725. The Newton Letter

The Newton Letter
John Banville

1982
Around 100 pages

Looking at the upcoming novels on our List, we are in for a record-breaking string of bangers. Until Samuel Beckett comes back again of course.

This short novel follows the adventures of a biographer whose current subject is Isaac Newton. I love it when we follow an author who rents a remote cabin to work on their masterpiece. I think all writers have that fantasy, but I'm a little nervous I would get axe murdered if I did that. I was instantly hooked by the first line: "Words fail me." That's writer's block in a nutshell! Although I feel like vice versa is maybe truer.

You can tell that Banville is an avid reader. To me, his works always feel like a pleasant combination of Iris Murdoch, Ford Maddox Ford, and Julian Barnes. And this is an early work, so he's only going to improve.

So happy to have you on the squad John!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Banville said he would advise readers who want to sample his work to start with this novel.

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