Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford

11 replies

Sausagenbacon · 20/12/2023 20:37

Has anyone else read this?
I loved it. But funnily enough didn't get on with it the 1st time I tried it.

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pollyhemlock · 20/12/2023 21:39

Loved it . Francis Spufford is such an interesting writer. His latest book Cahokia Jazz is excellent too. Nothing like Light Perpetual though.

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Sausagenbacon · 21/12/2023 14:27

I've dropped strong hints for Cahokia Jazz as a Xmas present. What is his best book, do you think? I'm reading The Child that Books Made, which is very perceptive.

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pollyhemlock · 21/12/2023 15:50

The Child that Books Built is wonderful. One of my favourite memoirs of childhood reading. Difficult to say which his best book is because they’re all so different, but I’d probably go with Light Perpetual.

OccasionalHope · 21/12/2023 16:13

I didn’t like this one much, but I adored Golden Hill.

clowniform · 21/12/2023 19:39

I've just finished Cahokia Jazz which was glorious. And seasonal! (Well opening on a mutilated corpse on a snowy rooftop counts as Christmassy in my books.)
My favourite of his is probably Red Plenty (the one where he's transitioning from nonfiction to fiction) though like @pollyhemlock I have a soft spot for TCTBB as it was my first encounter with Spufford.

pollyhemlock · 21/12/2023 20:22

I haven’t read Red Plenty but I did enjoy Unapologetic which is his defence of his Christian faith. I’m agnostic myself but I found it an interesting and challenging read. You can see the influence of his religious belief in Light Perpetual too. I think his wife is a vicar.

DarkAcademia · 21/12/2023 20:29

I must try it - I loved Golden Hill.

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Sausagenbacon · 21/12/2023 22:15

I've almost finished tctbb.
I can only say how amazing it is. The piece about porn is very interesting.

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MotherOfCatBoy · 22/12/2023 12:51

I loved Light Perpetual, read it last month. Loved the characters, especially Jo. He writes with such compassion. I also enjoyed Golden Hill, which was more tightly plotted. Light Perpetual reminded me a little of John Lanchester’s Capital: the time frame is different but the range of characters and London almost as a character in its own right, were similar. And there’s a common tenderness for people’s ordinary lives.

WobblyLondoner · 22/12/2023 13:20

I absolutely loved Red Plenty. I'm interested in the subject area (USSR, economics) anyway, but the ingenuity of the plotting and the writing skill was so impressive. Definitely one I'd read again.

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Sausagenbacon · 22/12/2023 14:23

I've just got Golden Hill, and I'm really looking forward to diving in.
Isn't it great to find a new writer!

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