What book does Simon Scarrow think is overly keen to prioritise research and literary

Author SImon Scarrow

What Book… 

…are you reading now? 

Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher. At a time when people desperately need some clarity in a world where truth and the authority of knowledge are under attack as never before it is relief to read a persuasive and not too theoretical analysis of the undermining of democracy. 

Fisher eloquently shows how high and low culture and legacy and social media are conspiring to shape a notion of reality that makes any alternative or attempt to change things literally unthinkable. We are the becoming the victims of Orwell’s Newspeak, but on steroids.

 A vital read for those who want to understand what is happening in today’s world.

…would you take to a desert island? 

One literary work I never grow tired of reading every few year’s is Alan Moore’s ground-breaking graphic novel, The Watchmen. Its intricate, multi-layered narratives are spectacularly engaging and the playful mashing up of different genres and is mind-bending. 

Aside from all of that there is a gripping mystery at the heart of The Watchmen that is complex and the final pay off is fantastic. Along the way, Moore manages to create characters the reader cares about and forces us to make uncomfortable choices about whose side we are on. 

The artwork by David Gibbons is crisp, cinematic and compelling. A masterpiece of story-telling in every respect.

Childhood favourite: The Forest of Boland Light Railway is a 

…first gave you the reading bug? 

I can very clearly recall the first book I ever read more than once. It was BB’s The Forest of Boland Light Railway.

 It’s the kind of book that works its charm on the reader through a combination of persuasive world-building and liminal writing.

It tells the tale of the gnomes that live in the forest and how they construct a railway to connect their communities. Then, all of a sudden, the novel takes a very dark turn as the evil leprechauns launch a sneak attack. 

Thereafter there’s considerable violence as the gnomes and their cowzie (small fury creatures with razor sharp teeth) assault the stronghold of the leprechauns and their sinister leader is forced to jump from a tower to be dashed on the rocks below… 

Younger readers will love it.

…left you cold? 

I had heard so much praise for Wolf Hall that I knew I must read it someday. When I got round to it there was no doubt that Hillary Mantel was a writer of great talent who knew how to spin words into literary magic so that you often stopped to reread sections. 

However, try as I might, I could not engage with any of her characters or feel anything for them. Moreover, the story was equally flat and unengaging and it was a struggle to read to the end. 

For me, it was a case of the author being overly keen to prioritise presenting her research and literary ambition above creating compelling characters and a compelling story. It put me off reading the follow up novels, which is always a pity when that happens.

A Death in Berlin by Simon Scarrow (Headline, £22) is out on 13th March