No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy
Memoirs of a Working-Class Reader
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Canongate Books
Published:3rd Feb '22
£16.99
Available for immediate dispatch.
Mark Hodkinson grew up among the terrace houses of Rochdale in a house with just one book. His dad kept it on top of a wardrobe with other items of great worth - wedding photographs and Mark's National Cycling Proficiency certificate. If Mark wanted to read it, he was warned not to crease the pages or slam shut the covers.
Today, Mark is an author, journalist and publisher. He still lives in Rochdale, but is now snugly ensconced (or is that buried?) in a 'book cave' surrounded by 3,500 titles - at the last count. No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy is his story of growing up a working-class lad during the 1970s and 1980s. It's about schools (bad), music (good) and the people (some mad, a few sane), and pre-eminently and profoundly the books and authors (some bad, mostly good) that led the way, and shaped his life. It's also about a family who just didn't see the point of reading, and a troubled grandad who, in his own way, taught Mark the power of stories.
In recounting his own life-long love affair with books, Mark also tells the story of how writing and reading has changed over the last five decades, starting with the wave of working-class writers in the 1950s and 60s, where he saw himself reflected in books for the first time.
Mark Hodkinson is one of the great unsung heroes of literature . . . With verve, insight and perfectly-captured period detail, he reminds us that not only are books sacred objects that should be available to everyone, but also that working-class voices remain more marginalised and underrepresented than ever. No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy redresses this imbalance beautifully, and in a just world will kickstart a long-overdue working class literary renaissance -- BENJAMIN MYERS
This is a book about the north; it is also about publishing, writing and music, but it transcends its subjects and meets the criterion Hodkinson sets out in his preface: "The best books, the same as the best days, skitter on the breeze. They go their own way" * * Observer * *
Deeply poignant . . . powerful * * Sunday Times * *
Mark's journey into his own cocoon of books is a deeply personal tale but one with universal themes for all young lives shaped and transformed in some way by the written word . . . Thoughtful and engaging -- MARK RADCLIFFE
Moving . . . A work of triumphs * * Irish Times * *
This is an impassioned hymn of praise and declaration of love for that complex cultural object, the book. Anyone who has ever read, written or published a book will find their heart's pages turning as they sink joyfully into these craftsman-built paragraphs -- IAN McMILLAN
Reading this memoir is to realise there is no better tool for social mobility than a book . . . lovely * * Daily Mail * *
A resounding defence of the physical book and the thankless enthusiasts who bring it into existence . . . Entertaining * * Financial Times * *
A memoir refracted through literature and its impact on the author's life. . . He writes with sharp humour and unsentimentally . . . An enjoyable and uplifting read * * Morning Star * *
Some kids grow up dreaming of fast cars and fancy clothes. Others just want books and records. If that was you, particularly if you grew up in a small northern town where people said the word "book" the way they said the word "voodoo", this is probably your story. Even if you didn't, chances are you'll love it -- DAVID HEPWORTH
ISBN: 9781786899972
Dimensions: 220mm x 144mm x 34mm
Weight: 479g
368 pages
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