Quite right too, Anne! I'm a bit out of my depth myself! (I didn't make those decisions.)

Roger, yes, I wondered if that was some of the reason for the smallish format, and it makes sense - doesn't it just show that the onlie begetter of MNW is a production man? Besides, there's something rather delicious about small hardbacks, as Fourth Estate realised when they went back on all the industry assumptions and did Longitude like that - didn't do it any harm at all, did it!

Emma

Thanks Roger. And I'm now going to look at Amazon and buy some - including Taking Comfort which I've been meaning to buy for a while.

Snowbell, you can always borrow from the library, you know. Get them to order it if they don't have it already! (It's still a sale to the author.)

Hi Snowbell, I'm currently reading an MNW book - The Deserter by Peter Bourne, which I have to say is a very well written book by any standards. Spare minimalist prose, not flashy - crafted. The dialogue has a slightly Pinteresque feel, but partly that comes from the fact that it is set in Israel, I think - which sounds a strange thing to say, but I think the cadence of the language sounds slightly different. Plus the story has the feel of a tragedy - a personal tragedy coming out of a political one - and it's building very powerfully. I'll let you know how I get on, so far it's very promising.