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PS A reminder that we’ve just launched the Spring 2024 schedule for the Galley Beggar Press Critical Reading class, we’re taking on new (and returning!) members and you are most welcome to join. If you’d like to buy a six month set of classes for a friend or loved one, you are very welcome to do that too. The Critical Reading course is our beloved online programme of deep novel reading and discussion that we’ve been running on Tuesday evenings each month for several years now. The general scheme is that we read a novel together and discuss it over Zoom. I bring in information about the author’s life and intentions, the context of the book, its critical reception and ideas about how the book was put together - and we all discuss the bigger questions of how the book works, what it means, what we feel about it… We’ll talk about the choices writers have made in putting them together, look at structure, world-building, imagery – as well as all those other bits of glue that hold a book together. We’ll sometimes talk about the stories behind the books and the act of creation. Sometimes, too, we’ll just sit back and marvel at the talent of the people we’re discussing. It’s fun!
SOME KEY DETAILS The classes will be running monthly from March 2024 until September 2024. Because they’re so popular, we run two strands: CLASS 1 12 March 2024, Katherine Dunn, Geek Love 16 April 2024, Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting 14 May 2024, J. L. Carr, A Month in the Country 18 June 2024, Anna Burns, Milkman 23 July 2024, Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad 3 September 2024, Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights CLASS 2 19 March 2024, Katherine Dunn, Geek Love 23 April 2024, Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting 21 May 2024, J. L. Carr, A Month in the Country 25 June 2024, Anna Burns, Milkman 30 July 2024, Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad 10 September 2024, Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights We also record the classes in case you can’t make any of the dates but want to catch up on discussion. As I say, it costs £130 to join – and we also give away a free place on each strand for anyone who may not feel able to afford the fee. (That’s done on a first come first served, no questions asked basis. Just email info@galleybeggar.co.uk) A bit more about the books: Geek Love - Fans of 90s indy music will know the record by Bang Bang Machine that this book inspired. Fans of Karen Russell will also recognise the disturbing, carnivalesque vibe. But the book itself is something entirely unique… And beautifully, wildly strange. Trainspotting - Talking of the 1990s… Actually, it’s going to be quite fun to look at this book removed from its time and to remember that before the film, before the lager, lager, lager this was a pioneering and superb slab of literature in its own right. Yes, the book may just be better than the hype surrounding it… A Month In The Country - If you haven’t read this beautiful, elegant, compact and elegiac novel, you are about to have your whole world changed. If you have read it, you’ll know why I said that. You’ll also know how much we’re going to love talking about it. Milkman - By reputation, one of the best Booker winners in recent years. Cynics may want to say that that this maybe isn’t saying all that much, but it is still something. I haven’t read it yet, but my far better half Elly says it’s full of ideas, heart, and literary skill. The Underground Railroad - One of the best books by one of the most interesting and important authors of our era. Wuthering Heights - This one needs no introduction. But it always repays rereading, and rethinking. It may feel like a different book every time you look at it - but it is consistently spectacular and heart-rending. HEATHCLIFF! I’m looking forward to reading them all – and I hope you’ll join me. For more details and to book your place, click here.
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