This month, we're thrilled to introduce you to Rose Tremain. Her latest novel The Gustav Sonata is both magnificent and tender, showing Tremain to be at the height of her writing career. Set in post-war Switzerland, it follows the story of Gustav Perle, who since losing his father, seems to have lost his mother in spirit too. Gustav leads an isolated life until he meets Anton and from then on the boys' fates are irrevocably entwined. What follows is a friendship across years, borders and in the face of great loss. To find out more about this heart-wrenching novel, head to the book page.
Rose Tremain Q&A
What are you reading now?
I'm gripped by Peter Pomerantsev's extraordinary account of filming documentaries in Putin's Russia, Nothing is True and Everything is Possible. This deservedly won this year's Ondaatje Prize. It makes me dread going to Russia, where bribery and summary arrest seem to be becoming the terrifying norm of people's lives.
What is the last book you bought someone as a gift?
Patricia Duncker's brilliant (but underrated) Sophie and the Sybil: a fabulously witty and clever take on George Eliot's fiction, with bits of her life thrown in. Read this, then attempt Daniel Deronda! This novel should have won prizes.
Is research a big part of your writing process?
All my subjects lie outside my own immediate life, so inevitably my research has to be long and exacting. But novelists should never put their research on show; it should all seem an integral part of the fiction, as though one had known it forever, or just thought it up that very moment. Many contemporary novels suffer from horrendous 'data overload'.
Do you have any peculiar writing rituals or habits?
Nothing peculiar. Probably the most eccentric thing I did a few years ago was to redecorate my study (which was drab like an office) to resemble a delightful small sitting room: wallpaper with birds and flowers, bright red and gold curtains, globe lamps. I spend HOURS in here, so why not make it pretty?
What advice would you offer to aspiring writers?
Don't recycle your own life. Find something you are passionately interested in, research that and then write about that- bringing yourself in only as the mind and voice behind the endeavour. That way you will a) learn something and b) not run out of material by the time you're 50.
Can you tell us about your book, The Gustav Sonata?
This is a story set in 'neutral' Switzerland, before during and sometime after the Second World War. It explores a passionate friendship between two boys, Gustav and Anton, one of whom is Jewish. Their attempts to keep this friendship emotionally 'neutral' is the thing which nearly destroys both their lives.
This giveaway is now closed but you don't have to win a free copy to take part in the discussion. Anyone who has read The Gustav Sonata can post their feedback. If you miss out on a free one, you can always buy a copy. All who post feedback before 5 August will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher.
This giveaway is sponsored by Vintage Books