Fame, success, fortune, a drink problem slipping over the edge
into alcoholism, a dead marriage, the incurable itches of
middle-aged lust. For Wilfred Barclay, novelist, the final,
unbearable irritation is Professor Rick. L. Tucker, implacable in
his determination to become The Barclay Man. Locked in a lethal
relationship they stumble half-blindly across Europe, shedding
wives, self-respect, illusions. They confront terrifying abysses -
physical, emotional, spiritual - and continually change roles,
change themselves, change the worlds about them. The climax of
their odyssey, when it comes, is as inevitable as it is unexpected.
Powerful, unpredictable and unclassifiable, The Paper Men is as
idiosyncratic and original as anything William Golding wrote.
John Carey's new biography of William Golding
Drawing almost entirely on materials that have never before been
made public, John Carey, the distinguished writer and critic, sheds
new light on Golding. Through hundreds of letters, unpublished
works and Golding's intimate journals, Carey draws a revelatory and
definitive portrait of an extraordinary man. In an absorbing and
compelling narrative, he reveals a many-sided figure: a war-hero, a
reclusive depressive who considered himself a 'monster', a family
man, a victim of fears and phobias who battled against alcoholism,
and a writer who trusted the imagination above all things.
Follow the link below to hear 'audio snippets' where Carey reads
from his highly praised new biography.
William Golding: The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies