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Russian Literature

Feb 12 2016

I am an eclectic reader. Hopefully my varied reading experiences will prove beneficial to my own writing endeavours (3 novels to date). This week’s blog post is dedicated to the Russian literature that I have read. The following 6 books are presented in chronological order. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1877)

Anna Karenina

Tolstoy’s opus is set against a backdrop of the emancipation of the serfs, the Pan Slavism movement, political change and technological advancement. The story follows three interrelated families — the Oblonskys, Levins and Karenins. Divided into 8 parts, this eight hundred plus-page classic…(more)

My Rating: Good

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1880)

The Brothers Karamazov

Landowner and unapologetic voluptuary Fyodor Pavlovich is the neglectful father of three very different sons. There is the intellectual atheist Ivan, the self-destructive, amoral, passionate and guilt-ridden Mitya, and the youngest, Alyosha, a deeply spiritual and modest individual, who resonates…(more)

My Rating: Turgid

My Childhood by Maxim Gorky (1915)

My Childhood

My Childhood is the first volume of Russian author Maxim Gorky’s autobiographical trilogy. The book begins with the young Maxim viewing the dead body of his father, who has just died of cholera. axim is then sent to live with his grandparents. With an errant mother, abusive grandfather and quarrelling uncles…(more)

My Rating: Average

Novel with Cocaine by M. Ageyev (1934)

Novel with Cocaine

Set in the years immediately before and after the Russian Revolution, Novel with Cocaine follows the life of Vadim, a Moscow adolescent and student. Vadim is prone to self-loathing and disdainful of others, none more so than his mother, whose aged appearance and shabby clothes he finds acutely…(more)

My Rating: Good

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1962)

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is a former POW serving a 10 year term in a Gulag on the Kazakh steppe for being a spy. He is innocent. The book chronicles a single day of his existence, beginning with a 5 a.m. reveille. Our protagonist, having been deemed not to have risen from bed on time…(more)

My Rating: Excellent

Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1968)

Cancer Ward

Oleg Kostoglotov, whose last name translates as ‘bone-chewer’, has been exiled in perpetuity to a village by the name of Ush-Terek, located on the steppe in Kazakhstan, a long way from home. Kostoglotov’s bad luck does not end there. Suffering from stomach cancer, he arrives at the cancer hospital in Tashkent…(more)

My Rating: Good

I look forward to reading some Gogol, Chekhov and Pushkin in the not too distant future.

6 Recommended non-English Language Books

Feb 05 2016

This week’s blog post is devoted to 6 non-English language works of fiction, all of which I read in English. They are presented in chronological order. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Candide by Voltaire (1759)

Candide

Candide came about as a direct result of Voltaire’s anger at the reaction within elements of The Church to The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755, and what he viewed as the absurd theorising about why bad things happen to good people…(more)

Author’s nationality: French

My Rating: Amusing

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1877)

Anna Karenina

Author’s nationality: Russian

My Rating: Good

The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka (Metamorphosis: 1915)

The Metamorphosis

Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find that he has been transformed into a beetle. This awkward situation is exacerbated when Gregor’s boss turns up at his house seeking an explanation for his non-attendance at work that day…(more)

Author’s nationality: Czech

My Rating: Quite good

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse (1927)

Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf is a complex and influential book that achieved cult status in the 1960’s when it was embraced by the counter-culture as a reaction against the modern world. The psychological impact of this highly original and thought provoking…(more)

Author’s nationality: German

My Rating: Quite good

The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth (1932)

TheRadetzkyMarch

Joseph Roth’s most famous and acclaimed novel is in essence a meditation on the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The author successfully captures the pomp, pageantry and formality of the dwindling years of the Habsburg dynasty…(more)

Author’s nationality: Austro-Hungarian

My Rating: Excellent

Death And The Penguin by Andrey Kurkov (1996)

Death And The Penguin

Death And The Penguin is a bizarre and bleak tragicomedy that combines political and social commentary. The book can be viewed as a satire of the corrupt and organised crime ridden society that replaced communism…(more)

Author’s nationality: Ukrainian

My Rating: Quite good

My Book Industry Ramblings

Jan 29 2016

Of late I have been devoting my weekly blog posts to my new psychological thriller, Symbiosis (released last Thursday). Click here to read the reviews. In preparation for the release of Symbiosis I conducted some book industry research, some of which I relay here. I hope you find it interesting.

Amazon6

The bestselling adult Fiction printed book of 2015 was Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee. Total units sold in 2015: 1,599,189.

Amazon’s bestselling book of 2015 was The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. It is set to become a film starring Emily Blunt later this year.

Most fortuitous current book title — Girl on a Train by Alison Waines. Lots of readers confused the title with The Girl On The Train, resulting in tens of thousands of sales for its previously unsung author.

Current bestselling self-published book — A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest. Yes, vampires again.

Most anticipated book of 2016 — There are many books vying for this accolade, including The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville. This alternative history novel is destined to be a bestseller.

Most anticipated non-fiction book of 2016 — Again this is a matter of opinion. There is certainly a lot of excitement over the release this spring of Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship With a Remarkable Man by William Shatner. It celebrates the man behind Mr. Spock from Star Trek.

2016

Genre currently on the rise — Adult colouring-in books. I was really surprised to discover this. Did I like colouring-in when I was a child? Quite. Do I want to do colouring-in now? Not really. But lots of people do. It’s cathartic apparently. I’m considering trying one out.

Genre to look out for — Bizarro Fiction is an up-and-coming genre. Bizarro Fiction titles are indeed bizarre. Take Adolf in Wonderland for instance.

The most lucrative genres are Romance and Erotica.

And now for some industry news.

Indie authors currently make up about 20% of the book market.

Amazon borrows are growing at the expense of sales. This is not surprising when one considers that Amazon Prime is now in 38% of American households. The Kindle Owner’s Lending Library (KOLL) is certainly controversial, and some well known authors have opted out of it altogether. Currently I am a fan. This is because KOLL was primarily responsible for lifting my 2nd novel, Necropolis, from obscurity to the lofty position (yesterday morning GMT) of No.11 in the Kindle – Dark Comedy category on Amazon.com.

Symbiosis Launch

Jan 21 2016

I am pleased to announce that Symbiosis is now on sale.

Symbiosis

The Blurb:

Identical twins Talulah and Taliah have never been apart. Viewed as curiosities by children and adults alike, they coexist in an insular world with their own secret language. But being identical doesn’t necessarily mean being equal…

Soon a series of momentous events will send Talulah and Taliah spiralling out of control, setting them on a collision course with a society that views them as two parts of a whole. Will their symbiotic relationship survive?

Moving and laconic, with impressive attention to psychological detail…

Symbiosis

Here are 2 short extracts from Symbiosis:

A staccato burst of cryptophasia piercing the air preludes Talulah’s finger prodding Taliah repeatedly in her arm, each occurrence sending a ripple of anxiety coursing through Taliah’s body, that escalates into waves when her arm is shaken vigorously.

‘You will not regress to cryptophasias, not here!’ shouts Hunter-Thornton. The scarlet-cheeked psychiatrist views with consternation the two expressionless faces staring back at him. ‘At Hunter-Thornton Integrated Counselling Services we accept cognitive disorders in all their manifestations, but insolence we will not. You have been warned.’
‘Ugi derriii bothi baldi.’ It is Talulah who says this.

Amazon.com – paperback ($10.99) & Kindle ($3.26)

Amazon.co.uk – paperback (£6.99) & Kindle (£2.29)

Thank you.

Symbiosis Countdown

Jan 15 2016

My psychological thriller, Symbiosis, is ~~being released next Thursday (January 21st)~~ now on sale.

Symbiosis

The blurb:

Perceptive and poignant, Symbiosis explores our enduring fascination with twins and the complexities of twinship.

Click here to enter the goodreads giveaway for a chance to win one of three autographed copies.

Symbiosis

Here are two short extracts from Symbiosis:

During dinner that evening Talulah and Taliah’s cutlery does not move in unison with one another, and when they reach for their glasses of water, they do so at different times. Their unsynchronised actions continue into dessert, with Talulah rapidly consuming her Petits-Filous yoghurt, whilst Taliah eats hers at a leisurely pace, each time her teaspoon emerges from the pot, only the front end is covered in yoghurt.

Symbiosis is now available for preorder from Amazon.

Amazon.com – paperback ($10.99) & Kindle ($3.38)

Amazon.co.uk – paperback (£6.99) & Kindle (£2.29)

Symbiosis Blurb Reveal

Jan 08 2016

There are only 11 days to go until the release of Symbiosis (Publication Date: 21st January 2016). Symbiosis is a Psychological Thriller. It is my third novel (Charles Middleworth & Necropolis). Last week I unveiled the front cover (see below).

Symbiosis

This is the blurb:

Perceptive and poignant, Symbiosis explores our enduring fascination with twins and the complexities of twinship.

A valuable addition to the monozygotic canon…

Symbiosis demonstrates Portman’s ability to populate his worlds with peculiar yet plausible characters.

Moving and laconic, with impressive attention to psychological detail…

I am pleased to announce that Symbiosis is now available for preorder from Amazon.

Amazon.com – paperback ($10.99) & Kindle ($3.38)

Amazon.co.uk – paperback (£6.99) & Kindle (£2.29)

Click here to sign up for my newsletter.

Symbiosis Front Cover Reveal

Jan 01 2016

Happy New Year everyone! May 2016 prove to be a prosperous year for us all.

Late this morning I spent some time perusing my 2015 Jetpack annual report. If you don’t like stats look away now.

This blog received over 14,000 page views in 2015.
Visitors came from 123 countries including Kiribati.
I wrote 52 blog posts (every Friday afternoon).
March 20th was the most popular day with 341 views.
My most viewed post was 7 Famous Writers Who Died Poor.

2016 promises more of the same.

2016

As many of you know my third novel, Symbiosis, is being released later this month (21st January).

Here is some information about Symbiosis.

Symbiosis is a Psychological Thriller (a story which emphasises the psychology of its characters and their unstable emotional states).

The main characters are twin girls called Talulah and Taliah.

Talulah and Taliah speak to each other in a cryptophasia. A cryptophasia is a secret language developed by a set of twins, which only they understand. The word originates from the Latin crypto meaning secret and phasia meaning speech.

The book’s themes include mental health.

Symbiosis explores our enduring fascination with twins and the complexities of twinship.

And now for the first time I present Symbiosis’s front cover.

Symbiosis

I hope you like it as much as I do.

Happy New Year.

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The Books I Read This Year

Dec 25 2015

Happy Christmas everyone. This week’s blog post is dedicated to the books I read in 2015. This year I have read 20 books, which is 12 less than last year. This is because I devoted a great deal of time to my 3rd novel, Symbiosis. Symbiosis is a psychological thriller about twin girls called Talulah and Taliah. I will be revealing more information about Symbiosis next week.

The following 20 books are presented in the order in which I read them. Click on the links to read my reviews.

booksnew

My Childhood by Maxim Gorky (1915) – This is a harrowing account of a turbulent and cruel childhood.

Savage Night by Jim Thompson (1953) – A suspenseful crime novel that explores the ugly side of the human condition.

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (1950) – A thought-provoking and at times humorous work about the evolution of technology

Chess Story by Stefan Zweig (1942) – This psychological novella examines the delicate divide that separates genius from madness.

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas de Quincey (1800) – A self-indulgent, turgid, grandiloquent language-laden ordeal.

Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard (1996) – A combination of crime thriller and dystopian fiction.

Heart of Darkness & Other Stories by Joseph Conrad (1899) – Three complex, atmospheric and insightful nautical themed tales.

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk (2007) – This challenging book employs an innovative interview format.

Alva & Irva by Edward Carey (2003) – A quaint and quirky novel whose themes include twinship and loneliness.

Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1968) – The cancer ward serves as a microcosm of Soviet society.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (1940) –This suspenseful but turgid text is set during the Spanish Civil War.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961) – A satire whose central theme is the futility of war.

2015

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck (1932) – A compact, atmospheric and melancholic book that offers insights into the region’s history.

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925) – An innovative, intellectual, non-plot orientated work replete with pathos.

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller (1934) – The parasitic protagonist is an American writer living in Paris.

The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West (1939) – This poignant novel is prescient in its prediction of a celebrity-obsessed society.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962) – A ground-breaking and controversial book boasting an intriguing narrator.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884) – A satire of American southern antebellum society that parodies slavery.

A Gangster’s Grip by Heather Burnside (2015) – A fast-moving, plot-driven crime novel set in 90s Manchester.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1962) – (2nd reading) – The author puts a human face to the plight of the untold millions who suffered in the Soviet Union’s Gulags.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1877) – Currently reading.

I look forward to hearing about the books you read this year.

7 Books about Twins

Dec 18 2015

My 3rd novel, Symbiosis, is a Psychological Thriller about identical twin girls called Talulah and Taliah. I will be revealing more soon, but for now we continue with the book theme.

As part of my research for Symbiosis I read a number of books about twins. This week’s blog post is devoted to books about/that feature twins (fiction & non fiction) – 4 of which I have read.

The following books are presented in chronological order:

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (1927)

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Set in 18th century Peru, this novella is about a bridge that collapses, killing 5 people. The main characters include identical twins called Esteban and Manuel. The Bridge of San Luis Rey is a philosophical tale with religious undertones. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Average

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews (1979)

This, the first book in the Dollanganger Series, features twins called Carrie and Cory. Flowers in the Attic is a gothic horror/family saga that has been adapted for the silver screen on 2 occasions. Over 40 million copies have been sold worldwide.

The Silent Twins by Marjorie Wallace (1986)

This is the true story of June and Jennifer Gibbons, identical twins born in the UK in 1963. Their lives caught the public’s attention, and were the inspiration behind the lyrics of Tsunami by the Manic Street Preachers. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Quite good

Evil Twins by John Glatt (1999)

Evil Twins

Utilising a tabloid journalistic approach, Evil Twins is a true crime book, which is divided into 12 sections, each dedicated to a different set of ‘evil’ twins. It spawned a television series of the same name. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Eminently readable sensationalist tripe.

Alva & Irva by Edward Carey (2003)

This unusual novel is about inseparable, identical twins called Alva and Irva. The twins, who come from a family of post office employees, reside in Entralla, a picturesque city with only 1 guidebook. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Quaint

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (2006)

One of the book’s main characters, Margaret Lea, was born a conjoined twin. Her sibling died shortly after separation. This gothic suspense novel also features another set of twins called Emmeline and Adeline March.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (2009)

Her Fearful Symmetry

Her Fearful Symmetry is a novel about American twins called Julia and Valentina, who are living in an apartment their aunt left them. The girls’ lives become entangled with that of their neighbours. It is set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London.

The Books of 2015

Dec 11 2015

This week’s blog post is devoted to ‘the books’ of 2015.

Amazon’s Best-Selling Book of 2015 – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl On The Train

As the title suggests the story is about a girl on a train. She spies on people apparently. No doubt many of you have already read The Girl On The Train. I am looking forward to reading it.

Most Anticipated Book of 2015 – Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

Go Set A Watchman

55-years after the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee published her 2nd novel to much fanfare. It has had mixed reviews to date.

Best-Selling Erotic Novel of 2015 – Grey By E.L. James

Grey

Not only is the follow-up to the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy the best-selling erotic novel of 2015, it is also the 2nd highest selling ebook of the year. Note to Santa: Bring me Grey this Christmas and you’ll never grace my chimney again.

Biography of the Year (unofficial) – The Wright Brothers By David McCullough

The Wright Brothers

Written by 2-time Pulitzer Prize Winner David McCullough, The Wright Brothers tells the story of how Wilbur and Orville Wright invented the world’s first successful aeroplane (i.e. could fly).

Nonfiction Book of 2015 (unofficial – excl. biographies) – Dead Wake By Erik Larson

Dead Wake

The author examines the fate of the Lusitania, which was infamously torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland during WWI. It is a No.1 New York Bestseller.

Best-Selling Children’s Book of 2015 – Diary of a Wimpy Kid Old School By Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

This, the 10th book in the popular series, sees the protagonist’s town faced with a technology ban.

Best Debut Goodreads Author – Victoria Aveyard for Red Queen

Red Queen

Red Queen is a work of YA Fiction about a world divided by blood – red and silver blood apparently.

Christmas-Themed Release of 2015 – A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

A Boy Called Christmas

Billed as the true story of Father Christmas, A Boy Called Christmas was published last month (November).

My Predicted No.1 UK Best-Seller this Christmas – Leading by Alex Ferguson with Michael Moritz

Leading

Published back in September, Leading is about leadership, management and the pursuit of success; things Alex Ferguson knew a fair bit about.

Interesting Facts (well I thought so anyway)

The top 10 best-sellers on Kobo in 2015 were all written by women.

The best-selling book in the UK last week (ending: Dec 5th) was Grandpa’s Great Escape by David Walliams.

I am hoping that my latest novel, Symbiosis will turn out to be one of the books of 2016. It is a Psychological Thriller about identical twin girls called Talulah and Taliah.

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AUTHOR GUY PORTMAN'S BLOG

Russian Literature

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6 Recommended non-English Language Books

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My Book Industry Ramblings

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Symbiosis Launch

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Symbiosis Countdown

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Symbiosis Blurb Reveal

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Symbiosis Front Cover Reveal

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The Books I Read This Year

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7 Books about Twins

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The Books of 2015

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AUTHOR GUY PORTMAN'S BLOG

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