Author Archives: Beth Wren
Review: Under the Greenwood Tree, Thomas Hardy
Sometimes it’s nice to go back to an author where you know exactly what you’re going to get. As I make my way through Hardy’s rural back catalogue, I am conscious of the fact that I am knowingly avoiding the most depressing and shocking of his titles, Jude the Obscure. And, of course, it’s often […]
Review: Faces on the Tip of My Tongue, Emmanuelle Pagano
Reading books in translation is something I don’t do often enough, so a huge thank you to Peirene Press who kindly me sent a copy of this book and encouraged me to try something new. Faces on the Tip of My Tongue is a collection of stories set mostly in rural France, with a range […]
Review: An American Marriage, Tayari Jones
I’m not often so organised in my reading and rarely have I read a prize winner so quickly after it received a prize. But a short trip to Prague/Dresden this month meant that I plenty of opportunity to get stuck into something new, and Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage was my first pick. The way […]
Why I’m writing (and reading) short stories
When I’m asked what I’m writing on my Creative Writing MA, a lot of people seem surprised to hear that my answer is short stories. As many of you might know, I have written one (and a half) novels, and until I started on my Creative Writing course, I had never even considered the idea […]
Review: Washington Black, Esi Edugyan
From the front cover and blurb, I had a feeling that Washington Black was going to be just my cup of tea. The Man Booker Prize nominated novel from Canadian author Esi Edugyan spans years and continents, from the atrocities of Faith Plantation in Barbados, to inspiring and unbelievable adventures on the high seas and […]
Three things I’ve learnt from my Creative Writing MA
I’ve nearly completed the first year of my Creative Writing MA at Royal Holloway, University of London and although I still have a year left to work on my dissertation and big creative writing project, my taught classes are already over. I think one day I’ll find the words to write more about this whole […]
A Guide to North West Scotland
In case you missed it: I’m sharing my recent roadtrip around Scotland with a series of mini guides to the places we went. You can catch up on the whole trip with this post, and see why we loved the Isle of Skye so much here. The North West of Scotland is about as wild […]
