My first time in Edinburgh! And my first time at the Edinburgh International Book Festival too. It was a blast.
I attended talks on the penultimate and the day before the penultimate day (is there a word for that?), and was lucky enough to sit in on some amazing discussions. The weather was extremely kind on the day that I arrived - don't let the above rain clouds fool you, it was warm and sunny and people were lounging and sitting on the lawn. It was a true festival buzz.
John Boyne
The first discussion I saw was with John Boyne, author of the well-known The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - which I've actually never read. In fact, I've never read anything by John Boyne, but his new novel, A Ladder to the Sky, sounded intriguing. And this is what a book festival is for, isn't it? Getting to know authors.
John is a very fun person to listen to (and was given some very good questions by Lee Randall), and he gave good insight into his writing process. He admitted that he never really plots a novel out in advance - he would instead create a character and let them roam free, following them to see where the book was going. He also talked about the fact he aims to create characters on the whole range of the spectrum: nobody is pure evil or good, and although the Guardian debates that one of the main character's aims in the new novel (to become a father) "feels more like a plot contrivance than a plausible feature of his character", I think I'd like to see for myself before I agree with that.
Had this not been the first event I attended, I would have purchased the book on the spot - but seeing as I arrived only with a small backpack, I had to make a careful decision about the one book I set myself as a maximum I could buy.
J.R. Carpenter & Alicia Kopf
My next event was a discussion with Alicia Kopf and J.R. Carpenter, titled Polar Explorations. That's really why I booked, although not much was actually said on that specific topic. (However, I did meet a lady called Jenny beforehand, who told me about her scientist brother's adventure to Antarctica - how he and his team got stranded there because radio communications had broken down, and yet how he went back the next year for further study of the local flora. She was very nice.)
Both of these authors' books are literary explorations, playing with form, genre and language. Alicia's semi-fictional autobiography aimed to build on the epic polar adventures of the past and to bring them into the present. She reminded me of Frida Kahlo in her passionate mannerisms. J.R., on the other hand (whose name seems to be, in fact, J.R.?) didn't convince me. Her poetry is not my cup of tea; it just felt a bit too far-fetched into the experimental.
Two highlights from the event: first, when Alicia said that for her, "writing a book felt like telling you a secret". Second, she made an amazing analogy that left the room umming and ahing: she said that a writer is like an oyster. A grain of sand causes it pain, and it works hard through it to digest and swallow that pain to finally make it into a shiny pearl. (Right?)
Steve Brusatte / Pat Barker
Although two separate events, I'm going to draw them into one subtitle. Steve's talk was amazing. Not much was said about writing but loads on dinosaurs (his new book is called The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs), and the joy and enthusiasm in his eyes when he got onto the topic was just a pleasure to watch. What I did want to know was how his book is different from the other dinosaur intro books that have been written before - but that's not something you ask at an event. Regardless, I'd definitely be up for reading his book.
Steve was decidedly giddy and giggly, and the event was expertly chaired by Philip Ardagh. One of the highlights: did you know that there isn't actually much info about the sex of dinosaurs? Bet you've never thought about that before.
Pat Barker's event was extremely popular, but I wasn't convinced to buy her book. She is a funny lady, and the talk was really quite interesting (example: at one point, she asked whether it really mattered if Achilles was real or not. I felt oddly offended by the idea that he wasn't). And I thought her book would be right up my street. But after her reading I wasn't sure - especially when it touched on the "smell of period blood". Mmmmaybe I wouldn't have picked this section to read?
Guy Gunaratne & Imran Mahmood
I was personally offended that this event wasn't sold out - but it seemed people cared more about Gina Miller than an author whose very first book was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize this year. Humbug.
Although Imran (a real-life criminal barrister) got more speaking time, it was ultimately Guy Gunaratne who won my one-book-only prize. (It is decidedly NOT because he is so handsome.) He claimed that, once finished, he was able to distance himself from the book and to let the world take it from there - despite the Man Booker nomination, he said he didn't feel tied to the book and was ready to start something new. He also talked about his upbringing and how it inspired In Our Mad and Furious City (currently reading - very good so far, stay tuned). To have such a good insight into the real world is extremely hard. There's lots of talent here.
...and that's a wrap! My main observations about Edinburgh:
1. Pedestrian red lights are ridiculously long. And the traffic system doesn't make sense. Two lights that could operate simultaneously just never do. It does not. Make. Sense.
2. Much like in the Netherlands, people do not move out of the way. It's not an aggressive thing: it's just that they're so busy with their own thing that they don't think ahead. It's quite annoying.
3. Nobody told me that Edinburgh had such a deep connection with Harry Potter. So stumbling on shop after shop filled with wands and trinkets, I wanted to weep with joy.
4. Everybody sounds like Malcolm Tucker. (In the best possible way).
