I don’t normally do this R.I.P thing, but really sorry to hear that one of my go-to writers – William Trevor – has died. He was 88, had a good life and wrote some truly memorable novels, a huge amount of short stories so not a wasted life or one cut short, but still quite sad to hear about this. He was one of those writers who made every sentence count and wrote unfashionably short novels (Jim Naughtie, when chairman of the Booker panel cited the fact that his last novel – Love and Summer – was slight at just over 200 pages as being one reason why it never won. What a twit). There are so many great novels to choose from, my favourites are the ones that centred on Irish country life and Anglo-Irish history; Fools of Fortune, The Silence in the Garden and Love & Summer. He was classified as an Irish writer, but seas equally at home writing about life in seaside resorts, boarding houses and Italian pensioni. He also had a knack for writing about creepiness and the unpleasantness in life in a sensitive, but never in a garish or sensationalist manner. He was a » Continue Reading.