Strong writers’ voices make all the difference:
- The debut novel by Australian-born Evie Wyld, After the Fire, a Still Small Voice, tackles the cascading effect of violence, the violence of men at war, through generations. Wyld is an evocative, sure-footed stylist, and her portrait of two Australians, one a Vietnam war soldier, the other an irresolute semi drunk, is compelling in small doses. If the plot is a little too light to make for a fully compelling book, the author’s rich writing carries the reader through. 3 stars
- Beg, Borrow, Steal by Michael Greenberg is subtitled A Writer’s Life, but is in reality reworked Times Literary Supplement columns over five years. Greenberg obliquely skates over the harsh life he adopted in order to write but his passion shines through. New York vignettes are presented in a most endearing pared-down style in which every word carries weight. Lacking a strong narrative thread, the articles are nonetheless a pleasure to read. 3 stars