John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 05/06/2025A statement on my having left Unbound/Boundless. 3923032
Reposted by John MitchinsonBacklisted Podcast @backlisted.bsky.social · 27/05/2025New episode up now. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend, with guest Nina Stibbe @ninastibbe.bsky.social in conversation with @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social and @birchos.bsky.social. Just my luck! www.backlisted.fm/episodes/240...backlisted.fm240. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend — BacklistedThe wonderful Nina Stibbe , award-winning novelist and diarist, joins us for a discussion of Sue Townsend's classic comic creation . When it was first published in 1982, the confidential journal of ... 5519
Reposted by John MitchinsonBacklisted Podcast @backlisted.bsky.social · 27/05/2025Tuesday 27th May. Lined up new episode of Backlisted for my commute. It was bloody brilliant! I thought Secret Diary of A. Mole 13¾ was just funny but intellectuals like @ninastibbe.bsky.social have convinced me it is actually searing critique of Mrs Thatcher etc. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/240...backlisted.fm240. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend — BacklistedThe wonderful Nina Stibbe , award-winning novelist and diarist, joins us for a discussion of Sue Townsend's classic comic creation . When it was first published in 1982, the confidential journal of ... 3319
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 27/05/2025A new @backlisted.bsky.social in which we discover why guest @ninastibbe.bsky.social refused to review her fave book The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 at the time... with @iammilliam.bsky.social and @birchos.bsky.social (who has never laughed so much)... www.backlisted.fm/episodes/240...backlisted.fm240. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend — BacklistedThe wonderful Nina Stibbe , award-winning novelist and diarist, joins us for a discussion of Sue Townsend's classic comic creation . When it was first published in 1982, the confidential journal of ... 2267
Reposted by John MitchinsonAnnabookbel @annabookbel.bsky.social · 25/05/2025A short report on an event at Mostly Books in Abingdon on Friday: The lovely Joe Dunthorne in conversation with @johnmitchinson.bsky.social, on his new Jewish family memoir Children of Radium. annabookbel.net/an-evening-w...annabookbel.netAn evening with Joe Dunthorne at Mostly BooksJoe Dunthorne is probably best known for his debut novel Submarine, published in 2008, which I read -pre-blog, and the 2010 film adapted from it by Richard Ayoade. Two more novels followed, Wild Ab… 193
Reposted by John MitchinsonBoundless Magazine @boundlessmagazine.bsky.social · 15/05/2025This is a literary event. Order it, read it 062
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 15/05/2025The bliss of going rogue. A wonderful interview with Patrick McCabe in the @irishtimes.com on the publication of GOLDENGROVE by @unboundsocials.bsky.social www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...irishtimes.comPatrick McCabe: ‘This whole idea of making money out of novels started in the 1980s with Martin Amis and Ian McEwan’McCabe, who found himself adrift in the 21st-century book business despite his huge impact on the culture in the 1990s, on the bliss of going rogue 0236
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 15/05/2025McCabe's language hits a rare pitch: it's a mongrel form of modernism, a sui generis mash-up of B movies and forgotten pop songs, poems and folk tunes, the ghosts of Joyce, Larkin, Hopkins and Kavanagh sharing pints with Eric Morecambe, Arthur Mullard and Phil Silvers. His late style - a wonder. 081
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 15/05/2025The jaunty tone gives way to a darker mood as abduction, torture, bombings ensue. GOLDENGROVE is McCabe's most political novel. The troubled relationship between Britain and Ireland, - two countries divided by a violent common history – is its deep theme. 151
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 15/05/2025The two clubbable Englishmen at its heart turn out to be agents of the British state, sent to infiltrate the IRA. The vibe darkens... 130
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 15/05/2025It's a comedy with a heart that's blacker than obsidian. Late sixties Dublin. A theatrical agency. A bar called Minty's. Heavy drinking, smoking and thespian excess of all kinds abound. 140
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 15/05/2025I'm very pleased and not a little relieved that this fine book is published today by @unboundsocials.bsky.social . It's GOLDENGROVE the fourteenth novel by the great Patrick McCabe. uk.bookshop.org/a/2773/97818...uk.bookshop.orgGoldengrove a book by Patrick McCabe.‘Wild, anarchic, and wonderfully head-spinning’ Neil Jordan, award-winning film directorA dark theatrical comedy about the vexed and violent relationship between Britain and Ireland, from twice Booker... 1246
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 15/05/2025🙏 It's a great interview (and a great book). 020
Reposted by John MitchinsonByline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 14/05/2025"So this is my England and a part of yours too – so different from the English Defence League versions of bigotry or the white Etonian dream of exclusion and superiority"bylinetimes.comThis is My England, and Yours: Reclaiming EnglishnessNow that English Nationalism has been unleashed, Peter Jukes argues that we must all try to restore England's buried civic tolerance and historic diversity. 4376
Reposted by John MitchinsonByline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 14/05/2025"Somehow, I found myself elected to the infamous Bullingdon Club – surely the only state school-educated candidate ever to have been so embarrassed. I should have rejected it with contempt but I was curious"bylinetimes.comFrom Sunderland to the Bullingdon Club: Englishness UnravelledUnsatisfied with George Orwell's description of patriotism, John Mitchinson digs deep into his own personal history to untangle the complex roots of his Englishness. 13313
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 13/05/2025A reminder that @backlisted.bsky.social has its own Backlisted Bookshop on @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social where you can buy all the books mentioned in today's episode (and all the 238 previous ones). Buying there supports the podcast & indie bookshops uk.bookshop.org/lists/episod...uk.bookshop.orgEpisode 239: The Image of Her by Simone de BeauvoirTo discuss The Image of Her (1966) by Simone de Beauvoir we are joined by writer and translator Lauren Elkin, whose previous books include Flâneuse: Women Walk the City, Scaffolding and Art Monsters: ... 085
Reposted by John MitchinsonBacklisted Podcast @backlisted.bsky.social · 13/05/2025New episode up now. Les Belles Images (The Image of Her) by Simone de Beauvoir, with translator Lauren Elkin @laurenelkin.bsky.social in conversation with @iammilliam.bsky.social and @johnmitchinson.bsky.social. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/239...backlisted.fm239. The Image of Her by Simone de Beauvoir — BacklistedTo discuss The Image of Her (1966) by Simone de Beauvoir we are joined by writer and translator Lauren Elkin , whose previous books include Flâneuse: Women Walk the City ; Scaffolding and ... 46115
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 13/05/2025On today's @backlisted.bsky.social we discuss a book with the penetrating clarity of May sunshine - Lauren Elkin @laurenelkin.bsky.social joins @iammilliam.bsky.social & me to discuss her new translation of Les Belle Images (The Image of Her) by Simone de Beauvoir. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/239...backlisted.fm239. The Image of Her by Simone de Beauvoir — BacklistedTo discuss The Image of Her (1966) by Simone de Beauvoir we are joined by writer and translator Lauren Elkin , whose previous books include Flâneuse: Women Walk the City ; Scaffolding and ... 1132
Reposted by John MitchinsonPeter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 05/05/2025Dugin, Surkov, Rykov - the Trio at the Head of the Trojan Horse A new opening to this epic saga starts at the Olgino Troll farm in St Petersberg circa 2012 open.substack.com/pub/pdjukes/...open.substack.comDugin, Surkov, Rykov - the Trio at the Head of the Trojan HorseA new opening to this epic saga starts at the Olgino Troll farm in St Petersberg circa 2012 25517
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 01/05/2025Bursting with pride (like may blossom from a hedgerow) at the publication of this beautifully written, important book, WORDS FROM THE HEDGE. Hail to the hedgelaying word-hewer Richard Negus @troopersnooks.bsky.social! Out now from: @unboundsocials.bsky.social unbound.com/products/wor...unbound.comWords from the Hedge: A Hedgelayer’s View of the CountrysideThe definitive insider’s guide to one of the most essential yet often overlooked elements of the British countryside – the hedgerow. 050
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 29/04/2025Kaliane's novel, the new Julia Lovell translation of Monkey King and other books mentioned in passing are available from the special @backlisted.bsky.social shop on @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social . Buying there helps support Backlisted and indie bookstores 🙏 uk.bookshop.org/lists/episod...uk.bookshop.orgEpisode 238: Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'enKaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time, joins John and Andy for a tour of Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, the sixteenth-century fable widely regarded as one of the most impor... 082
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 29/04/2025The story of Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy & Tripitaka is transformed by Julia Lovell's 'witty and charismatic' translation, according to ace @backlisted.bsky.social guest Kaliane Bradley, whose bestselling debut The Ministry of Truth shares these qualities. @sceptrebooks.bsky.social @mariagluc.bsky.social 251
Reposted by John MitchinsonDr Helen Murray Taylor @drhelenmtaylor.bsky.social · 29/04/2025Just over a week to go before my SOLD OUT event at @goldenharebooks.bsky.social with @annehamilton.bsky.social. Can't wait. My author copies of #lovelaydown have got lost in the post so it will be the first time that I see a physical copy of my memoir. Will try not to cry 😁 2103
Reposted by John MitchinsonBacklisted Podcast @backlisted.bsky.social · 29/04/2025New episode up now. Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, with Kaliane Bradley in conversation with @johnmitchinson.bsky.social and @iammilliam.bsky.social. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/238...backlisted.fm238. Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en — BacklistedKaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time , joins John and Andy for a tour of Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en , the sixteenth-century fable widely regarded as one of the ... 0228
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 29/04/2025The book that spawned 'the punkiest monkey that ever popped' now has its own @backlisted.bsky.social. Join debut novelist and Penguin Classics editor Kaliane Bradley, @iammilliam.bsky.social, Nicky Birch and me for an hour of Monkey Magic. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/238...backlisted.fm238. Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en — BacklistedKaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time , joins John and Andy for a tour of Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en , the sixteenth-century fable widely regarded as one of the ... 1176
Reposted by John MitchinsonBoundless Magazine @boundlessmagazine.bsky.social · 17/04/2025"When suburbia features in British fiction, if it features at all, it is usually as somewhere that isn’t the countryside and isn’t the city, a location which only exists to be escaped from." @iammilliam.bsky.social www.boundlessmagazine.com/p/millions-u...boundlessmagazine.comMillions unlike us: looking for suburbia in British fictionAndy Miller on stories from the suburb that deserve to be told 64620
Reposted by John MitchinsonJon Dennis @jondennis.bsky.social · 28/04/2025"JG Ballard referred to the residents of suburbia as ‘dormant people … docile cattle’ in his novel Kingdom Come (2006), though presumably he didn’t do this to their faces e.g., when borrowing a neighbour’s lawnmower." @iammilliam.bsky.social on fine form. www.boundlessmagazine.com/p/millions-u...boundlessmagazine.comMillions unlike us: looking for suburbia in British fictionAndy Miller on stories from the suburb that deserve to be told 2255
Reposted by John MitchinsonJohn Self @john-self.bsky.social · 26/04/2025The first UK edition of Lore Segal’s 1985 novel Her First American, out in July from Sort Of Books. Cover art by Bill Bragg (channelling Edward Hopper?). 10468
Reposted by John MitchinsonBacklisted Podcast @backlisted.bsky.social · 08/04/2025Line up our new episode on Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Unconsoled for the journey by tram to the childhood home you recognise only as you pass your stop, before being recognised by a stranger who begs you to make good on a promise you cannot recall. #relateable www.backlisted.fm/episodes/237backlisted.fm237. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro — Backlisted“A masterpiece I don’t fully understand—and don’t need to.” This week’s book is The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro, a bold, baffling, and darkly funny novel that has confounded and enchan... 4358
Reposted by John MitchinsonBacklisted Podcast @backlisted.bsky.social · 08/04/2025New episode up now. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro, with guest Chris Chibnall @chrischibnall.bsky.social in conversation with @iammilliam.bsky.social and @johnmitchinson.bsky.social. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/237backlisted.fm237. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro — Backlisted“A masterpiece I don’t fully understand—and don’t need to.” This week’s book is The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro, a bold, baffling, and darkly funny novel that has confounded and enchan... 118828
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 08/04/2025Today's @backlisted.bsky.social offers a masterpiece of mounting anxiety and misdirection. Join guest Chris Chibnall with @iammilliam.bsky.social, @birchos.bsky.social and me as we get lost and found in the middle-European maze of Kazuo Ishiguro's The Unconsoled. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/237backlisted.fm237. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro — Backlisted“A masterpiece I don’t fully understand—and don’t need to.” This week’s book is The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro, a bold, baffling, and darkly funny novel that has confounded and enchan... 1284
Reposted by John MitchinsonBacklisted Podcast @backlisted.bsky.social · 25/03/2025Thank you for all your kind words and amazing feedback on our new episode on Hannah Arendt. It was a privilege to spend an hour discussing her life and work with Elif Shafak and Lyndsey Stonebridge. 🙏 2557
Reposted by John MitchinsonLyndsey Stonebridge @lyndseystonebri.bsky.social · 25/03/2025So enjoyed this rich conversation. Elif's remarks about writing in a second language because your first has been appropriated by authoritarianism echoing very loudly this week. 1228
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 25/03/2025It is brilliant, as I knew it would be, and important too - HUGE CONGRATS 🥂💪🥂 040
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 25/03/2025All the books discussed on the new @backlisted.bsky.social (and all the other 235 episodes) are available from the Backlisted bookshop on @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social Buying there helps support the Backlisted and indie bookshops in general. uk.bookshop.org/lists/episod...uk.bookshop.orgEpisode 236. What Remains by Hannah ArendtElif Shafak and Lyndsey Stonebridge join John and Andy for a discussion of the life and work of Hannah Arendt, the historian and philosopher whose books include The Human Condition, The Origins of Tot... 0183
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 25/03/2025A huge privilege to welcome Elif Shafak & Prof Lyndsey Stonebridge @lyndseystonebri.bsky.social on the new @backlisted.bsky.social to discuss the poetry of Hannah Arendt (with @iammilliam.bsky.social and @birchos.bsky.social). Her work is needed now more than ever. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/236...backlisted.fm236. What Remains by Hannah Arendt — BacklistedElif Shafak and Lyndsey Stonebridge join John and Andy for a discussion of the life and work of Hannah Arendt, the historian and philosopher whose books include The Human Condition , The Origins ... 0214
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 11/03/2025Spring falters; dark clouds gather. @backlisted.bsky.social visits the late 20s via Sybille Bedford's 1968 coming-of-age novel A Compass Error with Francesca Reece, Prof. Krista Cowman @mistinguettecat.bsky.social, @iammilliam.bsky.social & @birchos.bsky.social www.backlisted.fm/episodes/235...backlisted.fm235. A Compass Error by Sybille Bedford — BacklistedSybille Bedford's A Compass Error (1968) is a classic coming-of-age novel, a love story, a family saga and a study in psychological suspense rolled into one. Joining us to discuss it are the nov... 1344
Reposted by John MitchinsonJo Chopra McGowan @indiajo.bsky.social · 01/03/2025Listening to Donald Trump and reading Riddley Walker: "O what we ben! And what we come to ..." @backlisted.bsky.social @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social 1192
Reposted by John MitchinsonBacklisted Podcast @backlisted.bsky.social · 25/02/2025New episode up now. A Life by Elia Kazan, with guest John Lahr joining @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social and @birchos.bsky.social. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/234...backlisted.fm234. A Life by Elia Kazan — BacklistedWe explore Elia Kazan 's memoir A Life (1988) with veteran biographer and critic John Lahr, author of Notes on a Cowardly Lion , Prick Up Your Ears: The Biography of Joe ... 43313
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social · 25/02/2025In which we welcome one of @backlisted.bsky.social's heroes, the writer and critic, John Lahr. Join me, @iammilliam.bsky.social, and Nicky Birch as we explore the huge (in every sense) A Life by Elia Kazan, a book as gutsy, bruising & brilliant as the man himself. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/234...backlisted.fm234. A Life by Elia Kazan — BacklistedWe explore Elia Kazan 's memoir A Life (1988) with veteran biographer and critic John Lahr, author of Notes on a Cowardly Lion , Prick Up Your Ears: The Biography of Joe ... 1277
