-feminist Lynne Segal would receive when researching her new book Out of Time: The Pleasures and Perils of Ageing.
‘We’re nearly all living longer, indeed on average a whole generation longer than a century ago,’ says Segal, ‘yet this has done next to nothing to shift the cultural antipathy towards old age.’ Since the 60s, culture has been increasingly youth-orientated, she argues, and ageing has become something to fear, both individually and due to the economic effects of an ageing population.
Ageing is the cause of the one significant change in political opinion Segal’s experienced in her life: ‘I’ve come to rethink some of our emphasis on personal autonomy and independence. My research on this book led me to think more deeply about the work of caring and the ways in which we’re all dependent on others. Contrary to much public rhetoric today, we need to be needed.’ (David Pollock) ■ Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888, 14 Aug, 2pm, £10 (£8).
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TOP 5 HARUKI MURAKAMI BOOKS
As the Edinburgh International Book Festival prepares to welcome the master of surrealism, who's just released his 13th novel, we take a look at the celebrated Japanese author’s back catalogue.
Norwegian Wood (1987)
In his fifth novel, Murakami swapped the magic realism that marked his early work for a complex 60s-set love story with a narra- tive that sweeps along on a wave of affecting melancholy. This was the book that brought Murakami to the world’s attention. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994–5)
Toru Okada’s journey to find his missing cat is a metaphysical masterpiece that peers deep into Japan’s recent history. Interweav- ing threads are loaded with hugely compel- ling characters, while the tense prose shows Murakami at his very best.
after the quake (2000)
This collection of short stories was written in response to the 1995 Kobe earthquake. The spellbinding style pulls together characters not directly affected by the earthquake, but whose lives are immeasurably impacted by it.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (2008) This memoir about the author’s passion for stretching his legs gives a welcoming insight into the mind of a storytelling genius. It covers Murakami’s time as a jazz club owner, his metamorphosis into a writer and the role running played in it all. Essential for any fan.
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (2013)
Murakami’s latest follows the mass success of 2011 epic three-parter 1Q84. It tells the story of thirtysomething Tsukuru Tazaki’s at- tempts to discover why his high school friends abandoned him. First editions even come with a sticker pack to make your own cover. (Kevin Scott) ■ Haruki Murakami: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, 23 Aug, 3pm, £10 (£8); Haruki Murakami: Japan’s Greatest Living Author, 24 Aug, 6.30pm, £10 (£8); both events at Charlotte Square Gardens, 0845 373 5888. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is out now from Harvill Secker, translated by Philip Gabriel.
14–25 Aug 2014 THE LIST FESTIVAL 39