Richard Strachan on Terry Pratchett, how Ted Hughes inspired him and the book he’s reading now.
The first book I remember reading:
This feels so far back in the mists of time that I’m not sure if it’s completely accurate, but other than picture books it was probably one of Richmal Crompton’s excellent Just William novels. I have fond memories of driving down to visit my grandparents in the summer holidays, stocking up on books to read on the long journey from Perthshire to Suffolk, and I’m sure that a few Cromptons would have been in the mix.
A book I recommend to everyone:
The Enigma of Arrival by VS Naipaul. I love all of Naipaul’s books, but I think this is probably his best. A lightly fictionalised account of Naipaul’s move to Wiltshire, via Trinidad, New York and London, it’s a hypnotically meditative novel about landscape and belonging, and the often-contested spaces between the two. The writing is of such beauty and precision that it never fails to take my breath away.
The best book I have read in this year:
Probably Sam Leith’s history of children’s literature, The Haunted Wood, which gave me a rush of nostalgia for my own childhood reading, and which sent me off to finally read things that had passed me by when I was young, like The Children of Green Knowe.
The book I am most looking forward to:
Homework: A Memoir by Geoff Dyer, which has just been published. Dyer’s an unclassifiable talent, moving seamlessly between travel writing, literary criticism and fiction, and I can’t wait to see him exploring his roots in a proper memoir. Knowing Dyer though, there won’t be anything ‘proper’ about it.
A book I didn’t finish:
Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie. I like Rushdie a lot, but try as I might I could not get through this. The language felt too clotted, too dense, and it felt as if the book itself was resisting me. I’ll try again though at some point; often it’s not the book that’s the problem, it’s your frame of mind when you try to read it.
An author that has inspired me:
Ted Hughes. The range of his work is so vast, with a perspective that seems to move from the microscopic to the cosmic in scale, and with such richness of language, that he’s a constantly reliable source of inspiration for me. Often characterised as a nature poet, Hughes is also a poet of mythic intensities, obsessed with folklore and magic, and his Collected Poems is one of my most treasured possessions.
The book I am reading now:
I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett, one of the five Discworld books that features the young witch Tiffany Aching. I love the Dickensian vigour of the Discworld novels and I’m slowly finishing them all off. Pratchett is one of the funniest writers in the English language, but the Tiffany Aching books are so unexpectedly moving they can genuinely bring a tear to your eye.
The Unrecovered by Richard Strachan (Raven Books) is out now. The book has been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and he will be appearing at the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival in Stirling 12-14 September.
Read more of The Good Books here.
Subscribe to read the latest issue of Scottish Field.
Author
TAGS
FOLLOW US
