The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Greene is economical with his words but less is always more, as they say. A bleak, poignant experience about hope and what makes our heroes.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Explore the muddiness of morality but goes about it in unabashedly theatrical fashion. I read this on my commute and often left the house a little earlier to sneak more of it in.
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
Denis Johnson’s work exists at an intersection between poetry and fiction I wish I could ever reproduce. A phenomenal, affecting, done-in-one-sitting read.
Jamie Thrasivoulou
I was lucky enough to see Jamie Thrasivoulou perform a good few years ago now but the experience will always stick. A disarming, honest writer with an amazing body of work. ‘Beneath a Banana Moon’ will probably always be one of the best poems I’ve seen performed.
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
Erdrich manages to distill many voices, making a warm, sad book about storytelling and community. Again, I’m jealous I can’t write this well.
Tom Lawlor is a writer from Coventry, UK, who is just about getting back into the swing of things. You can find him on twitter and instagram @ellysdoespoems