Ben’s new novel, Pig Iron, is published this week on Bluemoose Books. Must admit that this one has been considerably more stress-free than Richard. The cover is beautiful, and was shot by George Plemper, and there have plenty of good reviews so far. I’ve only seen the unedited version of this book, so I’m looking forward to reading the finished thing. Ben has spent the past 7 years reading books on bareknuckle fighters and traveller culture so Pig Iron is a purely fictional take inspired by the many books that line our shelves. It”s also partly written in Pitmatic, and set around his hometown of Durham.
He’ll be doing a book signing tour of Waterstones across the North in June, and the launch party is at the Hebden Bridge Bookshop, Crown Street, Hebden Bridge on Friday 1st June at 7pm. Please come along. I’ll be baking cakes, serving wine and Ben will be there, in person, trying to escape requests for a live reading.
You can purchase copies of Pig Iron through your local bookshop, or online at the usual places.
What the papers say…
“Over two decades after those sections of society most reviled by the Thatcher government fought the Miner’s Strike and the Battle of the Beanfield, Myers crafts the legacy of those catastrophic schisms. His poetic vernacular brims with that quality most sadly lost – humanity.” ~ The Guardian
“ This is yet another singular portrait of an outsider from Myers. And delivered through authentic characterisation, a monstrously compelling plot, and frequent humour – a rare combination of such successfully crafted elements – Pig Iron deserves to find itself on many a reading list, if not the National Curriculum.” ~ 3:AM Magazine
“Benjamin Myers’s influences are clear — David Peace’s northern brutalism is evident and there are suggestions of Salinger and Golding but Pig Iron’s savage vision is his alone. Pig Iron is an utterly compelling book” ~ The Morning Star
“This is a necessary book that neither patronises nor demeans the world it portrays, this book speaks with a minority voice and is utterly convincing. It reminds us that to be human we must sometimes think like a god.” ~ Review 31
“Pig Iron is not a romantic ramble through the colourful lifestyle of travelling folk, a prose equivalent to a song by the late Elton Hayes. Nor is it a comedic take on rural life like Cold Comfort Farm. In this book, the beasts are humans.” ~ Bradford Telegraph & Argus
“Compulsive and engaging…[a] beautifully bittersweet tale of love and redemption in contemporary Britain.” ~ Hull Daily Mail
