{"title":"Ian Gouge","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781068449888","title":"The Big Frog Theory","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat do you most need when facing the complete disintegration of the life you have been leading? Where does the loss of your job and the betrayal of your wife lead you?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWell, in Neville's case to a small tea shop at the foot of the Malvern hills. But if he has gone there for some peace, some solitude, the chance to assess his situation and get his life back in order, then he is in for a shock. Is it madness that makes his coffee cup keep magically refilling, or the china geese on the wall try and fly away? And how could it be possible that a stale slice of Black Forest Gateau would suddenly be able to offer him Agony Aunt advice?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGuided by Samuel, an aged coach driver (in his equally aged coach!), follow Neville as his travels take him to Paris, to the Derby at Epsom, dancing on a cruise ship, into outrageous and dangerous adventures - and towards an unlikely romance that might just save his life...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'And, now I do this,' said the gateau. 'It's my job. Sitting here, talking to guys like you. Mostly guys, anyway. I can't understand women, you know? I always try and leave the women to Maurice, he's better at it.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Maurice?'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Yeah, the croissant.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56296131101045,"sku":"9781068449888","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"9781739356927","title":"New Contexts: 5","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhenever I pull together an anthology such as this, I am inevitably struck by the quality and variety of both the fiction and poetry being written today. Curating an anthology such as this is therefore both a joy and a challenge; after all, it is not easy to distil a couple of hundred pieces down into a manageable number to form a collection (in the present case, seventy-four pieces).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, for this edition of \u003cem\u003eNew Contexts\u003c\/em\u003e I was struck more than ever by the notion that the contributors had important things to say - and about significant topics too: war, disease, aging, love, refugees, our place in the world. These are all 'big' topics of course, and as such hardly novel; writers have been devoting their talents to addressing them for hundreds of years. Yet it struck me that many of the submissions for this book attempted to tackle their themes with a common sense of urgency.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerhaps this is a reflection of our times; or perhaps it was merely my interpretation of them. Whichever is true, I am confident that \u003cem\u003eNew Contexts: 5\u003c\/em\u003e represents another meritorious addition to our canon.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56304067150197,"sku":"9781739356927","price":10.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/publisher-ian-gouge.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}