PL44 - Both Sides Now

Naturally fascinating

My new suit

Jeff Bezos’ empire came by never paying out dividends, always reinvesting profits. This was the logic under which I blew the Gatsby millions on two new suits: that the proceeds of one essay could become more future essays. Actually the fee met the price of the two suits I bought to the pound. It was meant to be, and already this week found some vindication. It was a tale of two book launches.

A beautiful Wednesday through Hyde Park to the hyperpristine Serpentine North Gallery for billionaire financier and philanthropist Robert Rosenkranz’s The Stoic Capitalist: Advice for the Exceptionally Ambitious. When I got my first email about the book, I was in Yale, and looked up from my phone to see, no less, Rosenkranz Hall. Though Mr Rosenkranz does call building naming “rich man’s graffiti” at one point in his winsome and gregarious tract, and says contributing to curriculum reform was much more satisfying.

There was forcefully refilled champagne, canapés, and a fair chunk of the FT’s editorial board. Most excitingly of all I met, after a generous and encouraging introduction, Simon Jenkins! Who I depend on and quote every time I visit a cathedral! Sir Simon was very friendly, and issued the necessary corrections to the haphazard cathedral claims I tried to impress him by with a lot of grace.

Thursday was King’s Cross for nature writer Robert Macfarlane’s Is A River Alive? The launch was at the canal museum, and Mr Macfarlane arrived by canal, on a narrowboat. There were kids running around, beer cans designed to match the book cover, a pizza van, a speech from Mr Macfarlane standing on a chair, a folk guitar singalong led by his friend Johnny Flynn, a chance to speak to one of my favourite living essayists, and a man with a tree branch in his topknot – “a natural fascinator!”

I was invited because I interviewed Mr Macfarlane in Cambridge last weekend. I am the envy of many friends now. Hopefully that will be out with the NS soon.

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A novel I really enjoyed lately was Open, Heaven, the debut novel of poet Sean Hewitt. I reviewed it here:

A mature and complete debut novel. Open, Heaven is set “right up the spine of the country”, in the moss-dank mellifluity of a fictional northern English village called Thornsmere. To James, an adolescent homosexual, Thornsmere’s gentle, traditional way offers no outright cruelty but also no capable comfort, and the air is lonely in a way frustrating to all. The long inexperience means that when the chance of full connection does appear – with the arrival of a boy from a troubled home to a farm on James’s morning milk round – its outcome will be with James for life…

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Two exciting piles of novels:

1 — The the International Booker Prize’s shortlist last year contained one of my favourite books of the year. I’m reading this year’s before the winner is announced on May 20th. Please tell me if you know a books editor who might like a write-up of the winner after it’s announced. Especially one who might send me to the party as well!

2 — All the young dudes are back in town! Whether or not the young male novelist really died, I’m so excited about all these, mostly debuts, published on indie presses, by guys in their thirties. Likely I will do something more takey in a mag and then a longer treatment here.

That and more coming up, so please subscribe. Nearly 200 subscribers!

Have a great weekend,
GM