Latest news with #novelists
Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Daily Mail
How YOU can avoid being a victim of crime: Always face the door in a pub and never leave your house empty while on holiday... IAN RANKIN and Britain's top crime writers reveal their top lessons on keeping yourself safe
They plot the most ingenious, twisty, heart-thudding stories. And many of us will be reading their books on the beach this summer. But what has a life of crime-writing taught some of Britain's bestselling authors about how to keep safe - at home and away? From reducing the risk of home burglary when you park your car at the airport to avoiding con artists at the hotel bar, five blockbusting novelists offer crucial top tips for a crime-free summer…
Times
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Four Letters of Love review — Pierce Brosnan can't save this Irish cliché
As a rule, novelists don't make great screenwriters. They're too in love with prose and too beguiled by the musicality of language to submit to the ruthless demands of visual storytelling. Cormac McCarthy's only original screenplay, The Counselor, is a case in point, as is F Scott Fitzgerald's Three Comrades and anything, including Sleepwalkers, that Stephen King has written directly for the screen. Step forward Niall Williams, the award-winning Irish novelist. He has delivered a screenplay adapted from his own debut novel that is splattered with wearisome wall-to-wall voiceover and punctuated by the kind of melodramatic contrivances that can be hidden inside poetical pages but on the screen provoke only eye rolls, yawns and a couple of dry retches. Not even the strong cast, which includes Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne and Helena Bonham Carter, can save it. The setting is 1970s Oireland, a mythical place where the men are all self-tortured poets, artists and musicians, and the women are ginger and vivacious and good at Irish dancing, like Jean Butler from Riverdance. In the opening scene we learn that the mopey Dublin writer Nicholas (Fionn O'Shea, recycling his Beckett turn from Dance First) is destined for a life of romantic bliss with the Aran Islands-based wild child Isobel (Ann Skelly). And so for the next nearly two hours we watch and wait, Sleepless in Seattle-style, for our two lovers to meet while the film aimlessly spins its narrative wheels. Cue mildly distracting yet dramatically pointless episodes showcasing Nicholas looking forlorn, Isobel marrying the wrong guy, someone having a stroke, several people talking out loud to God (typical Catholics!), and Brosnan, Byrne and Bonham Carter given little to do as parents in distress. It doesn't help that the director, Polly Steele (The Mountain Within Me), has seemingly chosen to fill the narrative longueurs with endless drone shots of the Irish countryside. Pretty, yes. But they can only offer so much damage limitation.★★☆☆☆12A, 110minIn cinemas from Jul 18 • Read more film reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews Times+ members can enjoy two-for-one cinema tickets at Everyman each Wednesday. Visit to find out more. Which films have you enjoyed at the cinema recently? Let us know in the comments and follow @timesculture to read the latest reviews
Washington Post
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
As usual, Gary Shteyngart's new novel arrives right on time
Few novelists risk jumping on the runaway horse of contemporary life as recklessly as Gary Shteyngart. For the fiction writer, stuck at the plodding speed of publishing, such a maneuver requires gauging both political velocity and cultural direction. And yet, book after book, Shteyngart arrives just where — and when — we need him to.
BreakingNews.ie
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Liam Neeson remembers ‘brilliant' Barbara Taylor Bradford in memorial message
Northern Ireland actor Liam Neeson has paid tribute to novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford in a message praising her brilliance and elegance read out at her memorial service. The 73-year-old reflected on his role in TV drama A Woman Of Substance, adapted from one of the author's most well-known books, in the note that was read out on his behalf. Advertisement Taylor Bradford died at the age of 91 on November 24th last year following a short illness, 'and was surrounded by loved ones to the very end', a spokeswoman said at the time. Author Barbara Taylor Bradford poses for pictures after she received her honour from Queen Elizabeth II (Steve Parsons/PA) Actors, authors and other notable figures attended the service at St Bride's Church in Fleet Street, London, on Thursday. Neeson said in his message: 'In 1984, I had the great honour of playing Blackie O'Neill in the television adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman Of Substance, and again in its sequel, Hold The Dream. 'It was a landmark moment — the first television drama series to reach more than 13.8 million viewers on Britain's Channel 4 — and something we were all incredibly proud of. Advertisement 'But more than the numbers, it was Barbara's vision, her storytelling, and her fierce dedication to her characters that made the work so special. 'She was a force — elegant, brilliant and unstoppable — and I feel deeply privileged to have been part of bringing her words to life.' Liam Neeson starred in an adaptation of A Woman With Substance (Ian West/PA) Human rights lawyer Cherie Blair, wife of former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, was also in attendance and reflected on her friendship with the author in a speech. 'I can hardly believe it's been over 20 years since I first met Barbara in New York,' she said. Advertisement 'Tony and I were attending an event while he was UK Prime Minister. 'Although I can't recall the specifics of the event, I vividly remember meeting Barbara and, of course, her beloved husband, Bob (Robert Bradford). 'Meeting her was such a thrill — not only because I had read her books but also because she was a favourite author of both my mum and grandma. 'Barbara and I instantly connected as Northern girls who had ventured far from our roots, yet never forgot where we came from. Advertisement 'At the time of our first meeting, Tony had not read any of Barbara's books, but he was so struck by her intelligence, elegance, and charm that he subsequently watched the TV show and read the book. 'Barbara and I stayed in touch, regularly meeting when I was in New York or when she was in London. 'One memory I treasure is attending the Women of Substance Awards with her at the Dorchester in London in 2009. 'The awards were so typical of Barbara — her unwavering support for other women was truly inspiring. She even offered me invaluable advice when I was establishing my own foundation for women. Advertisement 'Barbara seemed ageless. Whenever we met, she was always engaged, well-informed, feisty and, of course, impeccably dressed. 'She was the epitome of a woman of substance — wise, fun and endlessly inspiring. We will deeply miss her warmth, wisdom and friendship.' Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair and his wife Cherie Blair (Leon Neal/PA) The service began with the theme music from A Woman Of Substance and included an address from actress Jenny Seagrove, who played a young Emma Harte in the TV mini-series. In April it was announced that Vera actress Brenda Blethyn will lead a new Channel 4 adaptation of A Woman Of Substance, playing protagonist Emma. The book is a rags-to-riches tale set in the 1900s that follows the life of Yorkshire servant Emma who later heads up a business empire. Taylor Bradford was often labelled 'the grand dame of blockbusters', with her books selling more than 91 million copies and having been published in more than 40 languages and in 90 countries. Other TV adaptations of her books included ITV's Act Of Will starring Elizabeth Hurley and Victoria Tennant, and To Be The Best, a sequel to A Woman Of Substance with Lindsay Wagner and Sir Anthony Hopkins.
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
The Pacific Coast Highway, a Mythic Route Always in Need of Repair
Keeping the Pacific Coast Highway open has become a Sisyphean endeavor. For hundreds of miles, the famed road clings to the edge of the continent. But landslides, erosion and fires have closed it time and again. The constant closures make life difficult for residents. They deter tourists and choke off local businesses. Building the highway was a feat of engineering. Continuing to fix it in an increasingly unstable world may be an even greater one. Supported by The road has inspired rock bands and novelists. It's sold Oldsmobiles, Chryslers and Mustangs. It's promised freedom, opportunity for introspection, or the perfect selfie. And in a feat of engineering, it clings for hundreds of miles to the edge of the continent. The Pacific Coast Highway is among the most famous drives in the world. But it keeps building began on the first parts of the highway more than a century ago, sections of the route, which runs more than 650 miles from south of Los Angeles to Northern California, have been closed, over and over again. In some places, chunks of the road have slipped into the ocean. In others, more than a million tons of earth have barreled onto the highway, slicing it to pieces. Bridges have failed. Rainstorms have flooded the road with mud. Residents have been left marooned. Tourists have been shut out. Recently, consecutive landslides in Big Sur, a 90-mile region along the Central Coast, have closed parts of the road for two years, four months and counting. And in January, the Palisades fire, which burned thousands of homes, shuttered an 11-mile stretch of the highway connecting the Los Angeles area with the beachside city of Malibu, Calif. That stretch is reopening on Friday, according to the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, but there is no timeline for reopening the road in Big Sur. nevada San Francisco Fresno Santa Cruz BIXBY BRIDGE Big Sur california REGENT'S SLIDE 5 Pacific Coast Highway 1 Los Angeles Pacific Ocean Malibu 100 miles By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
