Allan Gordon

Melancholy merriment, 9 Sep 2012

The Trip is simply extraordinary - it defies easy categorisation - is it a comedy or a drama, is it a post-modern exploration of fame and celebrity? However you choose to define it one thing is absolutely clear - it is very funny, especially in the competitive use of impersonations. The basic plot is that Steve Coogan has been commissioned to review half a dozen restaurants in the North of England and when his American girlfriend backs out he eventually asks Rob Brydon to accompany him on his trip. This is the basic narrative drive which then becomes an exploration of the nature of fame, the impact of ageing, the importance of love and relationships, comedy and the beauty and… Read more

A Troubled Man; A Great Poet, 28 Sep 2011

Reading biographies can be a hazardous enterprise; people who you have admired for years can often be revealed as being far less likeable than you hoped. If you are lucky you will find that your affection deepens even though you are more aware of their faults and foibles. Some people can make a complete distinction between the life and the work and will continue to enjoy the latter even when their hero/heroine is revealed to be a complete rogue. I can continue to get pleasure from the work of writers even after I have found out that they are not quite as admirable as I once thought, but they are often diminished. Examples of this would include Philip Larkin, Ernest Hemingway and John… Read more

A Reading Journey Around Susan Hill's House, 18 Nov 2009

I read a review of this book and it captured my imagination. Susan Hill had been looking for her copy of Howard's End and as she struggled to locate it she realised that amongst the books on the landing there were at least a dozen that she had never read; this made her re-evaluate how she read and she decided to spend a year reading only books that were on her shelves. Like Susan I purchase many books each year, both new and second-hand, and I also borrow books from the library. I am growing increasingly aware that I am very unlikely to read all of the books that I own in my lifetime, and I was very attracted by the notion of finding out how someone else had attempted to tackle this… Read more