Fiction

‘I was astonished by that silence. The eloquence of the men, the absolute silence of the women.’

A conversation with Pat Barker

In The Silence of the Girls, Booker prizewinning author Pat Barker gives voice to the voiceless characters of The Iliad. We know the men – Agamemnon, Odysseu... Read more

The Language of Dreams

by Najat el Hachmi

To write a novel is to inhabit a dream. A dream that can last months or years, that transpires in everyday life; a dream that sometimes takes place in its very ... Read more

Reading Cesare Pavese

Elizabeth Strout on The Beautiful Summer

How would you describe the appeal of Cesare Pavese’s books? I think the appeal of Pavese’s work comes from the same place most writers’ appeal comes from: the language that is used. But each writer is unique. Pavese writes densely and yet delicate... Read more

‘We’re Terrible People’

One of the best chapters from Joe Dunthorne’s The Adulterants remained unpublished. Until now.

We asked Joe Dunthorne a few questions about his new novel. Five Dials How you were able to cut this scene from the book? In a novel about relationships, isn’... Read more

Tips For The Full Moon in Sagittarius

by Sophie Mackintosh

Under this moon, take care of the long bones of your thigh, the sockets of your hip. Do not drain your drinks; leave an inch in the glass. Can you feel your liv... Read more

Mercè Rodoreda’s Death in Spring

Colm Tóibín on the wondrously strange Catalonian classic

In some societies, language is a way to restrain experience, take it down to a level where it might stay. It is neither ornament nor exaltation; it is firm and austere in its purpose. It is thus a form of calm, modest knowledge or maybe even evasion.