![]() ![]() In fact, aside from the poem Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka, I don’t recall reading anything at all that wasn’t written by a white male. I enjoyed most of the authors we read at school, but it was like women writers didn’t exist. It was like nothing I’d read before, so fresh and immediate. I think if I was reading it for the first time now, I might find Holden Caulfield quite annoying, but back then reading a book with that voice and attitude was amazing. High school introduced me to George Orwell and John Wyndham, the author of my favourite book, The Day of the Triffids, and also to J.D. By the time I got to Robbins, it seemed like pretty tame stuff. I remember my dad being appalled when he caught me reading a Harold Robbins book, but he had no idea what I’d been reading before then. If I was lucky it would be something juicy like Peyton Place. My parents weren’t massive readers but there were usually a few paperbacks passing through the house. If there was an epic series on TV like ‘Roots’ or ‘Rich Man Poor Man,’ I’d seek out the books they were based on. When they finally let me in, I had no idea what to read so I’d pick up books at random and go home with weird pick ‘n’ mixes like a novel about the Weimar Republic, a biography of Malcolm X, and a book of poetry and sketches by John Lennon. I spent the last couple of years of primary school trying to get into the adult library, but they said I was too young and kept chucking me out. The Rats and The Fog by James Herbert helped to extend my body-parts vocabulary. ![]() Not the best book ever written but I liked the sharky bits and it gave me the word vagina, which I pronounced in my head as vah-jeen-a. I was ten when I read my first adult book, Jaws. ![]() ![]() There was a great story in one of them about a big toe that went on holiday. I had a Tarzan annual that I read until it was falling apart, and I was a big fan of Alf Prøysen’s Little Old Mrs Pepperpot books. There was lots more Enid Blyton including the Famous Five books. From then on it was pretty much anything I could get my hands on. The first book I remember owning was Naughty Amelia Jane, Enid Blyton’s story about toys that came alive at night and got up to all sorts of mischief. Her piece, “skinscape”, can be found in EPOCH Issue 02: Aftermath, available to purchase here. She is the author of seven published novels. Lorraine Thomson was born in Glasgow, grew up in Cumbernauld, and now lives in Ullapool. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |