I know I've been concentrating on the Axe recently, but it's only just over a year ago that my other novel, Taking Comfort, was published in the UK by Macmillan New Writing. Taking Comfort came out in the States and Canada recently. Big territories. Easy for a little book to get lost. But I've been lucky to have a couple of very generous people take a chance on it and pass on their impressions. One of those is the writer Ben Dooley, a contributor to the literary website The Millions.
He says:
A novel about materialism may sound, at first, cliche, but it's carried off with a deft touch, the material presented in a way that is at once fresh and familiar. Morris plays a dangerous game with his narrative, constantly switching perspectives and focusing the action in each chapter on the relationship between a character and an object. The gambit pays off, as we're shown the inner life of a multitude of characters, both incidental and essential to the main action of the story, a tactic that allows Morris a hard-to-achieve combination of introspection and brisk pacing.
Read the whole thing here.
My thanks also to the writer Ania Vesenny who was kind enough to plug Taking Comfort in an interview on Kelly Spitzer's blog. The interview is really worth reading (aside from the mention of TC) because it's a great introduction to Ania. Apart from anything else, she lives in an extraordinary place called Baffin Island, which I would imagine has an interesting effect on her writing. And the novel she's working on sounds amazing.
4 comments:
Plenty of us remember "Taking Comfort," and we're hoping that, despite the success of RN Morris, that Roger Morris will continue his career as well. (Even though it's bound to be less lucrative.)
Yes, "Taking Comfort" is an utterly fantastic novel, and I hope there'll be more from that stable very soon!
:))
A
xxx
Aw thanks David and Anne! I appreciate your kind words. Funnily enough, I seem to be in a bit of a 'Roger' as opposed to 'RN' mood at the moment. Problem is, if I write another 'Roger' book, not sure I will have anyone to publish it! Hell, it never used to stop me!
Go for it, Roger - you have to do what the writing blood wants, or what's the point?
And, hell, you know me: I write books that nobody (well, hardly anybody!)ever wants to publish, even though they win awards and the readers (that small and select band of honourable folk!) love 'em if they can find 'em!
So go for it if that's what you want, babe! And I for one will definitely read that next Roger Morris classic.
Hugs!
A
xxx
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