John Mitchinson

A statement on my having left Unbound/Boundless.

240. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend — Backlisted The wonderful Nina Stibbe , award-winning novelist and diarist, joins us for a discussion of Sue Townsend's classic comic creation . When it was first published in 1982, the confidential journal of ...

New episode up now. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend, with guest Nina Stibbe @ninastibbe.bsky.social in conversation with @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social and @birchos.bsky.social. Just my luck!
www.backlisted.fm/episodes/240...

240. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend — Backlisted The wonderful Nina Stibbe , award-winning novelist and diarist, joins us for a discussion of Sue Townsend's classic comic creation . When it was first published in 1982, the confidential journal of ...

Tuesday 27th May. Lined up new episode of Backlisted for my commute. It was bloody brilliant! I thought Secret Diary of A. Mole 13¾ was just funny but intellectuals like @ninastibbe.bsky.social have convinced me it is actually searing critique of Mrs Thatcher etc. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/240...

240. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend — Backlisted The wonderful Nina Stibbe , award-winning novelist and diarist, joins us for a discussion of Sue Townsend's classic comic creation . When it was first published in 1982, the confidential journal of ...

A new @backlisted.bsky.social in which we discover why guest @ninastibbe.bsky.social refused to review her fave book The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 at the time... with @iammilliam.bsky.social and @birchos.bsky.social‬ (who has never laughed so much)...
www.backlisted.fm/episodes/240...

An evening with Joe Dunthorne at Mostly Books Joe Dunthorne is probably best known for his debut novel Submarine, published in 2008, which I read -pre-blog, and the 2010 film adapted from it by Richard Ayoade. Two more novels followed, Wild Ab…

A short report on an event at Mostly Books in Abingdon on Friday: The lovely Joe Dunthorne in conversation with @johnmitchinson.bsky.social, on his new Jewish family memoir Children of Radium. annabookbel.net/an-evening-w...

This is a literary event. Order it, read it

Patrick McCabe: ‘This whole idea of making money out of novels started in the 1980s with Martin Amis and Ian McEwan’ McCabe, who found himself adrift in the 21st-century book business despite his huge impact on the culture in the 1990s, on the bliss of going rogue

The bliss of going rogue. A wonderful interview with Patrick McCabe in the @irishtimes.com on the publication of GOLDENGROVE by @unboundsocials.bsky.social www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

McCabe's language hits a rare pitch: it's a mongrel form of modernism, a sui generis mash-up of B movies and forgotten pop songs, poems and folk tunes, the ghosts of Joyce, Larkin, Hopkins and Kavanagh sharing pints with Eric Morecambe, Arthur Mullard and Phil Silvers. His late style - a wonder.

The jaunty tone gives way to a darker mood as abduction, torture, bombings ensue. GOLDENGROVE is McCabe's most political novel. The troubled relationship between Britain and Ireland, - two countries divided by a violent common history – is its deep theme.

The two clubbable Englishmen at its heart turn out to be agents of the British state, sent to infiltrate the IRA. The vibe darkens...

It's a comedy with a heart that's blacker than obsidian. Late sixties Dublin. A theatrical agency. A bar called Minty's. Heavy drinking, smoking and thespian excess of all kinds abound.

Goldengrove a book by Patrick McCabe. ‘Wild, anarchic, and wonderfully head-spinning’ Neil Jordan, award-winning film directorA dark theatrical comedy about the vexed and violent relationship between Britain and Ireland, from twice Booker...

I'm very pleased and not a little relieved that this fine book is published today by @unboundsocials.bsky.social . It's GOLDENGROVE the fourteenth novel by the great Patrick McCabe.
uk.bookshop.org/a/2773/97818...

🙏 It's a great interview (and a great book).

This is My England, and Yours: Reclaiming Englishness Now that English Nationalism has been unleashed, Peter Jukes argues that we must all try to restore England's buried civic tolerance and historic diversity.

"So this is my England and a part of yours too – so different from the English Defence League versions of bigotry or the white Etonian dream of exclusion and superiority"

From Sunderland to the Bullingdon Club: Englishness Unravelled Unsatisfied with George Orwell's description of patriotism, John Mitchinson digs deep into his own personal history to untangle the complex roots of his Englishness.

"Somehow, I found myself elected to the infamous Bullingdon Club – surely the only state school-educated candidate ever to have been so embarrassed. I should have rejected it with contempt but I was curious"

239. The Image of Her by Simone de Beauvoir — Backlisted To discuss The Image of Her (1966) by Simone de Beauvoir we are joined by writer and translator Lauren Elkin , whose previous books include Flâneuse: Women Walk the City ; Scaffolding and ...

New @backlisted.bsky.social episode! The Image of Her (Les Belles Images) by Simone de Beauvoir, with Lauren Elkin @laurenelkin.bsky.social @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @birchos.bsky.social and me.
www.backlisted.fm/episodes/239...

Episode 239: The Image of Her by Simone de Beauvoir To discuss The Image of Her (1966) by Simone de Beauvoir we are joined by writer and translator Lauren Elkin, whose previous books include Flâneuse: Women Walk the City, Scaffolding and Art Monsters: ...

A reminder that @backlisted.bsky.social has its own Backlisted Bookshop on @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social where you can buy all the books mentioned in today's episode (and all the 238 previous ones). Buying there supports the podcast & indie bookshops
uk.bookshop.org/lists/episod...

239. The Image of Her by Simone de Beauvoir — Backlisted To discuss The Image of Her (1966) by Simone de Beauvoir we are joined by writer and translator Lauren Elkin , whose previous books include Flâneuse: Women Walk the City ; Scaffolding and ...

New episode up now. Les Belles Images (The Image of Her) by Simone de Beauvoir, with translator Lauren Elkin @laurenelkin.bsky.social in conversation with @iammilliam.bsky.social and @johnmitchinson.bsky.social.
www.backlisted.fm/episodes/239...

239. The Image of Her by Simone de Beauvoir — Backlisted To discuss The Image of Her (1966) by Simone de Beauvoir we are joined by writer and translator Lauren Elkin , whose previous books include Flâneuse: Women Walk the City ; Scaffolding and ...

On today's @backlisted.bsky.social we discuss a book with the penetrating clarity of May sunshine - Lauren Elkin @laurenelkin.bsky.social joins @iammilliam.bsky.social & me to discuss her new translation of Les Belle Images (The Image of Her) by Simone de Beauvoir. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/239...

Dugin, Surkov, Rykov - the Trio at the Head of the Trojan Horse A new opening to this epic saga starts at the Olgino Troll farm in St Petersberg circa 2012

Dugin, Surkov, Rykov - the Trio at the Head of the Trojan Horse

A new opening to this epic saga starts at the Olgino Troll farm in St Petersberg circa 2012

open.substack.com/pub/pdjukes/...

Words from the Hedge: A Hedgelayer’s View of the Countryside The definitive insider’s guide to one of the most essential yet often overlooked elements of the British countryside – the hedgerow.

Bursting with pride (like may blossom from a hedgerow) at the publication of this beautifully written, important book, WORDS FROM THE HEDGE. Hail to the hedgelaying word-hewer Richard Negus @troopersnooks.bsky.social! Out now from: @unboundsocials.bsky.social
unbound.com/products/wor...

Jane Gardam RIP.

Oh Jane Gardam has died. I number several of her novels amongst my favourites - A Long Way from Verona, Crusoe’s Daughter, The Queen of the Tambourine - and I was fortunate enough to spend an afternoon with her not so long ago. A great writer who was invested in the literary life to the end. RIP. 🙏

Episode 238: Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time, joins John and Andy for a tour of Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, the sixteenth-century fable widely regarded as one of the most impor...

Kaliane's novel, the new Julia Lovell translation of Monkey King and other books mentioned in passing are available from the special @backlisted.bsky.social shop on @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social . Buying there helps support Backlisted and indie bookstores 🙏
uk.bookshop.org/lists/episod...

The story of Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy & Tripitaka is transformed by Julia Lovell's 'witty and charismatic' translation, according to ace @backlisted.bsky.social guest Kaliane Bradley, whose bestselling debut The Ministry of Truth shares these qualities. @sceptrebooks.bsky.social @mariagluc.bsky.social

THE SPIRIT OF BACKLISTED WAS IRREPRESSIBLE.

238. Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en — Backlisted Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time , joins John and Andy for a tour of Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en , the sixteenth-century fable widely regarded as one of the ...

New episode of @backlisted.bsky.social! Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, with Pigsy, Sandy, Tripitaka, author Kaliane Bradley, @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @birchos.bsky.social and me.
www.backlisted.fm/episodes/238...

Flyer for event at Golden Hare Books on Thursday 8th May with Helen Murray Taylor in conversation with Anne Hamilton about her memoir love lay down beside me and we wept.

Just over a week to go before my SOLD OUT event at @goldenharebooks.bsky.social with @annehamilton.bsky.social. Can't wait. My author copies of #lovelaydown have got lost in the post so it will be the first time that I see a physical copy of my memoir. Will try not to cry 😁

238. Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en — Backlisted Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time , joins John and Andy for a tour of Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en , the sixteenth-century fable widely regarded as one of the ...

New episode up now. Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, with Kaliane Bradley in conversation with @johnmitchinson.bsky.social and @iammilliam.bsky.social. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/238...

238. Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en — Backlisted Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time , joins John and Andy for a tour of Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en , the sixteenth-century fable widely regarded as one of the ...

The book that spawned 'the punkiest monkey that ever popped' now has its own @backlisted.bsky.social. Join debut novelist and Penguin Classics editor Kaliane Bradley,
@iammilliam.bsky.social, Nicky Birch and me for an hour of Monkey Magic.
www.backlisted.fm/episodes/238...

Millions unlike us: looking for suburbia in British fiction Andy Miller on stories from the suburb that deserve to be told

"When suburbia features in British fiction, if it features at all, it is usually as somewhere that isn’t the countryside and isn’t the city, a location which only exists to be escaped from."

@iammilliam.bsky.social

www.boundlessmagazine.com/p/millions-u...