Böcker av Stephen Walsh

The graphic novel "Hancock: The Lad Himself" dramatises the remarkable story of legendary comedian Tony Hancock in words, pictures, and not without a few interruptions from The Lad Himself, who proves a little infuriated at how his story is told... as those who know and love his work would fully expect!

"Great, beautiful little studies of unspoken fear and longing and love, told with a sure-footed delicacy rare in a debut" Sarah Moss, Irish Times"An exciting, original, and very welcome new voice" Donal Ryan"These are startling, adventurous and often wonderful stories. I loved this collection" Roddy DoyleA sharp and insightful debut short story collection about the pitfalls of ordinary life A wife yearns to escape the tight-fisted confines of a package holiday. A boy dreams of footballing greatness as his mother mourns a loss. A man tries to assemble an absent child''s playhouse, with impossible instructions and too much beer. A woman seeks clarity from automated voices. A father is distracted from Christmas tree shopping with his son by the looming pressure of quarterly sales targets.Shine/Variance captures the tiny crises and wonders of daily life with warmth, wit and decisive clarity. Ordinary people - commuters, call centre workers, children and parents - struggle for stability while craving more, and the schism between expectation and reality is only rarely bridged. Yet, amidst the faltering, recognition and bright moments of hope still illuminate their days.Fresh, tender and darkly funny, these stories are a window into the longings, frustrations and painfully human connections of ordinary life from a remarkable new voice in fiction."The most powerful new collection I''ve read in some years" John Boyne"Brilliantly bats, staggeringly compelling, and ferociously funny. Stephen Walsh rips the concreteness of reality straight from us and reflects back a more wobbly version of our turbulent lives... Completely unique" June Caldwell"Full of assured originality and freshness - a new writer much to be welcomed" Bernard MacLaverty

A meticulously-researched biography of the great 20th-century composer by a biographer who is also a musicologist and who worked to get beyond the often unreliable stories Stravinsky told about his life.

In addition to being a great composer, Igor Stravinsky was one of the most fascinating personalities of his time. The first volume of this definitive biography covers Stravinsky's life and work from his birth in 1882 through to 1934, with special focus on his Russian roots and his struggles to make his way in Switzerland and France.

In 1934, Igor Stravinsky was fifty-two, a Russian expatriate living in Paris and already regarded by many as the most important composer of his generation. This work follows Stravinsky through the remainder of his long life, which he would spend largely in the United States. It also shows his increasingly complex and often agonised family life.